Congressional delegation to visit Ft. Carson
May 02, 2007
Veterans for America announced Monday, staffers from nine U.S. Senators’ offices, along with a representative from the Government Accountability Office, will visit Fort Carson in May.
VFA says the visit will give soldiers and their families a chance to discuss problems they’ve encountered when they have sought help for mental disorders like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Fort Carson has said that up to 20 percent of returning soldiers report symptoms of PTSD. It denies claims that soldiers don’t receive proper care. Recently it started training its non-commissioned officers and officers how to recognize the symptoms of PTSD.
Steven Robinson, of VFA says if that’s true then, “not one soldier should fall through the cracks.”
Robinson says he’s working with soldiers from Army posts across the nation, including Fort Carson, that are not receiving proper care. He also says some soldiers are being less than honorably discharged for behavior resulting from service-oriented injuries.
“You punish them for not maintaining their military discipline when they have PTSD, it’s like telling an amputee that he’s a dirt bag for not being able to run for two miles,” Robinson said.
Fort Carson says it has 24-hour care available to any soldier on post. It has denied the claims of inadequate care.
Veterans for America says the visit will be May 14th and 15th. It says the meetings will be confidential