Humph...
Here we go again...
As the population of U.S. veterans becomes more diverse and vets’ needs, from employment to medical treatment, continue to evolve, the demographic remains among the most difficult to survey.
A subset of the general population, veterans are most easily reached en masse through Department of Veterans Affairs rolls. But that leaves approximately half of all veterans out, according to the Pentagon-linked Rand Corporation think tank.
Full article, HERE from Navy Times.
It seems like ‘we’ get a survey every couple of months from either the VA or .gov. And from what ‘we’ can see, our answers go nowhere. Agent Orange was one of, if not the biggest one. Those surveys went back to the 90s, and we finally got the PACT Act 2022 for ‘VA health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances‘... italics mine. So they snuck us in under the ‘other toxic substances’...
47 years later... And we’re losing Vietnam Vets at an average of something over 500/day. And yes, Agent Orange is definitely a contributory factor for those who served in country and in Thailand.
At least the Gulf War 1 and GWOT troops are getting treatment quicker!
But the reality is a lot of Vets have just given up on both the VA and .gov for any kind of care or help. I know I managed to talk at least two Vietnam vets into going to the VA and getting checked, and now both of them have over 50% disability, and one is getting treated by community care for skin cancer from Agent Orange.
If you know a vet, PLEASE get them to give the VA another chance, they deserve to have adequate care! Yes, I waited almost 20 years before I ever tried them, but honestly, I’ve been basically happy with the treatment and care I’ve gotten.
I retired after 26 years of service in 1991. Since I was retiring on the day we arrived back from deployment to Desert Storm I had my final physical exam on a Navy Destroyer Tender in Marseilles, France. They said they were unable to "certify" any VA disabilities, but that I could extend my service and get it done stateside. I just wanted out. Never made a claim. I have an appointment on 5 November with the VA to file a claim. 34 years late, but better than never.
So many horror stories from military and VA doctors misdiagnosis/mistaken treatment. But if you do your own due diligence through community care, you can get better treatment, IMHO. You just got to keep asking questions, finding the triage you need, and talking to your congressman if the VA doesn't help.