|
No war is like any war before it. Neither are the consequences of any war like those of previous wars. That certainly is the case concerning injuries to soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Medical skill and state-of-the-art equipment have meant that many injured military personnel survive who in times gone by would have died. Many limbs are saved that in another era would have been lost.
Besides the treatment of injuries, the injuries themselves are different, too. There has been, for example, a very large number of traumatic brain injuries. The natures of the weapons used by the enemy have seen to that. These injuries -- more than 1,800 caused by penetrating wounds and many thousands more from the shockwaves generated by improvised explosive devices -- require highly skilled, extended care. The terms of the care available to soldiers and veterans need to adapt to this special need.
U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly, D-Granger, is working on legislation to help meet the care needs of soldiers who suffer from traumatic brain injury. He intends to ask U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, to be a co-sponsor of the bill. On the Senate side, Evan Bayh, D-Ind., and Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., are introducing similar legislation.
In both instances, the bills would extend active duty status by one year for wounded soldiers suffering from traumatic brain injury. The reason for doing this is to make sure that these soldiers have access to the nation's premier private-care treatment facilities, which are not available under the restrictions associated with Veterans Affairs care.
Neither Bayh, whom Tribune Political Writer James Wensits interviewed, nor Donnelly, who recently sat down with the Editorial Board, regard their legislation as a criticism of the VA. Rather, both say it is an acknowledgement of the reality confronting the war wounded. Without the extensions, many will be left to face the readjustment to civilian life without the care they need.
We are pleased that Donnelly is reaching out to his Republican counterpart in southwestern Michigan on this issue. Bayh has said he is counting on broad non-partisan support in the Senate.
This nation is obligated to make the adjustments necessary to help those who serve it. Congress should move swiftly to enact this legislation. The need for it is great and growing.
|
