Page 803 - Total War on PTSD

sense of self-worth because they've contributed a lot of themselves, tried to do the right thing and tried to do the best that they could. And they're abandoned and pushed off to the side...and feel like they are a failure. These people still have a lot to offer, it might take them a little longer, but they are still part of the military, and they have served honorably. I just think disposing of personnel in this way is totally wrong. What happened to me was that I was medically discharged out of the military, and then I had to fight the VA...and that has been a constant fight with them ever since. That only serves to add further to the anxiety of it all. You just got done going through one horrific thing being separated from your team and people you care about, and then you have to fight another entity and try to prove something that you shouldn't have to prove. They don't take in the military who have physical problems or mental health issues.
The first time I went into the VA, they told me my signs and symptoms were not severe enough for them to help me and that I would have to go get my own help, so that's what I ended up doing. At the VA, the OEF/OIF Coordinator asked me how I 'really' was...and then said, "let's just get you in to see the doctor and get you some drugs." There were five of us who were Flight Medics, and we were separated from the rest of our unit. Towards the end they didn't even want us to come in on drill weekends...they didn't want us to be there. I was on the Honor Guard and I did different ceremonies and so forth. The one thing that happened to me, because I was in the Army and had working knowledge of weapons, I would handle the weapon part of the honor guard. Well, I was going to this function, and these were M1 Garad Rifles so they didn't work but I was told, during a call while we were enroute to the even to present the colors, that because of my current status, that I had to relinquish the weapon to the next person, that I couldn't handle it. How do you think that made me feel? I talked to my Commanding Officer afterwards and told him what happened and his only response was the word "Noted." That basically means I
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