The American Legion supports efforts to improve services, advance research and deliver compassionate treatment to veterans with special needs, such as:
• Those who have become homeless since discharge from the service.
• Those who suffer from traumatic brain injuries and/or mental illness.
• Those who have suffered multiple combat injuries, defined as polytrauma.
• Those who battle conditions related to Agent Orange exposure, Gulf War illness, radiation exposure due to atomic testing, mustard-gas exposure, and other medical problems linked, or presumably linked, to military service.
The Legion specifically urges VA and Congress to fund and adequately staff more Vet Centers, which provide mental health and occupational outreach to thousands of veterans who otherwise look to the VA medical system for help, or end up on the street.
The Legion also supports recommendations from the president’s Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded Warriors to enhance the focus on traumatic brain injury and PTSD among veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. The Legion also supports new VA polytrauma centers across the country, to manage
unique problems faced by OIF and OEF combat veterans.
Featured Image courtesy of VA