Vets Health System in Need of Triage

[dcsmart]

SAN FRANCISCO - Eighteen U.S. veterans kill themselves every day. More veterans are committing suicide than are dying in combat overseas. One in every three homeless men in the United States has put on a uniform and served his country. On any given night, the U.S. government estimates 200,000 veterans sleep on the street.

Iraq War veteran Sergio Kochergin leads anti-war demonstration through downtown Seattle after testifying at Regional Winter Soldier hearings. (photo:Bob Haynes/IPS)This is the crisis General Eric Shinseki will inherit when he takes the reins at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The general, who retired from the Army after the George W. Bush administration ignored his warnings on Iraq, sat for his Senate confirmation hearing for VA secretary Wednesday, where he received accolades from Democrats and Republicans alike.

The chair of the committee, Senator Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, predicted Shinseki will be confirmed by the full Senate Jan. 20, the same day Barack Obama takes office.

Mentioning the retired general's experience having one of his feet blown off nearly 40 years ago during the war in Vietnam, Akaka told Shinseki he was "confident you have a strong sense of empathy to those who are served by VA and a deep commitment to VA's mission...This will serve you well as secretary."

For his part, Shinseki promised to be "a forceful advocate for veterans", saying Obama "charged me to ensure that veterans receive the benefits and services they earned and that the nation expects".
Text

FULL ARTICLE:
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/01/15-1