'Treat everybody as an equal'
Local service members candidly shared their personal experiences, both good and bad, with seeking medical treatment through the belabored U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs during an insightful discussion Wednesday morning with U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, at the Culpeper VFW Post 2524.
The former Virginia governor engaged about a dozen veterans during the 90-minute talk that also covered the topics of veterans' unemployment and a special day of recognition. Father of a young Marine preparing to head to the Middle East, Kaine said he is passionate about veterans issues.
"No state is more connected to the military than Virginia," he said. "My son is an infantry officer who takes control of his first platoon Monday so these are issues that matter to me personally."
Culpeper veteran Caleb Weakley participated in Wednesday's conversation having just completed his military service in the U.S. Marines. The 24-year-old enlisted at the age of 17 and did four tours of duty in Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan.
Weakley was shot twice and injured by explosives in two separate incidents, and spent about two years all told rehabilitating in the hospital. He had no complaints about his medical treatment through the V.A. though Weakley did express concern about how he perceived other veterans were being treated while he got special treatment.
"I never had longer than a 10-minute wait, but there is a big emphasis put on you, 'Oh, you're a wounded warrior.' We didn't do anything else that every other service member did," he said. "We don't really like that just because you're recently wounded, we going to run you around and everybody else can wait."
Weakley said it was a big issue for him and a lot of his brothers in arms.
"We got shot, we got blown up, whatever, we are all veterans, we all served, we all did our time - don't stereotype me because I'm a newer wounded warrior, I didn't get shot 30 years ago," he said.
Weakley said he loves talking with older veterans, but doesn't like seeing them have to wait hours for treatment.
"I have nothing but the utmost respect for the veterans who went before me and I don't see how I have the right to go around them," he said. "Treat everybody as an equal no matter what. My buddy is a triple amputee in California and this was his opinion as well."
On the issue of veterans unemployment, Weakley suggested giving service members more time to transition out of the military and more resources for preparing themselves for the civilian world. The young Marine also expressed concern about the stigma attached to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and the fear veterans have of disclosing they suffer from PTSD for fear of not getting hired.
Desert Storm army veteran Diego DeCastro, chaplain of the VFW Post, said he could relate having been diagnosed with PTSD while in the military.
"My command sergeant major told me, shut up, suck it up, keep on trucking and don't say anything because you will pay dearly when you get out," he said.
Kaine acknowledged the challenge of an increasing number of service members dealing with PTSD, in many cases due to multiple deployments associated with the modern wars in the Middle East.
"I don't think anyone in Congress thought this would last for 14 years, that folks would be deployed four, five times," the senator said. "What is the effect on someone for the rest of their lives if they'd had multiple deployments? There's a lifetime of care that comes with it. Bottom line, when a nation makes a decision to go into Iraq and Afghanistan ... we do have a need to be there to meet the needs (of veterans) we've committed to even if we didn't know what they all were. These are tough issues," Kaine said, "These are very important issues."
DeCastro reported a less than acceptable medical experience at V.A. hospitals in Richmond and Washington, D.C., where he felt he was treated like he was "just a number." His experience at the veterans facility in Martinsburg, West Virginia was better, DeCastro told Kaine. The Army veteran suggested opening more V.A. facilities in local communities.
He also had some advice for veterans looking to transition to the civilian working world. When DeCastro got out, he said there was no corresponding civilian job he could pursue.
"There is really no job out there for an artilleryman other than join the mafia and I don't like the retirement benefits so what I did I helped myself," he said. "You have to sell yourself to the outside world."
DeCastro said he converted all of his military classes and training into civilian language, and was able to get a job.
Kaine mentioned various companies who actively recruit veterans, and recommended development of a central web site veterans could access with state-by-state information about such civilian job opportunities. Community colleges are also a great resource for veterans, he said, with many readily converting military experience into college credits.
Weakley works for a California-based company specifically structured to put combat wounded military back into the workforce. He doesn't let his injuries hold him back.
"It was just a curve ball," Weakley said. "All you can do is wake up each morning and keep pushing forward. Every day is a new day. That's the way I look at it."
Retired Navy captain Jim Calhoun looked at the current situation with the backlog in appointments at the V.A. as something that should not have come as a surprise to anyone.
"If I was being treated the way these people are being treated, I would be standing on your desk," he told Kaine. "I don't understand why your staffers don't have periodical articles in the local newspapers advertising their availability to solicit concerns and provide assistance ... what bothers the hell out of me is why you don't know about these problems."
Kaine said he is cosponsoring a bill that would address the backlog in patient appointments through recruiting and training more medical staff, adding more V.A. facilities and allowing veterans to seek treatment through private physicians. He said nobody projected the budgetary impact of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that he's trying to reform the way Congress makes decisions about initiating military actions in the future.
"Even in the Vietnam War, which was politically unpopular, America taxed ourselves to pay for it," Kaine said. "In Iraq and Afghanistan, we just did it on the credit card. There was a lot of, we'll just do it and figure it out later."
Veteran R.E. Deane had nothing but praise for his treatment through the V.A. facility in Stephens City while veteran Michael Smith told Kaine he's hesitant to go back because of his past negative experiences.
Kaine said he supported former Proctor & Gamble CEO Robert McDonald as the president's nominee as the new head of the V.A.
"I was excited about it because of his military background and coming out of a culture where it is all about customer service," the senator said, adding that focus could be part of a significant turnaround in the federal agency.
Looking towards the national holiday in November, Kaine mentioned another related initiative he is working on called the Welcome Home Resolution that will give special recognition on Veterans Day to Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans.
In addition, the senator addressed the current deteriorating situation in Iraq while honoring the ultimate sacrifice made in Iraq by two Culpeper army veterans - Lenny Cowherd was killed in 2004 and Edwin Andino in 2006. Kaine said the young men's parents should feel proud of their sons.
"Their kids volunteered at a time when they didn't have to, but I know it makes folks worried," he said of increased instability in Iraq. "All we can do in a place like that is show an example. What we can't do is make the Iraqi government follow that example."
Kaine said the government of Iraq needs reform so that it provides equal representation for all Iraqis.
"I know this is no consolation if you've lost a child, but you do have Iraqi leaders standing up and saying the U.S. helped us and we made a mistake by asking them to leave at the end of 2011," he said.
The senator briefly addressed Eric Cantor's recent primary loss, describing it as a surprise, and saying, "I think people were worried he was more Washington than in the district." Kaine said he faced similar criticism when he was chairman of the Democratic party.
Finally, Kaine said he was looking forward to spending time over the Fourth of July weekend with his wife and son, stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. He ships off to the Middle East in March.
As for the lingering issue of the backlog in appointments at the V.A., Korean War veteran Kelly Creel was not surprised with the recent focus on the problem.
"This hasn't been anything new for veterans," said the 85-year-old Culpeper native. "It's been happening for years."
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