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I was told that if a recruit is having a hard time they just raise there hand and they get a break. Not like when I was in. Bunch of slack jawed fa####s.
 
I was told that if a recruit is having a hard time they just raise there hand and they get a break. Not like when I was in. Bunch of slack jawed fa####s.

This is nothing new. I routinely witnessed this observing Navy bootcamp in Orlando in 1984. This never happened in Navy bootcamp in Great Lakes in 1983. One year did not make the difference. The difference was, and for no other reason...Orlando was co-ed.

Keith
 
Let's not forget the brave men and women who have made us proud in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have and continue to lay down their lives for this country. To belittle them would be to belittle everyone who ever wore an American uniform.
 
Let's not forget the brave men and women who have made us proud in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have and continue to lay down their lives for this country. To belittle them would be to belittle everyone who ever wore an American uniform.

No one belittles them, it is the administration that is making them weak, under equipped and vulnerable from our enemies.
It is doing everything possible to undermine and damage our military.
Those that are there will pay the price for what he is doing.

_______________________________
At my age I shoot forward a lot better than I run backward.
Rearward movement is only used for a forward Advantage and better sight alignment !
 
Let's not forget the brave men and women who have made us proud in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have and continue to lay down their lives for this country. To belittle them would be to belittle everyone who ever wore an American uniform.

The problem is, I'm not so sure they aren't laying down their lives for American hegemony instead... :( .

Keith
 
the article sounds like a ton of political bs, excuses to bash each other.

let's try not outsourcing to pork barrel companies, a lot of basic tasks that have traditionally been by soldiers.

you know, the companies that contribute to politicians election campaigns.
 
I'm a Vet and I work at the VA helping my fellow veterans. I'm just saying that things have changed and hopefully not too bad.

Sincere thank for that.
I really like the VA medical.
Its 180 from what it was 20 yrs ago.

The changes are real. I was in the Corp in the early 60's and it
was transitioning from the Old Corp to the New Corp, but what it has become now
is far from either one., You know the era. What was called the Hard Corp was
being torn down and into a much "friendlier service" I went through Hard Corp Boot and ITR,
and the troop handlers and Di's were all pissed off about what they were being turned into.
When I hear what training today is like, I just
keep my mouth shut and pray for them. Pray they survive when in conflict.
Our Military needs to be the toughest in the World and Obama is pussifying it. That
greatly disturbs me.
The amount of equipment and manpower he is cutting back puts our Nation at extreme risk.
The National Guard was never supposed to be used as a global fighting force, and that dismayed me
when they did that after 9-11. It is supposed to be our home force only except in
an honestly declared world war, not mini wars all over the globe that they have no intention of winning.
 
Just watch what they're going to do to the VA when the wars are over.

You think they will ever let wars be over ? If they keep downsizing and weakening our military, the next war will probably make everything a mute point. Everyone else in the world is building up their military.
This administration is dooming the country if it is allowed to keep it up.

_______________________________
At my age I shoot forward a lot better than I run backward.
Rearward movement is only used for a forward Advantage and better sight alignment !
 
Just watch what they're going to do to the VA when the wars are over.

They couldn't make it any worse. There is nowhere but up for the V.A. Sadly, America will cease to exist before that happens. The V.A. brings a whole new meaning to words like incompetence and unaccountability.

I know there are some good folks that work there....such as the above poster, but many who work there HAVE to know how messed up they are. They HAVE to. There is no way you could work there and not know what goes on. Yet they keep collecting their checks. Somwday I am going to write a book about my V.A. experiences. They just keep getting.....the same. Bad. Not that one single soul on the planet cares, from patient advocate to senator. Especially not those folks with little " God bless our troops " flags.
 
They couldn't make it any worse. There is nowhere but up for the V.A. Sadly, America will cease to exist before that happens. The V.A. brings a whole new meaning to words like incompetence and unaccountability.

I know there are some good folks that work there....such as the above poster, but many who work there HAVE to know how messed up they are. They HAVE to. There is no way you could work there and not know what goes on. Yet they keep collecting their checks. Somwday I am going to write a book about my V.A. experiences. They just keep getting.....the same. Bad. Not that one single soul on the planet cares, from patient advocate to senator. Especially not those folks with little " God bless our troops " flags.

What region are you in.
I have had excellent care from them. Its not the same VA it used to be.

_______________________________
At my age I shoot forward a lot better than I run backward.
Rearward movement is only used for a forward Advantage and better sight alignment !
 
One of the biggest problem with our military is it is still trying to operate with a rank structure/system that is long antiquated. The officer/enlisted design is one that was developed to provide leadership with vast differences in education and intellect between the two. The EMs of today are no longer plowboys and hayseeds in from the field, and have not been for some time. Many EMs have as much, or more education going in than the Officers, and might be able to do a better job of leading. The officer cadre has become less respected and regarded as nothing more that high - paid 'cameos' as opposed to the type of leaders they once were.
 
I live in Vancouver. Use the Portland VAMC and Hillsboro CBOC. I'm not sure what region that puts me in.

I know I sound like a pissed off, disgruntled, old blowhard. Maybe even a tad mentally ill. However the things I am complaining about regarding the V.A. happen to me EVERY SINGLE TIME I have business with them. Not sometimes, not 75% of the time, but every single time I have dealings with them there is some sort of SNAFU that leads to another, then another, and so on.

I have written a journal of my experiences including names,dates, and times. Here is this weeks excerpt. Keep in mind that this excerpt is relatively small potatoes compared to many experiences. I only chose it as an example because it's the latest series of events.

I had two back surgeries in the last two years. Degerative disc problems. I had the first surgery and was up and about in a week. Everything went according to plan except that the wound site never quite healed. I went in and complained and was examined several times but according to them I was healed up just fine. I kept going back. After six months or so the P.A. who kept pronouncing me well decided that I " had a little infection " and she could clean it out the following Thursday in her surgical clinic. On Thursday I showed up and hopped up on the table. She checked me out and said, " I said I could fix this ? In my clinic ? " I replied that she had indeed, otherwise why would I be there ? At this point she makes a phone call and brings in a surgeon for an M.D. opinion.

Dr. Gaumond ( Best surgeon in the world IMHO ) shows up, looks me over quickly, and quickly dismisses the P.A. ( Whom I've never seen again ) Apparently I have a MAJOR infection and it's going to take some real surgery to fix it. I agree with the doc and we begin to set up the dates for pre surgery and surgery. I show up and go through the surgery and when I wake up my wife is standing there, crying. I asked her why she was so upset. She tells me that the surgery was MUCH more intensive that anyone had previously thought it would be. That they had to remove a great deal of tissue supporting my lower back to get it all the infection out. That I would need 2 months of recovery or so. That had I not continued to go back in and insist there was something wrong, that I would have been dead in six months. I meet with Dr. Gaumond and she concurs with what my wife told me. She also told me that I would likely need another surgery in a year or two to rebuild/repair the area that she had just excised. I go home and recover.

Everything goes more or less ok. I heal up. Except that it still hurts, even now. Deeply. Lots of swelling in places that don't ordinarily swell. Like someone kicked me in the lower back. Almost that paralyzing feeling you get....well, when someone kicks you in the lower back. ( Don't ask me how I know ) so I go back to the VAMC a year later. After 3 attempts in the ER I finally get a surgical referral. Mind you my primary care doc has completely washed his hands of this issue and pretty much all others except my blood pressure. He is good about managing that. He as been no help in any of this. By referral or advocacy. But that is another chapter.

Enter Dr. McConnell, surgeon. I was not immediately impressed with him. He's sorta.....old and he doesn't come across as some hotshot miracle worker. What I found out later was that he was a surgeon in Vietnam, a professor of surgery for many years, and pretty much knows everything about surgery one could know. More importantly, he agreed with me that something was in fact wrong and he thought surgery was reccomended. We set up dates for pre surgery and surgery. I show up for presurgical workups and am informed that he had suffered some sort of medical problem, would be out of action awhile, and that my case would be reassigned. Ok, I'm ok with that. Surely if he was going to operate....someone else will just take his place. Boy, was I wrong.

First I am told the mother of all V.A. lies. " We will call you and set up an appointment. " Never, ever believe that one because it will rarely if ever happen. After waiting a month I try getting through to someone to iron out the problem. That is V.A. fallacy number two. It cannot be done that way. Let with no recourse I begin at step one and hit the emergency room a few more times. Try number three I get another surgical referral and see another surgeon. A resident. A resident who decides that surgery is NOT in order, even after hearing my explanation of the previous six months events. I do not think Dr. McConnell was ever contacted throughout any of this BTW. Too easy, would have actually cleared things up.

Clearly I am not pleased with the residents decision so she refers me to their plastic surgeon. A few more months go by and I go in to se him. Arrogant little man. He decides my fate and gives me a thoumbs down in about two minutes. Remember, I am still in pain. Quite a lot of it. My primary care doc won't even talk to me about it. I think that he thinks I am " just trying to get drugs " I am not. I don't know why he would think that as he prescribes me PLENTY of drugs ( yes, those kind of drugs ) for other, lesser problems. Thing is that they just don't work for my current problem. No, pills aren't the answer here.

I leave the plastic surgery clinic rather....well, ok extremely pissed off. Yet another useless trip to the V.A., that place where meaningful treatment rarely occurs. My wife was scared the V.A. cops are going to get involved at this point as I am reviewing this whole matter orally in my outside voice. ( they weren't ) but some old vet pulls me aside and asks me if I had talked to the patient advocate. I laugh. I gave up on those clowns years ago. However, I was with my wife so I decided to give it another try and walked down the hall the the patient advocate's office. I go inside and wait.

She shows up and pulls up my records. We talk and she tries to help ( genuinely I believe ) She shook her head when I explained things and she compared my statements to the records. I could tell she was....amazed maybe ? Remember, this story is ONE incident in MANY. She says she will iron it out and that she will call me back. She was good for her word and did. Good news. She had talked to Dr. McConnell and the whole mess was ironed out....and that I had an appointment with him in two weeks. Yea ! Thank God or the deity of your choice it's finally over. I wait two weeks and show up for my appointment.

Imagine my surprise when Dr. McConnell does not walk through the door. Instead, I am met by yet one more Doogie Howser. This really throws me.....as I had just SEEN Dr. McConnell in the hall ten minutes prior. Doogie and his mentor ( another resident perhaps two years older ) decide surgery is not in order.........how about a nice referral to the pain clinic ? I won't go into what I think of their so called pain clinic. Been down THAT road before too. So, I give up and accept their pain clinic referral. On their way out I ask the two resident surgeons, " Wait, do I schedule the pain clinic appointment on the way out ? " Their reply, " No, we will call you. "

Do I even need to say that I've been waiting a month for that call ? That it will never happen ? Nope. Why ? Because I quit. I give up. Do I try to call the pain clinic schedulers and iron this matter out ? Nope. I give up. I don't want to go anyway. I already know what a joke their pain clinic is. Last time I was met by a nurse and a psychologist. I don't think a nurse has enough training or experience to be a pain specialist.......and a psychologist ? Why ? I don't need to take a test. ( read the definition of a psychologist sometime )

I am told that I should call the patient advocate's office, that they can straighten all of this out. Yeah, ummm. right.

I am still in a lot of pain. I am 80% service connected disability. This problem came from my service.

VAMC Portland,

bubblegum You

PS: Please do not tell me what I should do next. I am not open to that. Just buy my book someday.
 

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