Afghanistan and Iraq: Military’s Health Care Burden OEF/OIF

And what do you hear from the media, from the talking heads who are supposed to be journalist, from the hired people's representative's, especially in Congress and especially from one side of the isle, both houses, constant drumbeat of condemnation at the VA for backlogs created not by the Veterans Administration but by the wars and the total underfunding responsibility of the people served!

Report chronicles the rising burden of military mental health care

December 10, 2012 - A study comparing the military’s health care burden during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq with its prewar burden found that hospitalization of active-duty troops for mental disorders accounted for 63 percent of the increases in hospitalization rates during those wars.

The report Friday by the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center calculated the difference between the total health care delivered to military members during wartime (October 2001 through June 2012) with that which would have been delivered if prewar rates had persisted during the conflicts. It found that relative to the prewar experience, mental disorders accounted for excesses of more than 6 million ambulatory visits, 42,000 hospitalizations and 300,000 hospital bed days -- increases of 35 percent, 63 percent and 48 percent, respectively.

The center, which conducts epidemiological and health surveillance studies for the Defense Department, analyzed treatment for 25 illness or injury categories for active-duty military personnel since Jan. 1, 1988. The study, “Costs of War: Excess Health Care Burdens During the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (Relative to the Health Care Experience Pre-War),” was published in the November issue of the Medical Surveillance Monthly Report released Dec. 7.

AFHSC pulled the data from the Defense Medical Surveillance System, which documents military and medical experiences of service members throughout their careers. The study included records for all active-duty servicemen and women -- but not members of the National Guard or reserves -- in fixed military and civilian facilitates.

“The total health care burdens associated with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are undoubtedly greater than those enumerated in this report because this analysis did not address care delivered in deployment locations or at sea, care rendered by civilian providers to reserve component members in their home communities, care of veterans by the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, preventive care for the sake of force health protection, and future health care associated with wartime injuries or illnesses,” the report noted. read more>>>

Excess Health Care Burdens During the Wars OEF/OIF

Two long occupations theaters, abandoning the main missions of why the military was even sent into that region with the invasion and destructive occupation of another. One finally over militarily the main missions abandoned of the other winding down, as those sent still seek to accomplish something of what the country walked away from collectively. The wars, both, costs for were rubber stamped with no questions, no bid blank check huge contracts for private sector contractors, off the books till the executive administration changed, both still adding daily to the countries deficits as the deficits were rising already Before 9/11. Very little thought as to the results of the wars costs, think Walter Reed scandal as to Military care "it's closing soon so no need to fund needed upgrades", especially for the VA budget. The new executive administration came in and finally added to the Veterans Administrations needs, the two previous Congresses, 110th and 111th, finally had started looking at the issues at the VA ignored before that with at least some success, but were obstructed in what they really wanted and needed so the other cabinet agencies reach out and try to help the VA as have those around the administration and are succeeding a little at a time.

From the people served 'Silence' on any 'Sacrifice', especially from the wealthy who increased their wealth through investments in or directly from and still are, as they have been for over a decade added to the previous decades and those wars!

Hey Rachel or staff of the show, anyone catch this report and the many others previous and put two and two together? You almost got it at the beginning but started out with this online report subject title: VA shocking disservice to American vets worsens. The VA's shocking disservice? More like, DeJa-Vu all over again, the Countries Citizens Served continuing Shocking, not surprising, disservice!