And People wonder why Veterans are angry

Imagine this, you being told that if you sign on the bottom line, so many benefits will come your way.  You will be able to serve your country and make a decent living too.  You join for the education, medical, dental, housing and the other hundreds of benefits that are said would be earned but for many the service to the country is the real driving force.

You spend 2, 3, 4, 6 plus years putting your life on the line or just waiting until they call you into action.  You train from basic and even during your active time for that moment when your unit will get the order to suit up.  You tense up each and every time you hear of any unrest in the world anywhere or you hold your breath as some politicians shoots off their mouths about military intervention.  You serve during or take part in any conflict with hostile forces/countries and you travel the globe to train with other countries military not knowing when you may be called back for real.  You survive all this and when you finally need those benefits, you get someone telling you that your time and service is not only disregarded but disallowed.  You hear that all those things you lived through do not match up with what they have in their computer, therefore you rate nothing.  You feel disrespected, annoyed and yes angry.

Especially when it comes to PTSD because those making the decision about the hills and valleys you humped have not a single clue but are required by others also without a clue to repeat these words or read them from some script.  Same person sitting in a cushy office that was doing his or her college thing while you were doing the jungle or desert thing determines that you are not suffering from PTSD because you are not wearing a strait jacket, foaming at the mouth or talking an imaginary friend in form of them.  Because you are functional and confident to take on your disorder without drugs or a doctor’s note, you cannot be suffering.

The VA Health Care says “Post traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can occur after you have been through a traumatic event. A traumatic event is something terrible and scary that you see, hear about, or that happens to you.  The Mayo Clinic Staff calls PTSD “a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event.”     But to those who were elected or hired all vets who wore the uniform proudly and honorably must display dysfunction which is not what many of us were trained to ever do.  So vets stay angry and we remain so long after our discharge date because we remember those hills and valleys vividly while those who say they care or understand seems not and our livelihood is placed in their hands.  And you wonder why we are angry.