Keep telling us that you support us Republicans [View all]

[Separation]

Keep up with the hopes and prayers. I've had a friend that was killed by the lack of VA services. Bloodwork that showed he had cancer, sat unlooked at for months. When they found it, they actually told him by phone and told him that an ambulance is on its way to come to pick him up at his house and take him to the Alvin C York VA center in Nashville. That, and the lack of care that I got/get, its no surprise there is this type of crisis exists.

I will say, however, that the only real care that I got was from one Psychiatrist. The problem is, she isnt even working there anymore. To have to go through something like PTSD counseling (who I had through another counselor) which is nothing more than having to relive the worst moments of your life over and over again until you are able to not be paralyzed from it. While having to go through this therapy, I did it by a Facetime type app at the VA, and it was prone to cutting out. Which really sucks especially if you are at a critical point in the session, you're all emotional and the video feed goes dead. I mean, who wouldn't love to get this type of "fantastic free healthcare". Its almost as if not having any at all would just be the same.

I love the 20 years that i did in the military. I've had memories that only people could wish for, but on the other edge of the stick. I also deal with memories that nobody should ever have to go through.

The VA found that there were more than 6,000 veteran suicides each year from 2008 to 2016. Veterans accounted for 14 percent of all suicides in the United States in 2016, yet veterans comprise just 8 percent of the population, the report said, according to the newspaper.

In the report, the VA described veteran suicide as an “urgent crisis” that it can't address by itself. Still, some advocates say the department has not devoted enough resources to this issue.

“If any other population of 20 million people were exposed to these threats, it would be considered a public health priority,” Paul Rieckhoff, chief executive of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, told the newspaper. “There has never been a national call to action.”