A Preemptive Strike

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Most of you are thinking about the horrible plight of the people left in Afghanistan to suffer. There’s another plight that’s shaping up, and many people haven’t even thought of it. Have you ever considered what the men and women who served in Afghanistan — some of whom came back with terrible injuries — are thinking as they watch the news of the country falling back into what the soldiers were there to prevent? The VA is thinking about that. They launched a preemptive strike. The day that Kabul fell, and President Biden was mumbling nonsense to the chagrin of even fellow democrats, the VA sent out an e-mail. Let’s Talk About Afghanistan Now, I’ve been out for 36 years, so that doesn’t apply to me. But there are a lot of veterans and active-duty military members who ARE in that boat. They’re devastated. They feel like they’ve been thrown out. You have to understand something: before this happened, even in the days of a “pro-military” guy like Tr*mp, veterans were dying at the rate of twenty two per day…by suicide. The VA has no doubt recognized that the situation in Kabul is going to cause considerable emotional stress to many veterans who served there. It may even cause stress among the Vietnam veterans who are thinking, “Oh sh*t here we go again.” That’s why they sent out the e-mail so rapidly. Included in the e-mail were links to the Veterans Crisis Center, Vet Centers, apps for self-help, and other VA and private sector (such as the Red Cross) resources. You know I’m a critic of the VA when they do stupid stuff (like moving my clinic, then notifying me a couple of days after they did ), but three cheers to them for getting on top of this harrowing situation. Hopefully their fast reaction will get depressed Afghanistan veterans to the resources they need so they don’t become just another casualty of that war. The best song ever about depressed veterans…so sad that I can’t even listen to it.