the dark side.
I have said many times how I was glad to serve in the US Air Force. i have not visited my dark side of being in the service.My dark side was the drinking and a couple of attempts to end my life.Not to mention my loss of enthusiasm.at one time I tried to keep my uniforms neat and clean I did not starch and press my fatigues as a lot of the other guys did and I was labeled as having a bad attitude for it.I did have problems with drinking as well,in fact that is where my alcoholism started.not that the service gave a damn,they said that I had a personality disorder.their way of saying yes you have a problem but that was caused by something other than being in the service.which is bull sh##.
I think that the service says that so they can avoid taking care of the vets and not pay them any compensation.They are still doing this especially for the service men and women who develop psych problems from their military service.In stead of saying your service caused this,they will say you have a personality disorder and it was prior service. That way they will give you an Honorable discharge,but not compensate you for your emotion distress that being in the service caused.I know first hand of thin tactic. I have an article stashed some where in cyberspace and as soon as I find it I’ll publish it on this site if I can.
I have not posted this lightly I have had this on my mind for some time.I have finally decided to share this.I have alluded to this problem on some other sites as comments made.
I did find the article that I wanted to add to my post,but alias I cannot add it.I do not know how.
I guess the best I can do is possibly post the link and see if you can locate on the web.this article was posted on ABC news called “questionable treatment for some Iraq Heroes” the original posting was July 12,2007. This is type of treatment is nothing new,it has been used in the past,it is just getting a little more attention now,since the news members have been inbeded with the troops. This is the best that I can do as far as posting the article,Ive tried every which way I know to publish the article to my site.
for those who would like to read the article that I have put in quotation marks go the abcnews.com and type in one the search section Questionable treatment for some Iraq Heroes.the article will pop up in a list of articles click on the one dated july 11 or 12 2007.this way you can read the article for your self.
10 Comments on “the dark side.”
Leave a Reply to Beth from the Funny FarmCancel reply
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Good Morning Mike,I\’m sorry for not coming by to visit sooner, but I have been a bad blogger lately. I just have not wanted to post or visit like I used to for some reason. It may be because of it being cloudy and rainy so much around here. We are already under a Tornado Watch until 11:00a.m. this morning and that could get extended as this will last thru this evening. There have been some Tornado Warnings to the West of us this morning as well. It looks to be like a very active day around here and more heavy rains as well. We have had our fair share of rain and then some. I enjoyed this post. I\’m like you, the Government will do anything to make them look good. I do believe it is the Government\’s fault at how some of the Service Men and Women end up after a War. I had an Uncle that served in the Vietnam War and he was down and drank alot. I had a Cousin who served in the Dessert Storm War and he commited suicide last year. I have known other men that served in different wars and it just messed with their minds alot. Take care my friend and have a great day. May God Bless You and Yours.Hugs,KarenH.
Thanks for sharing. It\’s hard to stand up to a bully, and in so many of these stories, it sounds like the military is bulling its own veterans out of the benefits anyone doing any job, let alone a life-threatening one, would deserve.
Karen,I was at my psych doctors today in fact and we taljed about this posting as well as some other things. I can relate to your Uncle and his drinking,my drinking did not start until I was in the service,and I finallu got it under control on Dec 17,1990 the day I finally decided thatt my alcohlaism that was caused by the service was not going to win.My condolences on the loss of your cousin.Noelle,yes this is a crying shame the the military does this,as I said about the article on ABC News Bob Woodward,their reporter who was almost killed and is fighting his own battles with a head injury.Has done a lot of reporting about our troops that have been in harms way and developed problems and are swept aside.Is a crying shame,but it is a pattern that probly started after world war 2,and has continued ever since. the conventional wisdom seems to be lets us them,that forget them.
Mike, I just read the ABC article. The military’s action toward SPC Jonathan Town is unconscionable. Had he or anyone had a “preexisting personality disorder,” it should have been diagnosed prior to his entering the army. If it wasn’t, then it should not be used as a rationale for denying him the medical treatment he now needs. In my three years as an active duty army officer, I saw the military use “the regs” in quite innovative ways to screw people, from creative charges in courts-martial to questionable 212 actions. I regret my participation in two of those, even though I acted on orders given me by senior officers, and wish I had had the knowledge and courage I now have back then to speak out for justice.Thank you for sharing your story and leading me to the ABC story. If you don’t mind, I shall write a blog post on this subject.Blessings to you.
Nick,as I have stated,I live with the monsters that the service created and they have the \”balls\’ to say it was a personality disorder. The thing is that I did not abuse alcohol prior to the service,hell I did not even drink before the service.and I sure as hell was not susicidal.both of these thing were the cause of my service.
I fully understand, Mike. When I was a staff officer, one of the battalion commanders I served under “required” his staff to join him at the officers’ club for drinks at least twice a week. I really wasn’t into drinking with “the old man”—I had a newborn son at home—but the consequences of not showing up at the colonel’s happy hour were dire.
I can understand the dire conquences for not showing up,I did show up for the happy hours and look what it did for me.I would susally close the bar at the end of the night stagger to the chow hall to grab a late night bite and go to bed than start it all over again the next day.Than when I got married,the sitting at the bar slowed down,but every time I went TDY it was right back to liveing at the bar. That is one of the reasons my first marriage fell apart.
Mike, I\’m so sorry that you are dealing with this. I have been reading some news articles recently where they are talking about the exact same stuff you are writing about here.My two nephews are in Iraq. Brothers. One is on his 3rd tour. It is making me personally crazy..Thanks for stopping by my site. I\’m swamped with work here on the farm now that spring has sprung. I can comment and read blogs a LOT easier in the winter time! **laugh**Take good care of yourself. Beth
Beth,Thank you for your visit,you are welcomed any time that you can visit.
mike, it is all to sad how some of our veterans are being treated… i fear for my brother who has newly enlisted and is so energetic and happy for the futrue… may i first thank you for the service you did for this country and secondly apologize for this abomination. i am very anti war but have always been pro soldier and wish the va could only do more. thanks so much for posting this for those out there who truly have no clue some of the things that go on behind closed doors in this great country of ours. tis only a shame that even today this sort of thing continues. you\’d think with all the money they make with their wars, they could at least take better care of the people who are willing to die for them.oh and one more thing i do not understand, with all the medical and psych tests before you enlist, how they can possibly say in their infallible system that this was something they simply overlooked before hand??? what happened to just paying a man for a hard days(or in this case years) work??