since9
Campaign Veteran
Thank you!
News: "A new clinic for veterans is coming to Colorado Springs. Congressman Doug Lamborn made the announcement Saturday."
Again, thank you!
I'm a fairly well-adjusted USAF retiree. Yet in the apartment complex in which I live, just 0.15 miles (769 feet according to Google Earth) from your Colorado Springs offices, there are at least 3 folks of the 24 who live in in my building alone who suffer from various disorders associated with their military commitment to Afghanistan or Iraq. Some of them are struggling just to get by, and these are the ones who've managed to find post-service jobs. The others are hugely struggling to the point of being evicted for non-payment of rent (and some of them have been evicted for that reason).
Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating any sort of welfare state, here. What I'm saying is that most of these guys and gals, given the right caring and loving (agape) approach from anyone who has "been there, done that" will overcome their war-induced disabilities and rise to help others.
Whatever disabilities I might have these days are not the result of war, but of the ineptitude of one military doctor who should not be a member of the profession of medication in any country. Yes, he's that bad. He rode herd on the denial of sleep medication for 34 months while I was stationed at Ramstein Air Base, between 2005 and 2009. During 34 months of chronic insomnia, this "docter" denied me sleep meds throughout this nearly three-year period, and was instrumental in convincing three squadron commanders that I should be booted out of the service.
Of those three commanders, only one had more medals on their chest than I. I'm not saying that count's for something. I'm simply saying that's a player in all of this, in that I've "been there, done that" more than 2/3 of my last three commanders, all of whom bowed down to the Ramstein 4-star who tried (and thankfully failed, in large part due to your intervention) to boot me out of office.
Yes, officer. I was a USAF officer, and I took an oath of office. My commission was signed by President George H. W. Bush. Althoguh I am retired, the oath I took on that day only expires on the day that I decide to turn my back on it.
I'm not going to do that. Ever.
My oath:
I (name), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God." Reference: USC 3331. If I'm not mistaken, I think you took a similar oath.
Regardless, there are many former soldiers here in the Springs who are hurting, big time, because they chose the hard road, that of protecting the foreign interests of the United States of America.
Unfortunately, "three squares a day" does not exist back here, much less quarters.
I'm not sure of the answer, Congressman Lamborn. I personally believe better pre-deployment screening is in order, to help weed out those who aren't fit for whatever duties they're assigned, as well as "blind" post-deployment counseling service i.e. those without any mention, report, or entry into the service member's record. Reason being, I've a neighbor who was "on the edge" when he finished his tour of duty last year. A few understanding conversations over the last 12 months, he has settled down, has a job, a girlfriend, and a dog, of whom he takes very good care.
That's HUGE.
Yet... Congressman Lamborn, this e-mail was compiled with perhaps an hour to an hour and a half of neighborly conversation, one vet to another, over a period of a couple of months. I wasn't out to "fix" them, as they don't need fixing. They simply need understanding, from someone who has "been there, done that." He also needed someone to accept him as he is. War has changed him, and he's still trying to figure out how. I'm an old head, so I know how. He doesn't, and is still trying to figure it out.
Congressman Lamborn, I thank you again for your efforts, and hope the new clinic can help those who need help the most.
Your staunch advocate...
- Steve Janss
News: "A new clinic for veterans is coming to Colorado Springs. Congressman Doug Lamborn made the announcement Saturday."
Again, thank you!
I'm a fairly well-adjusted USAF retiree. Yet in the apartment complex in which I live, just 0.15 miles (769 feet according to Google Earth) from your Colorado Springs offices, there are at least 3 folks of the 24 who live in in my building alone who suffer from various disorders associated with their military commitment to Afghanistan or Iraq. Some of them are struggling just to get by, and these are the ones who've managed to find post-service jobs. The others are hugely struggling to the point of being evicted for non-payment of rent (and some of them have been evicted for that reason).
Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating any sort of welfare state, here. What I'm saying is that most of these guys and gals, given the right caring and loving (agape) approach from anyone who has "been there, done that" will overcome their war-induced disabilities and rise to help others.
Whatever disabilities I might have these days are not the result of war, but of the ineptitude of one military doctor who should not be a member of the profession of medication in any country. Yes, he's that bad. He rode herd on the denial of sleep medication for 34 months while I was stationed at Ramstein Air Base, between 2005 and 2009. During 34 months of chronic insomnia, this "docter" denied me sleep meds throughout this nearly three-year period, and was instrumental in convincing three squadron commanders that I should be booted out of the service.
Of those three commanders, only one had more medals on their chest than I. I'm not saying that count's for something. I'm simply saying that's a player in all of this, in that I've "been there, done that" more than 2/3 of my last three commanders, all of whom bowed down to the Ramstein 4-star who tried (and thankfully failed, in large part due to your intervention) to boot me out of office.
Yes, officer. I was a USAF officer, and I took an oath of office. My commission was signed by President George H. W. Bush. Althoguh I am retired, the oath I took on that day only expires on the day that I decide to turn my back on it.
I'm not going to do that. Ever.
My oath:
I (name), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God." Reference: USC 3331. If I'm not mistaken, I think you took a similar oath.
Regardless, there are many former soldiers here in the Springs who are hurting, big time, because they chose the hard road, that of protecting the foreign interests of the United States of America.
Unfortunately, "three squares a day" does not exist back here, much less quarters.
I'm not sure of the answer, Congressman Lamborn. I personally believe better pre-deployment screening is in order, to help weed out those who aren't fit for whatever duties they're assigned, as well as "blind" post-deployment counseling service i.e. those without any mention, report, or entry into the service member's record. Reason being, I've a neighbor who was "on the edge" when he finished his tour of duty last year. A few understanding conversations over the last 12 months, he has settled down, has a job, a girlfriend, and a dog, of whom he takes very good care.
That's HUGE.
Yet... Congressman Lamborn, this e-mail was compiled with perhaps an hour to an hour and a half of neighborly conversation, one vet to another, over a period of a couple of months. I wasn't out to "fix" them, as they don't need fixing. They simply need understanding, from someone who has "been there, done that." He also needed someone to accept him as he is. War has changed him, and he's still trying to figure out how. I'm an old head, so I know how. He doesn't, and is still trying to figure it out.
Congressman Lamborn, I thank you again for your efforts, and hope the new clinic can help those who need help the most.
Your staunch advocate...
- Steve Janss