Afghanistan Veterans With Genital Wounds Receive Little Help from the Pentagon

[Iwillnevergiveup]

##snip##

"For a growing number of soldiers and Marines whose genitals are destroyed by blasts from improvised explosive devices while in combat, the Pentagon has decided it will not provide some critical reproductive benefits.

"To put it bluntly, if you are sent to war and an IED blast blows off your testicles, the U. S. government will not pay for your wife to have in vitro fertilization or artificial insemination using donated sperm."

##snip##

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/30/afghanistan-veterans-genital-wounds_n_1719896.html

SHAME! SHAME! SHAME!

[Iwillnevergiveup]

1. Grim, grim statistics

that aren't talked about:


##
"Since 2005, at least 1,875 American troops have suffered genital wounds, including 51 so far this year. They are among the 34,440 American battle casualties caused by roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan, a grim toll that includes over 3,000 dead and 31,394 wounded through May, according to the most recent Defense Department data.

"Most of those who suffer genital wounds also lose one or more limbs to IED blast, so the devastating loss of sexual function is compounded by the difficulties of adapting to life as an amputee with prosthetic limbs or a wheelchair.

"For these wounded warriors, the compensation policies of the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs can be infuriating. For instance, the VA pays up to $100,000 to the severely wounded like Mark Litynski to compensate for loss of income and to help finance adapting their home to wheelchairs and other needs. Late last year, the VA also agreed to pay up to $50,000 for damage to or loss of genitals in combat."

##

[pinboy3niner]

2. I had a buddy in Vietnam whom we called (appropriately), 'One-Nut'

He was lucky. The IED injuries in today's wars are devastating.

I was lucky, too. AK fire in VN blew away half my teeth and jaw, and hit my shoulder, and I was peppered with shrapnel. But all of those things were things that they could, and did, fix. Today, soldiers are sustaining more of the kinds of injuries that can't be fixed.

Eventually, reproductive benefits will be approved for these troops. But, as usual, many will for now have to continue to suffer and struggle, with the government that should be supporting them serving as their adversary.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

3. Pinboy (you deserve a capital "P")

Unbelievable what you endured and yet managed to maintain critical thinking skills as well as great insight and a sense of humor. I sincerely hope you're right about eventual benefits granted to grievously injured soldiers and Marines. This particular nightmare appears to be as silenced as the suicides occurring.

[pinboy3niner]

5. Thanks for the capital letter! :)

My sense of humor benefitted from hanging out with the pros. For 18 months, I lived on the same floor of the Army hospital as the amputees. NOBODY had a sense of humor like they did (though, naturally, much of it was black humor).

For me, this issue gives me flashbacks--to the issues of Agent Orange disabilities and the atomic vets, where the government fought it for years, but eventually the vets won official recognition of their injuries.

I'm confident that these vets eventually will win. I'm also kind of proud that Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) has been, and continues to be, a leader in fighting for, and securing, decent treatment for the veterans who followed us.

VVA began with the commitment that, "Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another." They've been doing a good job of living up to that, and I'm proud to be a Life Member.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

6. You're very welcome...just one more thing

[pinboy3niner]

7. Thanks...and just one more thing

My username is the last radio callsign I had in VN.

[pnwmom]

4. And the government should also pay for frozen sperm and/or embryos

BEFORE the soldiers go into action.