If you think that the VA is the bad organization or agency, dig deeper. They are the end to a flawed process at the Wounded Warriors Transition Battalions (WTB) or units that were put in place to help soldiers receive the benefits they are entitled to and help them to smoothly transition back into their community.
However, that is not the case because some soldiers are not being treated for total injuries or mental problems and some leave in more pain than when they came into the WTB process.
[This is] because once a soldier reaches 400+ days in the system, whether treated or not, the system pushes them to the VA system that is already overload and backlogged with veterans.Dig deeper: How many soldiers have successfully committed suicide or homicide after the Wounded Warrior Transition Battalions sends them home with benefits that don’t provide them with enough funds to retire on and live a comfortable life after the military, thus adding additional stress and financial pressure on families that are not equipped or prepared to handle on a single income or receive a medical retirement so the soldier can continue to get the help he/she needs.
A Bronze Star Afghanistan veteran with 28+ years of service was assigned to Wounded Warrior Transition Battalion located at Fort Gordon, Ga., back on Feb. 21, 2013. [He] came in deeply depressed combined with injuries that occurred in Afghanistan that are documented by line of duty injury reports for lower back and knees.
This veteran also learned that she had the following: a mass on left thyroid, a full thickness tear in her right shoulder rotator cuff, a meniscus tear in her right knee.
This veteran shared with intake personnel that she was currently suffering/have severe migraine headaches, hypersomnia, wrist problems, ankle problems, hip problem, lower back and neck problems and was placed initially into the system at the Headquarters Company as “high risk for self harm or suicide” with anxiety and PTSD symptoms combined with anger and aggression issues.
The soldier was so doped up on medications and walking around like a zombie for the next 60 to 90 days that she could have signed over her first-born child and wouldn’t even known that she had done so.
When the soldier was placed into Alpha Company Wounded Warrior Transition Battalion (WTB) the line unit did not dot all their I’s or cross all T’s as they failed to send the soldier through a QTC Psychological evaluation for process to be rated by Department Of Defense (DOD) and VA.
[Even so,] they are ready to release her into the care of VA within the next 60 days, not knowing if she is suicidal or homicidal, and they don’t care, as they tell the soldier to get with a veterans service organization to file and start another claim process because she has exceeded their ideal goals of 380 days or less.To top this the soldier received 20 percent DOD ratings, which mean no medical retirement and minimum healthcare. She also received 40 percent VA ratings, which means she will receive $577 per month and minimal care on service connected injuries which they refuse to service connect injuries sustained in Afghanistan.
Just in August 2014 this location had one soldier (Sergeant S—) who committed suicide while at home on leave, so just imagine how many more unknown numbers of suicide attempts are here at this location.
So I strongly suggest that you dig dipper into the VA scandal, because it is not all their fault as the WTB feeds those soldiers into a healthcare system just to make themselves look good on paper.
Patricia A. Baisden
Forest Park, Ga.
