Iraq Veterans Against the War

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Letter to Obama on the Fort Hood Tragedy

On November 10, active duty soldier and Iraq Veterans Against the War member Michael Kern attempted to deliver a letter to Obama about the important mental health needs of soldiers as the President visited Michael's Warrior Transition Battalion-a military unit that houses the soldiers wounded and harmed by the costs of these occupations. Unfortunately, the Secret Service intercepted Michael before he could deliver this letter. Will you help us try to get these important changes to military mental health care made, so that a tragedy such as the recent one at Fort Hood never happens again?

President Obama:
 
In your recent comments on the Fort Hood tragedy, you stated "These are men and women who have made the selfless and courageous decision to risk and at times give their lives to protect the rest of us on a daily basis. It's difficult enough when we lose these brave Americans in battles overseas. It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an Army base on American soil."  The fact is Mr. President, we have been losing these brave souls on American soil for years, due to the mental health problems that come after deployment, which include post-traumatic stress disorder, and increasingly, suicide.
 
You also said, "We will continue to support the community with the full resources of the federal government." In addition to the FBI and Homeland Securtiy personnel, what we need is full mental health care for all soldiers serving in the Armed Forces. What happened at Fort Hood has made it abundantly clear that the military mental health system, and our soldiers, are broken.
 
You stated that "As Commander-in-Chief, there's no greater honor but also no greater responsibility for me than to make sure that the extraordinary men and women in uniform are properly cared for." We urge you to carry out your promise and ensure that our servicemembers indeed have access to quality mental health care. The Army, for example, has only 408 psychiatrists — military, civilian and contractors — serving about 553,000 active-duty troops around the world. This is far too few, and the providers that exist are often not competent professionals, as this incident shows. Military wages cannot attract the quality psychiatrists we need to care for these returning soldiers.
 
We ask that:
 
1. Each soldier about to be deployed and returning from deployment be assigned a mental health provider who will reach out to them, rather than requiring them to initiate the search for help.
2. Ensure that the stigma of seeking care for mental health issues is removed for soldiers at all levels-from junior enlisted to senior enlisted and officers alike.
3. Ensure that if mental health care is not available from military facilities, soldiers can seek mental health care with civilian providers of their choice
4. Ensure that soldiers are prevented from deploying with mental health problems and issues.
5. Stop multiple redeployments of the same troops.
6. Ensure full background checks for all mental health providers and periodic check ups for them to decompress from the stresses they shoulder from the soldiers they counsel to the workload they endure.
 
Mr. President, we hope that you will make the decision not to deploy one single Fort Hood troop without ensuring that all have had access to fair and impartial mental health screening and treatment.
 
You have stated on a number of occasions how important our military and veterans are to this nation. The best way to safeguard the soldiers of this nation is to provide all of our troops with immediate, personal and professional mental health resources.
 
Very Respectfully,

0-25 of 632 signatures

Number	Date	Name	Additional Comments:
632	December 08, 2009	Anonymous
631	December 08, 2009	Anonymous
630	December 08, 2009	Anonymous
629	December 08, 2009	Anonymous
628	December 08, 2009	Anonymous
627	December 08, 2009	Anonymous
626	December 08, 2009	Anonymous
625	December 08, 2009	Anonymous
624	December 08, 2009	Anonymous
623	December 08, 2009	Anonymous
622	December 08, 2009	Anonymous
621	December 08, 2009	Hannah Frisch
620	December 02, 2009	Brett McFann
619	December 01, 2009	Thomas Kelly	Another Veteran for Peace
618	November 30, 2009	Sydney Tuller
617	November 29, 2009	Hal Anthony	Equality does not allow for using war to establish policy; equality does not allow for using violence; equality does not allow for using future generation's money; equality does not allow for using hate and discrimination; equality does not allow for using American's to conduct the politician's very very dirty wars.
616	November 29, 2009	Ines Crespo
615	November 29, 2009	Kristine Otero	I am a teo time Iraq veteran that is suffering with PTSD and cannot seem to get any REAL help from our VA system. I receive disability, but untreated I cannot ever hope to live a produtive and normal life.
614	November 28, 2009	Don McKelvey
613	November 28, 2009	Roxann Wiseman	Our Troops Stationed Around The World MUST ALWAYS Have Enough Equipment Supplied To Them ON HAND In Any Place And Situation They Have Been Placed In. I Feel People Should Be Made More Aware Of The Fact BEFORE HAND WHEN YOU ENLIST IN THE SERVICE That They Will Find The VA SYSTEM Isn't What It's Supposed To Be. They Should Consider And Research The Facts. EXAMPLE: My Brother Served In The Navy. Just This Year Of 2009 My Brother Died At My Home Feb 15th. I Took Care Of Him Here At Home With Me Until The End. He Died From Liver Problems,Drug Abuse,Alcohol. He Needed A Liver Transplant. VA Done Everything They Could Do To Avoid " FINDING HIM ONE " .... " NOT INFORMING FAMILY MEMBERS HOW BAD HE WAS " ..... " HOW CLOSE TO DEATH HE WAS " ..... " WHAT TO EXPECT REGARDING HIS TREATMENT OF HIS ILLNESS HE HAD " ....... ROBBING HIM AND HIS FAMILY OF THEIR CLOSE AND PRECIOUS TIME THEY HAD LEFT TOGETHER! Done " EVERYTHING THEY COULD TO PUSH HIM OUT OF THE HOSPITAL BEFORE HE DIED SO THEY WOULDN'T HAVE TO PAY FOR HIS BURIEL EXPENSES! " " If A Person Dies While In The VA Hospital They Are Obligated To That Persons Buriel Payments " My Daughter Enlisted In The Army And Was In Iraq ....... Served Her Terms. I Talk To Her. I See Her. I Love Her. I Hear What She Says. I Listen To What She Says. I Watch What & Who She Is Today Since Her Military Term. I Watch & See How The VA Treats Her. How They Are Supposedly There To Help Her. They Do Not Listen. " Here ...... Here's Some Drugs To Make It All Better " ....... Now Go Home And Take These. My Daughter Was Top Notch In Everything She Did Or Is Expected To Do. Those Of You Who Know Her .... KNOW. SGT Stormy Dee Miller Was A 50 cal gunner and much more. She Can Explain Much Better In Your " Military Talk " Then I. Bottom Line: ........ I'm Her Mother. I Am A Mother Of A Veteran Whom Had Been Blessed With Comming Home From Her Service Term. She Spends Her Time With Her Family Where She Should Be. She Still Serves The Military Branches With The Best She Can Be On Her Job. She Ships Out Their Ever So Needed Supplies They Need To Conduct Their Day To Day Duties And Which Go All The Way To The Front Lines. My Daughter Speaks Proudly Of Her Service To Honor ALL HER FELLOW SOLDIERS IN UNIFORM! And I Am A Sister Of A Veteran Whom Was Not Treated & Honored Properly By The VA. I Was Robbed Of My Time Left With Him. Obama " DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE MEDICAL TREATMENT FOR OUR VETERANS " Obama " DO SOMETHING ABOUT OUR TROOPS ON HAND WAR EQUIPMENT SUPPLIES " Obama " DO SOMETHING ABOUT BRINGING OUR TROOPS HOME ! " ********************** YOU PROMISED! ********************** Sign, Roxann Wiseman, Texas USA
612	November 27, 2009	Silvia Tennebaum	the tragedy of Fort Hood might never ever have occurred if only we got out of Afghanistan and ended the Iraq misadventure NOW
611	November 27, 2009	Kristina Kates
610	November 27, 2009	Michael McAllister
609	November 26, 2009	Andy Thayer
608	November 26, 2009	Sara Crawford

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