Spouse group: Action needed for wounded vets

[unhappycamper]

Spouse group: Action needed for wounded vets
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Oct 17, 2007 5:31:12 EDT

On the eve of a major Senate hearing to review the recommendations of two commissions aimed at helping wounded combat veterans, a politically active Army wife is looking for less talk and more action.

The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee will hear Wednesday about proposals from the President’s Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded Warriors, which completed its work in July, and the Veterans’ Disability Benefits Commission, which issued its final report Oct. 3.

There is some overlap between the two commissions; for example, both recommend that the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs use the same disability ratings system to eliminate confusing differences that often leave injured service members and their families feeling they have been treated unfairly.

It remains unclear when or if Congress will act on the recommendations, partly because some of the proposals could be costly.

Carissa Picard, whose husband is a Black Hawk pilot at Fort Hood, Texas, with orders to deploy to Iraq in the spring, is president of Military Spouses for Change. Picard said wounded combat veterans and their families are becoming weary of waiting.

“This is not how a grateful nation treats it heroes,” she said. “Action speaks louder than words. Thus, are our wounded warriors really not heroes? Is our country not grateful? Can someone in Congress answer this question for us?”


Rest of article at: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2007/10/military_disabilitycommissions_071016w/



uhc comment: The linked article also has the URL for web site http://www.militaryspousesforchange.com/ . Page

http://www.militaryspousesforchange.com/War_in_Iraq.php sez


Military Spouses for Change ("MSC") believes the human cost of the War in Iraq has become too great to allow our country to continue with its current policy. The 2008 Presidential Election is giving us a chance to help redefine America's mission in Iraq.

Bobby Kennedy, in 1968, said the following about that year's presidential election: "his is a year of choice -- a year when we choose not simply who will lead us, but where we wish to be led; the country we want for ourselves -- and the kind we want for our children. If in this year of choice we fashion new politics out of old illusions, we insure for ourselves nothing but crises for the future -- and we bequeath to our children the bitter harvest of those crises."

As military spouses, we understand the honor and responsibility inherent in our soldier's oath and we support the sacrifices that are required by our soldier's duty and service pursuant to that oath. We live our lives, build our families, and maintain our marriages knowing that "military needs come first." But when we vote for the next President of the United States, we will also have a voice in deciding what exactly those military needs are.

This is our "year of choice." This is the year where we can choose not only who will lead us, but more importantly, where we want to be led. After four years of mis-steps and bloodshed, isn't it time to be led in a different direction?