Restoring Our Sacred Contract

by: Senator John Edwards

Tue Nov 20, 2007 at 09:30:15 AM EST


I strongly believe we must restore the sacred contract between our country and America's veterans and military families.  When our service men and women sacrifice so much to defend our freedom and secure peace around the world, we have a moral obligation to take care of them and their families.  I congratulate VoteVets for launching the VetVoice blog, which I believe can do a great deal to heighten awareness and activism around these crucial issues.  

We must begin by ending the war in Iraq and bringing our brave men and women home to the heroes' welcome they deserve.  I have proposed a specific plan that would immediately withdraw 40-50,000 troops and withdraw all our combat troops within 9-10 months.  

In my campaign for president, I have presented a bold, comprehensive set of proposals for our veterans.  We should begin by guaranteeing quality health care to our veterans.  We should fully fund veterans' health care and launch a stem-to-stern review of military hospitals to prevent disgraces like the neglect at Walter Reed.  I will also make sure we provide a "plan for coming home" for every service member, with health screenings in a seamless, national chain of care.  We also must aggressively resolve the shameful backlog in disability claims at the VA.  As president, I will resolve the entire backlog my Memorial Day 2009, and will cut processing times in half.

We also should do more to support military families, who bear the brunt of our military policies.  I will close the gap between military and civilian active duty pay, enable Guard and Reserve families to continue health coverage, give military families a voice in family policies at the Department of Defense, and do more to support Family Readiness Groups.

And we should provide educational and economic opportunities.  As president, I will modernize the GI Bill and provide student loan relief for mobilized Guard and Reserve troops.  I will also restore vocational training for veterans with disabilities and occupational challenges.

Finally, we need a comprehensive approach to the signature injury of the Iraq War:  PTSD.  As president, I will give service members more dwell-time at home, avoiding deployment patterns likely to lead to higher levels of PTSD.  I will also avoid reckless military decisions like a so-called "preventive war" with Iran that could hurt our troops and their families.  I will increase the resources and training for PTSD within our health networks, acting to remove the stigma from PTSD, increase counseling resources within the TRICARE and VA networks, permit veterans to access counseling outside of the networks, and improve training for health personnel to recognize and treat PTSD and establish uniform standards for mental health care.  Finally, I will ensure outreach is extended to family members, who can recognize symptoms of PTSD and help their loved ones get the help they need.
Senator John Edwards :: Restoring Our Sacred Contract
Tags: , , , (All Tags)
Print Friendly View Send As Email

Restoring Our Sacred Contract | 35 comments
VetVoice asked each of the candidates (4.00 / 4)
to submit a post that was somewhat concise, to allow easy readability.  While that doesn't allow them to go over point-by-point details about everything they would do as President, we believe it provides a good overview of their priorities.  Because of candidate schedules, they will not be able to personally reply to comments.  We highly encourage readers to visit campaign websites to learn more about the candidates' plans.  But, feel free to offer comments, as the campaigns will read them.
Nice site (4.00 / 3)
Just registered for your new blog site. I'm with you.
I am... (4.00 / 5)

...a veteran that suffered a traumatic brain injury in Iraq. There seems to be a large disconnect in the type of care given to civilians with TBI(traumatic brain injury) and military members that suffer a TBI.

There is a group that works out of Virginia to try to get the care as evened out as possible for veterans and family members.

  They assign TBI veterans with case managers, coordinate for family members to attend support groups, and generally do all the things that care coordinators should do with brain injured personnell.

 They have aproached by the DoD as well as the DVBIC(Defense and Veteran Brain Injury Center) and have been stonewalled by those two military organizations.

 As a president what would you do to make sure that the military and VA health care organizations do all they can to reach out to the community to get help, in order to get the best quality of care for all injured veterans?

Brian McGough

 

I like the fact that you plan to (4.00 / 4)
reduce all combat troops within a short period, Senator Edwards.  I get the sneaking feeling that if we did remove the combat troops, the Iraqi people would take back their country.
I think you're right (4.00 / 2)
Jerry Feldman did a diary at kos about 4 words that should become the frame for talking about ending this war:

troops leave, violence drops.

The quote was taken from an article in the International Herald describing the Brittish soldiers leaving Basra, and the affect it had on the violent attacks there. Dramatic decreases.

Congressional Dems say that history will call the Bush regime a "miserable failure."
What will history say about those who sat back and let it happen? IMPEACH!

[ Parent ]
I agree, it was an excellent diary (4.00 / 1)
A great story. And an even better frame.

IIRC, Brandon did a diary on the same story here and at Dkos.

[ Parent ]
It's getting hard to keep up (4.00 / 1)
with so many great sites and sources of information. Plus, I'm getting fairly depressed with the news of late, and am sort of stepping back for (hopefully only) a bit. Too much SSDD.

Thanks, Brandon and votevets for another good'n.  

Congressional Dems say that history will call the Bush regime a "miserable failure."
What will history say about those who sat back and let it happen? IMPEACH!

[ Parent ]
Poor us (0.00 / 0)
We don't have to depend on the COM (Corporate Owned Media) to get our information.
[ Parent ]
Found the dkos one by Brandon (0.00 / 0)
Here.
[ Parent ]
thanks (4.00 / 4)
For Post.

JS

Iraq War Veteran

Chairman, VoteVets.org

they also need to support Mandatory funding (4.00 / 4)
Veterans deserve full healthcare, not rationed by availability of funds, until Universal Helathcare becomes a reality, veterans should be treated like Medicare recipients, you go to the doctor and the problem gets resolved in a timely manner not 6 months to a year later, if the VA can not do it, then give veterans Medicare part B cards at no cost and let them go to any medical facility they want for prompt care. A heart cath should not be delayed 3-4 months as is now done in VA hospitals, when a civilian hospital and doctor can get it done within 48 hours.

Unnecessary deaths are happening due to this.

Lets not forget... (4.00 / 3)

 That there are a lot of Military Treatment Facilities that are only seeing active duty members for mental health issues. While the care at MTF's may not be the greatest at all times, it is even harder to find a civilian health care provider who can deal with combat PTSD as opposed to other trauma related events.

Brian McGough

[ Parent ]
Thanks for coming over to VetVoice! (4.00 / 1)
Welcome testvet! I have followed you writing at the big Orange and am glad to see you signed on here.

Your observations on VA issues will be a benefit to readers here.

Rick

I feel more like I do now than when I first got here!

[ Parent ]
I back Edwards for president (4.00 / 2)
and "scared contract" has a nice ring, but it's more of a slogan than a reflection of history. Vets have often had a rough time getting back to civilian life. It's a sign of callous neglect by the government and citizenry -- not a sacred contract, I'm afraid. Not that I was mistreated or neglected myself. I was in combat in Vietnam and did not need help returning in 1968. The GI Bill helped pay for graduate school. Yet I see some of my buddies now at unit reunions and some are still suffering PTSD. They could have benefited from early intervention. More than anything, we need an end to useless wars, stupid wars (as Obama says), and stop damaging our young people.
hear hear (0.00 / 0)
deeds, not words.  well said.

p.s. follow the money.  vote your conscience

[ Parent ]
Sacred, not scared (0.00 / 0)
Of course, I meant to type "sacred contract" in my previous post.
Military Medicine (4.00 / 1)
What is your position concerning Walter Reed in particular and military medicine in general?
Restoring Our Sacred Contract (4.00 / 3)
I'm a military mom and have followed Senator Edwards dedication and commitment to helping the poor and those in need in our country.  I believe that if he is elected president, he is the only one who would actually do something tangible to help our military, vets and their families ~ as compared to the others candidates who I see as giving mostly "gauzy" ideas.  Many candidates have plans and ideas and say things that sound good.  I believe that Senator Edwards is the only man with personal character, resume,  and needed abilities to fight those who might not want to make the needed changes.
I'm from North Carolina (4.00 / 1)
and I will vote for any Democrat EXCEPT for John Edwards.  He's just full of rhetoric.  That's why in polls among NC democrats he comes in around 18%.  He showed simplistic foreign policy by co-sponsoring Leiberman's Iraq War Resolution, and showed where his domestic priorities were when he traveled to California for a fundraiser instead of taking care of his constituents in eastern NC during Hurricane Isabel.  He's lucky our democratic primary is in May.      
[ Parent ]
Farewell Gift to Veterans from the Lame Duck Commander-in-Chief: President Bush Nominates New Secretary of Veterans Affairs (4.00 / 3)
Over three months after Jim Nicholson announced his resignation from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), President Bush nominated a new member for the cabinet.  The nomination occurred on October 30, when the Senate confirmation hearings for Judge Michael Mukasey were grabbing news headlines.

The nominee, retired Army Lieutenant General James Peake, is a combat-wounded Vietnam veteran and Purple Heart recipient.  He holds an M.D. degree, and has many years of experience in the Army Medical Service Corps.  Does he have other qualifications for leading the second largest government agency? The VA provides services for America's 24 million military veterans with a staff of 235,000 and an annual budget of nearly $100 billion. The VA's 1,400 medical centers and clinics provide health services to 5 million veterans, and nearly 3 million veterans and their dependents are provided disability benefits from 58 regional benefits offices.

Dr. Peake currently serves as Chief Medical Director and Chief Operating Officer of QTC Management, which provides military veterans with disability benefit examinations under contract to the VA.  This relationship might create conflict of interest for Dr. Peake, who served as Surgeon General of the Army from 2000-2004.  During Dr. Peake's tenure, the Army began treating soldiers returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Failure to adequately predict the high numbers of soldiers with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) left the Army unprepared for providing needed care to wounded warriors.

Army leadership began improperly discharging record numbers of soldiers for personality disorders and drug abuse following their return from combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, rather than allowing the soldiers to seek medical treatment.  The personality discharges have a characterization (other than honorable) that usually prevent veterans from qualifying for VA health care and benefits, resulting in health problems like post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury remaining undiagnosed and untreated.  "Gross Negligence," inferred another comment on this blog.  So this is the gift, the Gift of Incompetence, that the President wants to give to veterans during his last months in the Oval Office.  If this nomination of Dr. Peake is confirmed, the 44th President of the United States will likely have the task of restoring credibility to the Department of Veterans Affairs.  Our new President will hopefully recognize that what is more important than an M.D. degree for leading the VA is creative problem solving experience and proven leadership.

Many comments on James Peake's nomination underline the need for him to prove himself:

"The burden is on Dr. Peake to prove to veterans around the country that he can be the honest, independent advocate we need to turn the VA around," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee and a torch-bearer for veterans.
Some, like the new national commander of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Commander, Robert T. Reynolds, are unable to stand up be an independent voice for veterans and recognize the incompetence of James Peake in his four years as Army Surgeon General due to their paid employment with VA.

As reported on Public Radio, veteran suicide was noted at 'epidemic levels' in 2005, with 120 suicides per week.  This is double the overall rate for adult suicides in America.  Would that have happened if the Army and the military services and the Department  of Veterans Affairs were taking good care of their people?

If you'd like your senators to stand up for veterans and vote against a nominee that lacks proven leadership experience for heading the department that provides services for America's veterans of military service, please contact them to communicate your feelings on the nomination of Dr. James Peake to be the next Secretary of Veterans Affairs.  Senate confirmation hearing is scheduled for 5 December, Time: TBA. The President will be unable to make recess appointments as he did during the 109th Congress since Senate leadership has scheduled pro forma sessions with no recess in November.

References: Senate Committee Hearing: http://akaka.senate.gov/public...

Veterans Day message from Senator Daniel Akaka, Chairman, Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee:

http://akaka.senate.gov/public...

To find contact data for your senators:

http://www.senate.gov

Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs:
412 Russell Senate Bldg.
Washington D.C. 20510

Democratic Staff
Phone Number: (202) 224-9126

825A Hart Senate Bldg.
Washington D.C. 20510

Republican Staff
Phone Number: (202) 224-2074

just to point out an error (0.00 / 0)
personality discharges are an Honorable Discharge, unless the soldier has  prior misconduct, in which case it is General, Under Honorable Conditions. That's how it works in the Army anyway.

I'm on twitter.
[ Parent ]
Nancy (0.00 / 0)
This is deserving of its own diary.  
[ Parent ]
Thanks for Posting (4.00 / 3)
I am glad to see you committed so quicklky to post here.  I agree that we can fight the problems of PTSD and TBI much smarter - I am working withthe Brain Injury Association of Kentucky, which is trying to coordinate with the Army's and Marines'  "Wounded Warrior" programs.  However, no one can ID those returning vets with issues because of HIPPA  - we need to work this out.  

Semper Fi
The people I work with.. (4.00 / 2)
...in Virginia have offered their services for FREE!

And the DoD still shut them out as well as the DVBIC.

I think it has to do with the military mentality of "We Dont Need any HELP!"

Something has got to give.

Brian McGough

[ Parent ]
Troops out of Iraq in 9-10 months? (0.00 / 0)
40-50K out immediately?  

I've heard many experienced military people--Democrats--say that's not physically possible.  It's a nice promise.  But from everything I've heard from the likes of retired Admiral and now Congressman Joe Sestak and retired General Batiste (he's a Republican but campaigning for Dems), it cannot be done without leaving behind a mess, and they are not talking about a political mess; they're talking about an enironmental and safety mess.  I'd like to hear specifically why Senator Edwards thinks Congressman Sestak and General Batiste are wrong.  

Thanks Senator Edwards (4.00 / 3)
Many service personnel have been stationed in Iraq for extended and renewed stays.  May I suggest that families of all of those who served will need attention, even if PTSD is not at issue in a particular case.  As a child of a Vietnam War vet who spent a great portion of my childhood overseas, I can tell you that the lack of a parent and spouse for extended periods of time can damage the family structure. My experience is that the military health system doesn't always recognize the strain placed on families.  Thanks, Karen
Reconciliation (4.00 / 1)
Mr. Edwards,

The fundamental issue that is very clear encompasses each challenge that we face as U.S. citizens.  It is not only a challenge for our elected leaders/representatives, but also for each individual who is responsible for a contribution to the fabric of this great nation.

Our people, today, are overworked, underpaid, overtaxed, and under informed.  We have developed a lack of trust in our government that has not been eased for too long.  When a majority of the public wants its leadership to act and only sees inaction, it leads many of us to believe that our neighbors in state and national congress do not have the fortitude to do the right thing.  Because we, as regular citizens, cannot spend our entire day gathering together and holding the leadership accountable, the issues just continue to go without tending; immigration, health care, the War on Terror, economics, trade policy, and more.

The only word that comes to mind is exploitation.  Our nation's greatest servants are some of the least paid professionals in this great nation; school teachers and members of our armed forces.  Yet, they work more hours, endure more stress, and have more ultimate responsibility than the elected officials who set their pay (without these two professions, there would be no elected officials).

I am writing this for each of our representatives and presidential candidates who have been respectful enough to take the time to come and make a comment here.  I have yet to make my final decision on who I will vote for in the S.C. primary in just a few short weeks.  I will say, though, that as a young man I have no intention of sitting by or letting myself being so distracted by life that I do nothing when our leadership does nothing with our contributions.  Who will break the cartel of catastrophe that has engulfed our nation for the last decade?  Who will share the American dream with the American People?

Semper & Respectfully,

Kent D. Fletcher
Former 1stLT-USMC
Veteran - Operation Iraqi Freedom

Spoken like a future (0.00 / 0)
member of Congress.

Future Congressman Kent Fletcher. Has a good ring.

[ Parent ]
And I'll be saying this with all of them.... (0.00 / 0)
October 11, 2002

H.J. Res 114

Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution

Senator Biden (D) - Yea
Senator Clinton (D) - Yea
Senator Dodd (D) - Yea
Senator Edwards (D) - Yea
Senator McCain (R) - Yea
Senator Thompson (R) - Yea
Representative Hunter (R) - Yea
Representative Tancredo (R) - Yea

Representative Kucinich (D) - Nay
Representative Paul (R) - Nay

Lets see, who are the only candidates to never vote for this war nor never vote to fund this war?

Who are the only candidates that have been right since the beginning?

Don't get me wrong, the 8 candidates that got the most important vote of their career wrong are good people, but do they deserve to be President when they definitly made the wrong decision?

Go ask the more than 3,800 families if the 8 candidates that voted incorrectly back in October 2002 should be rewarded the Presidency of the United States.

Vote your conscience people!!!  

Veterans benefits (0.00 / 0)
I am a veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars. I have witnessed how veterans have been shortchanged on many of the benefits they were promised over the years.

I have been following John Edwards since his first run for president He is a man with a mission. He will work hard and leave no stone unturned to provide all the benefits promised veterans of all conflicts. No candidate will work harder nor be more convincing to the american public that this is the right thing to do than John Edwards.

Not only is he the champion of the military present and past but he is also the best hope for all working people in this country.

A vote for John Edwards is a Vote for a much better America. Bob

Thank you (0.00 / 0)
Sir, it means alot that you have added your voice to ours on this site.  Veterans are tired of having other people put words in their mouths and Vetvoice allows us to speak for ourselves.  

For me, the key issue is proper dwell time, which you have addressed.  The loss of proper dwell time has made me feel lied to by my government and the military, they expect me to keep the oath I made, how come they cannot keep theirs?  Proper dwell time would solve alot of the problems we have today.

Thank you for caring about the troops, it means something to us.

Stealing 2008 (0.00 / 0)
http://www.nodirtytricks.com

Believe it or not, the Dirty Trick is... back from the dead
October 24, 2007

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the right-wing's dirty trick -- to steal the White House in 2008 using a sneaky California ballot initiative -- is back from the dead.

Vowing to spend "whatever it takes to make the June ballot," right-wing consultant David Gilliard announced that a team of veteran Republican campaign strategists will revive the previously abandoned dirty trick.

It sounds like an episode of "The West Wing," but Bradley Whitford will be the first to tell you that this dirty trick is real -- and dangerous. The so-called "Presidential Election Reform Act" would result in the Republican theft of at least 20 electoral votes -- the equivalent of winning Ohio. Rather than win fair-and-square, the Swift-Boat cabal thinks it can steal the White House by putting their dirty trick on the June 2008 ballot, changing the rules of the presidential campaign just a few months before the general election in November.

Despite the collective people-powered push-back by the Courage Campaign's netroots-driven "No Dirty Tricks" coalition, strong campaigns by the California Democratic Party and Fair Election Reform, and withering critiques of the initiative from liberal and conservative newspaper editorial boards across the state -- these dirty tricksters still think that they can pull a fast one on Californians.

The desperation of these right-wing consultants would be laughable if they weren't so frighteningly effective at stealing elections. As just one example, two of the top consultants working on reviving this scary ballot initiative were on the campaign staff of the infamous Katherine Harris -- the Secretary of State who helped George W. Bush steal the 2000 "hanging chads" election in Florida.

We killed the first attempt to get this dirty trick on the California ballot. Now we've got to kill the second, even more ominous dirty trick.

Together, we can stop the right-wing from trying to steal the White House. Again. Please take action today to support our netroots-driven and grassroots-empowered campaign to defeat these dirty tricksters:

I too am from North Carolina (0.00 / 0)
and you can better believe that I would vote for John Edwards above any other candidate...

Obviously, some people are still living in the past...I live in the here and now and John Edwards is this country's last hope.

Uncounted (0.00 / 0)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=VSd...

More Dead Because of Ohio - Music Video

http://www.uncountedthemovie.com/

Movie Trailer - UNCOUNTED The New Math of American Elections

Veterans Issues (Soft or Hard) (0.00 / 0)
Senator Edwards

Sir the Cold War Medal has been the political football for eight years and your having prior notice (you posted a poll) you have yet to state your stand on this soft issue so how do veterans trust you about the hard ones?

For decades veterans issues have become the football being passed back and forth by both parties what shall you do to change this?

Glen Talon ACWV N.H.
UNDIQUE VENIMUS

Restoring Our Sacred Contract | 35 comments
VetVoice on Social Media
Follow rockrichard on Twitter

VoteVets.org on Facebook
    		•
    VetVoice Recommends

    "The War I Always Wanted,"
    By Brandon Friedman

    "The welcome mat for memoirs by veterans of operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom might never wear out so long as they write with the savvy of Brandon Friedman . . . Friedman's take is vivid, frank, precise and dramatic." --Military Times

    "Add Brandon Friedman's The War I Always Wanted to the ranks of outstanding non-fiction produced by officers from elite combat units in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Always truthful, often excruciatingly so, The War I Always Wanted rises at numerous points to the level of literature." --Steven Pressfield, author of Gates of Fire

    Buy The War I Always Wanted here.

    "A Time To Lead,"
    By General (Ret.) Wesley K. Clark

    "A Time To Lead confirms the rewarding benefits of military service at a time when such service is experiencing considerable strain. It also includes a comprehensive description of America's current national imperatives, which deserve serious consideration." --General Alexander M. Haig, Jr., former Secretary of State

    "This is a primer on leadership forged in battle and by decades of experience. . .This isn't just a book; it's a manual for leading people and living a good life." --Barry McCaffrey, General, USA (ret.)

    Buy A Time to Lead here.

    "Love My Rifle More Than You,"
    By Kayla Williams

    "Whip smart, sassy, with a mouth as foul as a sailor's, 28-year-old Sergeant Kayla Williams. . .tells what it's like to be a female soldier in Iraq." --Booklist

    ". . .echoes military memoirists from Julius Caesar to Ernie Pyle." --Publishers Weekly

    ". . .a shocking, on-the-ground view of one military woman's experience in Iraq." --Bookmarks Magazine

    Buy Love My Rifle More Than You here.

    "How to Break a Terrorist,"
    By Matthew Alexander

    "...a riveting, fast-paced account that reads like a first-rate thriller." --Publisher's Weekly

    " ...an absorbing behind-the-scenes look at the secret intelligence war within a war." --Military.com

    Buy How to Break a Terrorist here.
    Search

    Advanced Search
    RSS Feed Links

    Subscribe to VetVoice in a feed reader!

    Subscribe to VetVoice by Email!
    Diaries and comments at VetVoice do not necessarily represent the views of VoteVets.org. VetVoice will strive to remove any illegal material as soon as it is flagged. Similarly, VetVoice will use its discretion in determining whether to remove exceedingly offensive material. However, between posting and removal, any offensive or illegal material does not reflect the condoning or endorsing of said material by VoteVets.org or VetVoice.
    Similarly, the views expressed on this website are those of the authors alone. Opinions on this website do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Defense or any of its components.
    Menu

    Make a New Account

    Username:

    Password:


    Forget your username or password?

    Front Page Writers
    PTSD Resources
    TBI Resources
    IRR Information
    Casualty Reports
    VA Information
    Support the Troops
    Veteran Candidates We Support
    Congressional Committees
    Contact Your Elected Leaders
    Sites We Like

    Paid for VoteVets Political Action Committee. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. VoteVets Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) organization which primarily focuses on nonpartisan education and advocacy on behalf veterans and their families. VoteVets Political Action Committee is a federal political committee which primarily helps elect Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran candidates and educates about veterans and military issues aimed at influencing the outcome of the next election.

    Site Design: Articulated Man

    VoteVets Political Action and Vote Vets Action Fund are separate organizations.

    Powered by: SoapBlox