Letter: Failing to care for soldiers

We live in an alphabet soup world. When military scientists describe the "signature wound" of the Iraq war as TBI, we nod just as if we knew what they were talking about. We don't.

TBI means "traumatic brain injury". There are more than 1,700 military personnel who suffer from TBI which leaves them unable to do the most cognitive functions. One moment the person is normal and the next moment life has abruptly changed. One authority has said, "Since our brain defines who we are, the consequences of a brain injury can affect all aspects of our lives, including our personality." They may not recognize friends or family; they may not be able to recall what they have just read or heard; they may read like a second-grader. According to officials at Walter Reed, more than 25 percent of the survivors of bomb blast suffer from TBI -- which may not be obvious for several months.

The Brain Injury Center has received more money each year of the war -- $14 million last year. While they requested $19 million for next year, the defense authorization bill as passed by the House and pending in the Senate slashed the amount to $7 million. The spokeswoman for the Senate Appropriations Committee said, "Honestly, they would have loved to have funded it, but there were just so many priorities,"

So many priorities? Like cutting the estate tax?

Jim Mueller, of the VFW and a veteran of Vietnam, seemed to feel a lack of sympathy for congressional priorities when he said, "For our nation's lawmakers to deny advanced research that our military has earned with their blood, and for those same lawmakers to espouse patriotism and 'Support the Troops' rhetoric from the podium this election year, is shameful, hypocritical, and ignorant."

All require treatment and rehab over a long period of time. The treatment and research necessitate more money -- not less! We will spend over $84 billion -- that's billion with a "b" -- for new weapons but we can't put $17 million into healing those injured following their president's orders.

Barbara M. Edwards

Spicer