Reminder of the scourge of 16 years of war…on Veteran’s Day

please Note:  (URL's embedded)

• “2.7 million service members have been to the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001, and over half of them have deployed more than once “ 
• “Many Iraq and Afghanistan veterans face a life of disability due to the physical and psychological injuries they sustain in the war zones. At least 970,000 veterans have some degree of officially recognized disability as a result of the wars”
• “The VA only began tracking war veteran suicides in 2008 even though rates now appear significantly higher than among comparable civilians.” “the current analysis indicates that an average of 20 veterans a day die from suicide”
• “More veterans succumbed to suicide than were killed in Iraq: 177 active-duty soldiers died by suicide compared to 176 soldiers killed in combat”
• Based on current patterns of benefit claims and medical usage,it is estimated that the total present value of such costs for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans over the next 40 years is in the range of $600 billion to $1 trillion.

 

 

How easy to be snarky when talking about the US military, that allegedly only 1% of Americans know personally.  Easy to let it go when politicians throw out ‘I favor a strong military’ and then move on to another topic to dog whistle.

 

If you like to look at data (we do) the intersection of the military aftermath with the opioid problem in the US defies credulity – the scientific measurement is not yet available since the VA is late to the party with information, but the urban legend is that 60% of returned veterans have a ‘problem’. This ‘problem’ festers, while politicians gasbag.

 

Worse.  I had a pleasant dinner at a neighbor’s the other night.  One fellow was a vet, and proud to say that he has focused some of his business efforts on assisting young veterans start businesses.  No mention of the festering problem.  Simply no on the agenda.

 

Even worse.  We continue to feed the wars (the urban legend is that although there are six recognized ‘hot’ wars globally, there are 90 countries where the US has ‘resources’ deployed and active.  But that is just a legend….right?

 

Comon’  KenBurns!  Can’t the core anti war sentiments in this country be rekindled?

Bah Humbug.