our heroes are being treated like shite

do you see that man? he was injured in iraq. he lost the use of an eye. he lost half of his scull. he has tbi and of course suffers from ptsd. you would imagine all of that would be enough of a pile of problems. you'd be wrong. he (and his family) have ONE MORE problem.

walter reed:::::::::::::::::

Almost Home, but Facing More Delays at Walter Reed
Soldier Is Told Paperwork Errors Will Slow Retirement


By Dana Priest and Anne Hull Washington Post Staff Writers

After nearly three years as an outpatient at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Staff Sgt. John Daniel Shannon had begun the wrenching process of turning himself into a civilian.
He no longer wore the uniform he loved so much. He sported a short beard and traded his black beret for a baseball cap. Granted a 30-day leave to prepare for retirement as his disability case finally made it through the system, he moved his family to Suffolk, Va., and began to babysit his two kids, clean the house and grow vegetables. Given what had happened to him in Iraq -- the traumatic brain injury from an AK-47 round that shattered one eye and half his skull -- and the chronic post-traumatic stress disorder that followed, that was about all he could handle.
Last week, Shannon, 43, was back at Walter Reed, but not to say goodbye. The doctors' signatures on two time-sensitive forms in his disability file had expired. He would have to be reexamined by his doctors, he was told, and his medical summaries would have to be written all over again. Unfortunately, the sergeant in charge of his disability paperwork had not stayed on top of his case...........


if i was king george, i wouldn't even THINK of taking ONE DAY OFF, a vacation, i wouldn't even THINK of relaxing until i was CERTAIN every single veteran (not just from iraq and afghanistan either) was cared for. what i don't understand is, why are people still enlisting when travesties like this keep occurring?


"I don't even know what 'going on with my life' means," said Staff Sgt. John Daniel Shannon, after being told that paperwork glitches would delay his release from Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Photo Credit: Photos By Michel Du Cille -- The Washington Post Photo