Authored by William Taylor via RealClearDefense,
On the eve of Veterans Day, a moment meant for gratitude and reflection, The Washington Post doubled down on its campaign against those who have served, accusing America’s Veterans of feigning mental health injuries as a means to secure disability benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The article, one in an unrelenting series of Veteran attack articles from the Post this fall, is disheartening and injurious to those who have sacrificed their minds and bodies for our country.
The series sparked an immediate backlash, with veterans and advocates writing to the Post in droves to slam the reporting as biased and misleading. And they’re right.
The Post’s articles risk leaving readers with the pernicious idea that it’s commonplace for Veterans and their private benefits consultants to scam the VA benefits claims system by using PTSD and other mental health disorders as an excuse to collect benefits from the government.
Mental health disorders are not mere excuses for Veterans to collect benefits; they’re a reality. Ryan Gallucci, Executive Director of the VFW’s Washington, D.C. office, put it best when he called PTSD one of “the signature wounds of modern warfare,” adding that it’s “either ignorant or deliberately cruel” to claim that conditions like this are fake and unworthy of benefits claims.
Mental injuries may not be as physically dramatic as a bullet or explosion wound, but too many Veterans hobble through life dealing with mental anguish, and some – more than 17 per day, according to a recent report – end their own lives early to finally be free of it.
America’s Veterans endured incalculable stress and anguish fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Post’s reporting does not contextualize exposure to the toxic burn pits, the constant threats of violence on patrol, and the grueling physical demands of war and counterinsurgency in 100-plus-degree and sub-zero temperatures for months at a time. And that’s not counting the horrors many Veterans store in their memories, like the dismembered body parts of comrades after their Humvees rode over IEDs – or the burned skin, torn muscles, and protruding organs after shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade that sprayed into fellow soldiers nearby.
These stressful memories can return, shaking us to our core. This is PTSD. It’s traumatic, it’s painful, and it’s real. I’m proud that my organization, Veterans Guardian – and the 150-plus Veterans, Veteran spouses, and spouses of active-duty service members who work there – have helped thousands of Veterans afflicted by PTSD and other mental health disorders get the benefits they’ve earned.
By glossing over the unfortunate truths of mental illness and accusing Veterans and those supporting them as fraudulent, the Post has belittled Veterans’ great sacrifices.
They’re also perpetuating an idea they’ve been conditioned to believe through the military, that they should “suck up and deal with” every challenge that comes their way. That standard shouldn’t apply when soldiers transition to Veteran status and civilian life. Civilians are not expected to “suck it up” if an insurance company denies a claim that should be honored.
The same principle applies to Veterans.
When recruits sign up for the armed services, they enter an agreement with the government and people of the United States. As soldiers, they would sacrifice their bodies and minds protecting the Constitution and the freedoms of Americans. But in exchange for these sacrifices, Veterans would receive benefits that help them manage health issues and integrate back into civilian life after serving. Veterans earned the right to receive these benefits, and they should be honored.
The VFW, in response to the Washington Post’s October 6tharticle casting Veterans in a dishonorable light for generalizing the bad actions of very few, perfectly summed up practically every Veteran’s feelings in three words: “honor the contract.”
Reputable claims consultants like Veterans Guardian and Veteran Service Organizations like the VFW may not always see eye to eye, however, we are in lockstep solidarity when it comes to protecting our Veterans, just as we are in our beliefs that the Washington Post doesn’t fully understand Veterans, the benefits system, and the gravity of their reporting.
These kinds of articles share the same hallmarks of the unfortunate reality of the misinformation environment around Veterans: inflammatory anecdotes, the inaccurate portrayal of Veterans as dishonorable, and the vilification of compensating our Veterans for the many burdens they’ve endured. I would ask that everyone that talks about Veterans and their struggles keeps in mind the potential negative impacts their statements can have on our Veterans and their mental health.
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