Well 1st off welcome to the farm brother (yes I still call you a brother even if you were in the NAVY...j/k haha). 2nd.... I feel ya bro, dealin with the VA is a joke. Ya know its bad when Id rather put myself in debt to have medical procedures done by private civilian Dr.s than have it done for free at the VA. I had it with them when they busted me on a piss test years ago and wanted me to sign a "pain contract" basically sayin if I was caught with any controlled substances in my system again they wont give me my pain meds...fuck them.
I was airborne infantry, served proudly in the 3/505 PIR (Parachute Infantry Regiment) to get out and have to deal with sub-standard medical care and the Gov tryin to tell me what I can/cant do on my own time...again fuck them. This shit hits a nerve with me every time. If the damn US govt wants to keep sendin boys in harms way to get the dirty work done then goddamnit they need to stand behind em with everything they need to readjust, both medically and mentally, into normal civilian life after their missions are over.
I have what sounds like very similar medical issues as you. I fucked my knees up on the many tactical/combat jumps Ive done over the years, Ive had 3 ACL/MCL reconstructions and 3 other surgeries where they took out meniscus/hardware. I guess jumpin out of a plane with 120 lbs of extra shit strapped to ya and hittin the ground like a flying sack of shit aint good for your knees...go figure eh. I also crushed my L4, L5, S1 and almost completely severed my sciatic nerve when a tree fell on top of me. Now Ive seen some shit and lived through some pain but Im here to tell ya Ive never experienced pain like nerve pain, its there 24/7 and is sometimes just too much to deal with. To make it worse none of the 9 meds Im on rt now help with the nerve pain. The Lyrica does help somewhat but not enough to really matter. Anyway bro don't mean to ramble but seein good men serve their country then come back to have to fight another war with the VA literally makes me fuckin SICK! Im with ya bro, if theyres anything I can do just HMU. Hope things get better for ya bro and good luck with that grow! MGG
The VA's treatment of our veterans and active duty soldiers is not a joke. Because veterans are dying, it is now a CRIME, one we need to find and punish the perpetrators for. I will tell you who they are; they aren't hard to find: look at the voting record of most republican congressmen and senators and you will see a curious pattern; MORE money spent for equipment, technology and surveillance, always cuts for our fighting men themselves. Cuts in VA funding, cuts in benefits, etc.
If every vet showed up on the steps of every capitol building in the country ON JULY 4TH, and spoke with one voice about how they feel about the breaking of the social contract between our military and its enlisted, the country will notice. Watch who tries to discredit such a movement...
I've watched as the basic social contract between corporations and employees got shredded over my lifetime. Now if you work for a Fortune 500, you can count on being fired before your pension is fully vested... if you even get one anymore.
If corporations and the government they control by proxy (K Street is a Very profitable enterprise, or it wouldn't be there!) Are destroying the fabric of our country. If there is no contact, corporations will have no employees- and ultimately, no customers.
Why is this so hard to figure out? Because every company wants to make money, EVEN IF THEIR ACTIVITIES ARE DETRIMENTAL TO THE SOCIETY AT LARGE, unless they are forced by law or social contract. This is why we need corporate governance laws. Don't believe me? Who complains loudest about these laws? ..and then get caught breaking them?
Either Korporate Amerika gets a serious kick out the door and onto the dustbin of history- or the America we recognize from the Constitution will be gone, replaced by Fascist doublespeak like 'national security' and 'limited freedom'.