John Edwards: Restoring Our Sacred Contract

[babylonsister]

http://www.vetvoice.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=B2A5DFE8A9F6E828D789C3D479DD73CD?diaryId=77

Restoring Our Sacred Contract
by: Senator John Edwards
Tue Nov 20, 2007 at 09:30:15 AM EST


I strongly believe we must restore the sacred contract between our country and America's veterans and military families. When our service men and women sacrifice so much to defend our freedom and secure peace around the world, we have a moral obligation to take care of them and their families. I congratulate VoteVets for launching the VetVoice blog, which I believe can do a great deal to heighten awareness and activism around these crucial issues.

We must begin by ending the war in Iraq and bringing our brave men and women home to the heroes' welcome they deserve. I have proposed a specific plan that would immediately withdraw 40-50,000 troops and withdraw all our combat troops within 9-10 months.

In my campaign for president, I have presented a bold, comprehensive set of proposals for our veterans. We should begin by guaranteeing quality health care to our veterans. We should fully fund veterans' health care and launch a stem-to-stern review of military hospitals to prevent disgraces like the neglect at Walter Reed. I will also make sure we provide a "plan for coming home" for every service member, with health screenings in a seamless, national chain of care. We also must aggressively resolve the shameful backlog in disability claims at the VA. As president, I will resolve the entire backlog my Memorial Day 2009, and will cut processing times in half.

We also should do more to support military families, who bear the brunt of our military policies. I will close the gap between military and civilian active duty pay, enable Guard and Reserve families to continue health coverage, give military families a voice in family policies at the Department of Defense, and do more to support Family Readiness Groups.

And we should provide educational and economic opportunities. As president, I will modernize the GI Bill and provide student loan relief for mobilized Guard and Reserve troops. I will also restore vocational training for veterans with disabilities and occupational challenges.

Finally, we need a comprehensive approach to the signature injury of the Iraq War: PTSD. As president, I will give service members more dwell-time at home, avoiding deployment patterns likely to lead to higher levels of PTSD. I will also avoid reckless military decisions like a so-called "preventive war" with Iran that could hurt our troops and their families. I will increase the resources and training for PTSD within our health networks, acting to remove the stigma from PTSD, increase counseling resources within the TRICARE and VA networks, permit veterans to access counseling outside of the networks, and improve training for health personnel to recognize and treat PTSD and establish uniform standards for mental health care. Finally, I will ensure outreach is extended to family members, who can recognize symptoms of PTSD and help their loved ones get the help they need.

[asdjrocky]

1. Great post...

Saw him on Nov 18 and he spoke at length about this.

[Tejanocrat]

2. Thanks for posting this

[Nutmegger]

3. R&K number 5 ...

... Sending this to the greatest for John Edwards!

Thanks! :hi: