Texas Insider
10:25 am CST - August 03, 2010
Posted under On The Record
.D.C. is Leaving Valley Veterans Behind
By Treto Garza
Texas Insider Report: HARLINGEN, Texas – When we look at the total picture, it is plain about the only people in this country who give a damn about our military personnel are family, friends, and fellow veterans. The above sentence was penned by university professor and Guardian columnist Samuel Freeman in his Left is Right column this weekend.
“To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan,”
–President Abraham Lincoln, in his second inaugural speech.
And, how about this:
A VETERAN is not an outsider to our business… he’s our reason for existence.
A VETERAN is not an interruption of our work… he’s the purpose for it. We are not doing him a favor…he’s doing us a favor by letting us serve him.
A VETERAN is not a cold statistic… he’s a flesh-and-blood human being with feelings and emotions like our own.
A VETERAN is not someone to argue or match wits with… he deserves courteous, attentive and sympathetic treatment.
A VETERAN is not dependent on us… we are dependent on him.
A VETERAN is there to be served, not just tolerated… it is our job to handle him properly-both for his sake and for our own.
A VETERAN makes it possible that our salaries get paid… whether we are a clerk, financial aid officer, certifying official, veterans benefits counselor, education compliance survey specialist, registrar, education liaison representative, school officer, or county veterans service officer.
The above is taken from the Official Certifying Handbook of colleges offering courses on VA certifying majors.
All these words have fallen on deaf years in the past and apparently continue to do so. Does America really care for its military and veterans?
Why is it so hard to assist veterans in need? Why is it so hard to help our returning troops from battle? Is it not for them that we have the freedoms and rights that we enjoy?
Is it not for them that stand on the wall guarding us from our enemies that we live a peaceful and cherished life? Is it not for them that we are a democratic government?
Mr. Freeman’s words this weekend hit hard, but they ring true. Will the politicians and powers at be read those words and feel compelled to do something? Will those working within the Veterans Affairs system post a post-it stick-em on their computers and look at it and vow to change and really help?
Some say we now have an all volunteer military. Not necessarily. Many veterans were drafted and did not have a choice. Many could not get a draft deferment even though they were married and with children. And today, many are stuck in the military with a non-voluntary extension of their service contracts.
Again, I say that our region is one of the most patriotic in the nation. It is becoming a known fact. Yet, we are left behind when it comes to budget appropriations in Washington DC.
Again, I ask how long have veterans in the region been asking for a much needed Veterans Affairs hospital. Our veterans are coming of the age that they cannot travel the required 250 mile trek to San Antonio. Life has taken its toll on their health.
Their service connected injuries continue and must be taken care of medically. Most of those have become chronic and need constant attention.
Our newer veterans need to be seen and start a medical chart on them to monitor any service connected injuries or sickness before they become fully chronic. And even though they are young, the distance needed to travel to get acute care is not attractive to them. Most will not bother with the red tape imposed on them by the VA.
And then there are those that oppose a VA hospital for the area. I know of veterans that have spoken against the idea, but yet I see them at the VA taking advantage of the services, their benefits. These are individuals that state that they do not need anything from the VA, yet are the first to file claims. I can understand private medical providers and their families being against a VA hospital and more VA clinics because it takes potential patients away from them.
Recognizing the lack of support at the national level from our elected officials, we must concentrate and start thinking like bureaucrats. The “common sense solution” being proposed now by the Veterans Alliance of the Rio Grande Valley is simply just that – a common sense solution. But it has to get the attention of Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki.
And as Congressman Henry Cuellar has told us in the past, “don’t get caught up in semantics.” That means if the new VA facility in Harlingen is not called a VA hospital per se, it is okay as long as it is a Comprehensive Medical Center that provides emergency and inpatient health care services. I agree with Congressman Cuellar on that.
A rose is a rose and you call it any other name, but its fragrance and sweet smell tells you that it is still a rose. So be it. If they decide to call it a Surgical Center, great, but let us include emergency and inpatient health care. Provide the services in that beautiful huge building being constructed in Harlingen. Let us take care of our veterans’ health needs here instead of at a faraway site.
Veterans are still working towards getting Secretary Shinseki to the Rio Grande Valley to meet with veterans. They will meet with Bishop of Brownsville Daniel Flores this week and ask for his support in asking Shinseki to come to the region and add emergency and inpatient health care services to the Harlingen Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic.
If you are in Harlingen and time is on your side, drive by on Treasure Hills and see that huge building under construction. That huge building and the accompanying five story garage is the future site for VA medical care.
Treto Garza is co-chair of the Veterans Alliance of the Rio Grande Valley. A Vietnam War veteran and prolific writer on veterans’ issues, Garza is a resident of Harlingen, Texas. His Veterans Voice column appears weekly in the Guardian.
