posted on September 3, 2003 03:01:43 PM new
did i not say how bad the Vets are treated by our government, yes i did, and I will say it again, before you join, talk to vets and visit them in the VA hosipitals, because the government's treatment of Vets is disgusting, vets should be treated with respect, pure and simple, yet we as a nation care very little for our vets
Tuesday, September 2nd, 2003
The Nation’s First Homeless Veteran of the Invasion of Iraq Speaks Out
Upon her return home to Boston, Sgt. Vannessa Turner was unable to receive treatment for damaged nerves in her leg and was unable to have her possessions shipped to her from her military base. She and her 15 year-old daughter are homeless. We speak with Sgt. Vannessa Turner and National Coalition of Homeless Veterans’ Linda Boone. Sgt. Vannessa Turner was one of approximately 150,000 American soldiers fighting in Baghdad.
On May 18, she collapsed due to the severe 130-degree heat. Her body was full of mosquito bites. She fell into a coma and nearly died. Turner was airlifted for treatment in Germany and was further treated in Washington D.C. until she was released on July 10. She came back to her so-called "hometown" in Boston and faced a new battle. She was unable to receive treatment for damaged nerves in her leg. She was unable to have her possessions shipped to her from her military base in Germany. She and her 15 year-old daughter are homeless.
On her return, she was told by the local Veterans Affairs hospital that she needed to wait close to 3 months to see a doctor. When she attempted to secure a veteran’s loan for a house in Boston, brokers told her that her only option was to move to Springfield or Worcester.
In the past week, things have changed. Through political pressure from Senator Kennedy’s office, Vannessa has now been able to see a doctor in the Veteran’s hospital and is expecting her first disability check. But even with recent media attention and political struggle, she is still having trouble finding a home.
According to the Boston Globe, army officials say she is the first known homeless veteran of the war in Iraq.
* Sergeant Vannessa Turner, veteran from the Iraqi War interviewed on August 28th 2003.
* Linda Boone, executive director of the National Coalition of Homeless Veterans interviewed on August 28th 2003.
WASHINGTON - After a grenade exploded inside his Humvee in Iraq, Marine Staff Sgt. Bill Murwin was treated at a military hospital in Germany and spent four weeks at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. Part of his left foot was amputated.
His medical care was free, but the government billed him $243 for the food.
Then, just three days after he received his first bill for the hospital food in Germany, he got a stern letter saying the bill was overdue. It warned that his account would be referred to a collection agency.
Murwin, like thousands of other military personnel hospitalized every year, is expected to reimburse the government $8.10 per day for food. That's standard procedure because of a law Congress passed in 1981. But it has angered many military families over the years.
When Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Largo, and his wife, Beverly, heard about the problem, they personally paid Murwin's tab. Then the congressman introduced a bill to change the rules.
Rep. Young said Wednesday that the soldiers "were sent to war by their country. Many of them will be handicapped for the rest of their lives - and we're asking them to pay $8.10 a day for their food! There's something really wrong with that."
The practice is especially egregious, Young said, because "the food probably isn't that good."
The rule was established because most military personnel receive $8.10 a day as a "basic allowance for subsistence" for food. But when they are hospitalized, the government tries to recoup the money on the theory that they are eating hospital food and therefore are double-dipping.
Military officials have long disliked the rule but felt they had to enforce it because of the 1981 law.
"If I could be king for a day, I'd stop it in a minute," said Maj. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley, who commands the Army hospitals in the eastern United States.
The government already bends the rules for soldiers in combat. They are allowed keep the $8.10 even though they are also getting free food, according to Young's office.
Murwin, 31, a sheriff's deputy in Nevada with 10 years of active duty in the Marines and three years in the Reserves, says he was flabbergasted the government would bill him.
"Holy smokes," he said. "I'm in the hospital - and they're going to charge me for my food?"
He says he was willing to pay but thinks it's unfair that young soldiers get billed.
"What made me so hot is that (it applies to) privates and lance corporals - guys who barely make enough money to pay for their own food, let alone take care of this," Murwin said.
Kiley, the Army medical commander, said the costs can add up. "If you're here for a couple of months, you could rack up a thousand dollars," he said.
Young, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said he was unaware of the law until his wife heard about it from Murwin's father-in-law. He has quickly lined up support for his bill, which would reverse the rule so military personnel do not have to pay.
His staff hasn't had time to estimate the cost of the bill, Young said, but the government has an obligation to pay for the food of injured soldiers.
The bill has 96 co-sponsors and has been endorsed by associations that represent enlisted personnel. Because of the strong support, the bill is likely to sail through Congress in the next few weeks.
Kiley said that he is glad to see the bill and that it has wide support in the military. But he disagrees with Young's unfavorable assessment of the hospital cuisine.
"It really is pretty good food," Kiley said. "It's not the same as a four-star restaurant. But we work pretty hard at it."
Murwin concurred, but said his taste buds had been dulled by weeks of eating field chow - called MREs (for Meal, Ready to Eat) - in Iraq.
"I was expecting the worst" from the hospital food, he said. "I was pleasantly surprised. I actually got a steak dinner one night."
By TARA COPP and JESSICA WEHRMAN
Scripps Howard News Service
11-SEP-03
Last Christmas, Mike Corcoran sent his mother an unusual Christmas list: He wanted night-vision goggles, a global positioning system and a short-wave radio.
Corcoran, then a Marine sergeant in Afghanistan, wanted the goggles so he could see on patrols. They cost about $2,000 each.
According to an Army internal report released earlier this summer, many ground troops like Corcoran decided to dip into their own pockets to get the equipment they needed to fight in Afghanistan and in Iraq.
"There were a lot of reports of that prior to the war, people would go out and buy their own gear," said Patrick Garrett, a defense analyst with GlobalSecurity.org. "The Army ran out of desert camo boots, and a lot of soldiers were being issued regular black combat boots. Soldiers decided that wasn't for them, so they paid for new boots with their own money."
According to the Pentagon's "Operation Iraqi Freedom Lessons Learned" draft report, soldiers spent their own money to get better field radios, extra ammunition carriers to help them fight better and commercial backpacks because their own rucksacks were too small.
Senior Airman Joe Harvey, based at McGuire AFB in New Jersey, said his clothing allowance is $200 a year from the Air Force, and that most aspects of the uniform, including four sets of combat and dress uniforms are provided.
"But of course with all the wear and tear they don't always last that long," said Harvey, who deployed to Iraq for the war. "Now with some of the units if you rip a pair of bdu's (battle dress uniform) they will give you a new pair. But for the most part you are responsible for buying any new uniform you need except for boots. Your unit will always supply with a free pair of boots."
Harvey said the costs stack up during promotions, when each airman has to purchase new stripes and get them tailored on.
Corcoran, who has since left the Marines, purchased a bunch of items before he deployed. One necessity: baby wipes, because as he said, "a lot of the places you'll go, you won't be taking a shower."
Corcoran also bought his own rucksack, and modified a sling for his M-16 so he was better prepared for patrols. He bought an electric shaver to remove stubble that would keep his gas mask from sealing correctly.
Corcoran got all the items on his Christmas list, including the $2,000 goggles. The short wave radio was meant for entertainment, but he ended up hearing messages urging jihad, and he picked up intelligence from enemy fighters.
And there is one item many soldiers purchased and carried into the desert that wasn't part of the regular equipment.
"Another cool thing to bring with you is an American flag," Corcoran said. "Just in case you plan on conquering anything."
Tara Copp can be reached at coppt(at)shns.com. Jessica Wehrman can be reached at wehrmanj(at)shns.com
posted on September 13, 2003 07:33:53 AM newThe Nation’s First Homeless Veteran of the Invasion of Iraq Speaks Out
Fabrication or out and out lying... Sgt Turner was NEVER homeless
Quote from Scarborough interview
TURNER: The only thing I can say next is to get myself rehabilitated in order for my leg to get better. To continue to get appointments. I’m not going to stop. I’m a soldier to the end, so I’ll fight this, housing, whatever it takes, I will fight. I’m a soldier.
Hardly sounds like someone bitter and nasty about her care... she is frustrated yes...
She was Medically retired and receives a check every month...
In none of the legitmate news reports has she ever said she was homeless or have they reported she was homeless, which if you do not have the agenda of the orgs that skylite to aptly loves to quote, you would see this was just a person who fell through the cracks and the VA is not the "monster" some would like you to think.
posted on September 13, 2003 10:38:38 PM new
The democrats cry foul because of the treatment of vets, but yet it is them that always cut defense spending and line their pockets with the procedes.
