Post 7 ROLL CALL Phase II

Reporting to ROLL CALL Phase II  8/24/13  1:58PM

Hey Captain!

One needs to go back to ROLL CALL Phase I and see the 'RULES TO FOLLOW' and "STEPS TO TAKE"  in order to be caught up on and up to date on where we are now.  Getting a Veteran Advocate is "Rule 4".  Not to beat a dead horse, but I think the ride is over on this subject of getting an Advocate.  And, actually, if you are reading this, then I'm your Advocate.  And a pretty damn good one, too, I might add.

There are a lot of 'Wanna-Be's' out there.  These are the sorry characters who say they served in combat in Vietnam, and they did not.  Other problems stem from the simple fact that it takes 9 Support Troops to keep the one combat Troop on the battlefield.  These are cooks, truck drivers, doctors, mail room, etc.  One of the problems with the Vietnam War was it was long.  Now, we have Iraq and Afghanistan that both have run a long course, as well.  So, when these Support Troops in Vietnam had 'down time', they were bored.  So, lots of them got into smoking pot and shooting heroin.  When they DEROSed or "Date Eligible for Return from Overseas" came home, they often times had a $2 dollar a day habit in the 'Nam, but when they hit the streets of the Good Ole US of A, they had a $200 dollar a day habit because of the 'cut' in the 'junk'.  So, many of these so-called heroes 'totaled out' and dropped out and became Junkies and/or a bottle of Crown a day alcoholics and by the time they reached 45 or 50, they were a total mess.

So, some one came up to them and said, "You need to go to the VA and tell them you were a combat Troop and they will give you free Junk."  And, so, if you go to any VA hospital in the nation, lining the walls are these guys in their 'uniforms'.  And those uniforms are all the same:  dirty clothes, long dirty beards and a Harley Davidson vests.  They play the 'scam' of telling their primary care doctor that they are in great pain and drink a bottle of Crown each day, so the doctor 'has' to give the Scammer oxycodone instead of Vicodin.  This is because Vicodin and booze destroys the liver.  Jack Daniels and oxycodone does not.  And, now, today, oxycodone is one of the major illegal drugs being bought on the street for $25 bucks a pop.

So, there's just one example of the 'Scam'.  It goes deeper than that.  But the VA has now reached a point where they are investigating each claim to the maximum to weed out the fakes from the real Troopers.  And, that's one of the main reasons there are nearly one million backlogged claims at the VA today.

And PTSD is hard to prove, either from the Trooper's viewpoint, or the 'shrink's.  So, it is somewhat 'protocol' at the first meeting the Cherry Troop has in the VA's Mental Hygiene Clinic when his/her shrink asks, "Are you here for the money?"  That question in itself can lead to a good percentage of the Cherry Troops turning about face and quitting.  And, remember, Rule 1 is "Do not quit!"

It is my feeling as a long time student of the Black Snake's that anyone who served in combat has PTSD.  Some cases are more severe than others.  But, as an Advocate, I strongly advise the Cherry Troop to make a claim for PTSD the first chance he can get.  And, this is 'playing the game' and this is "for the money' but more importantly, it is for your health being your most important concern.  More to come on this.

LT