bobdina
05-05-2010, 11:47 AM
Mullen apologizes for comments on wounded care
Disabled American Veterans had issued a statement blasting comments made recently by the JCS chairman
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday May 5, 2010 8:47:05 EDT
A call by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs for community organizations to step in to help wounded war veterans make the transition to civilian life has drawn complaints from a major veterans organization and an apology from the JCS chairman.
There is nothing wrong with asking community-based groups to help, but the primary responsibility for wounded warriors rests with the federal government, said David Gorman, executive director of the Washington headquarters of Disabled American Veterans, in reaction to remarks made over the last few weeks by Adm. Mike Mullen.
“It is the exclusive responsibility of the federal government because it creates disabled veterans,” Gorman said Tuesday in a statement. “It is the government’s solemn duty to care for and treat all veterans who are wounded and disabled in America’s wars. It is unfathomable that Adm. Mullen would suggest such a plan, asking charities to provide the care now given so compassionately by the VA.
“It makes one wonder if Adm. Mullen believes it is best to return to the days when disabled veterans sold pencils on street corners and relied on the support of charitable organizations,” Gorman said. “The DAV has the greatest respect for Adm. Mullen” and said the organization commends Mullen’s “remarkable service to our country, but one must wonder what he was thinking.”
Mullen said he is sorry for what he called a “poor choice of words.”
“The point I was trying to make, perhaps not so eloquently, is that the scope of the needs confronting our troops and their families is too great and too deep to be met only through the bureaucracy,” Mullen said. “Yes, the government must provide our veterans with educational opportunities, employment assistance and quality health care. But we must also recognize there are some needs best delivered and best administered at the local level.”
Gorman’s comments come after Mullen gave a series of speeches about getting nonprofit groups to help returning veterans.
In Morgantown, W.Va., on April 20, Mullen said, “There is a huge list of needs, growing needs. It cannot be met by the Pentagon. It cannot be met by the VA. It only can be met, I believe, by community groups throughout the country joined together with the Pentagon and VA to get it right for those who’ve sacrificed so much.”
On April 26, speaking before the Council on Foundations in Denver, he said veterans need education, training and health care, including treatment for mental health problems and substance abuse, that go beyond with the Defense Department and VA can provide.
“I am not arguing in any way, shape or form that this should be the purview of our government because what I would like to see happen is community outreach to them and the government just be out of it,” he said.
Mullen appeared to be talking about help outside of the normal window of transition assistance, counseling and health care provided by the government, but Gorman said Mullen’s remarks make it sounds like the government is not responsible.
A DAV statement said Mullen’s ideas are “both naïve and harmful” and said Mullen “diminishes” the role of the VA.
Mullen said in response that he regrets the impression he may have left that veterans’ care isn’t the government’s purview. “Nothing could be further from the truth or from my personal belief. And I appreciate the Disabled American Veterans for noticing those comments and calling me on it,” he said.
“Mine was a poor choice of words in response to a question from an audience member about the best ways to meet the needs of our returning veterans. Clearly, the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments have immense responsibilities in this regard — responsibilities that all of us in leadership positions take very seriously,” Mullen said.
Mullen said he has been pushing what he calls a “sea of goodwill” where a family and community provide assistance that goes beyond government programs. Most returning troops, he said, “want what every other American wants: to lead productive, independent lives; to provide for their families, and to raise their children to a higher standard of living. The government helps with all that, to be sure, but it cannot — and should not — try to supplant the millions of ways in which a soldier’s family or neighborhood or hometown can make those dreams come true.”
The sea of goodwill “is out there,” Mullen said, “I am just trying to find ways to better connect our veterans to it.”
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/05/military_veterans_community_mullen_050410w/
Disabled American Veterans had issued a statement blasting comments made recently by the JCS chairman
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday May 5, 2010 8:47:05 EDT
A call by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs for community organizations to step in to help wounded war veterans make the transition to civilian life has drawn complaints from a major veterans organization and an apology from the JCS chairman.
There is nothing wrong with asking community-based groups to help, but the primary responsibility for wounded warriors rests with the federal government, said David Gorman, executive director of the Washington headquarters of Disabled American Veterans, in reaction to remarks made over the last few weeks by Adm. Mike Mullen.
“It is the exclusive responsibility of the federal government because it creates disabled veterans,” Gorman said Tuesday in a statement. “It is the government’s solemn duty to care for and treat all veterans who are wounded and disabled in America’s wars. It is unfathomable that Adm. Mullen would suggest such a plan, asking charities to provide the care now given so compassionately by the VA.
“It makes one wonder if Adm. Mullen believes it is best to return to the days when disabled veterans sold pencils on street corners and relied on the support of charitable organizations,” Gorman said. “The DAV has the greatest respect for Adm. Mullen” and said the organization commends Mullen’s “remarkable service to our country, but one must wonder what he was thinking.”
Mullen said he is sorry for what he called a “poor choice of words.”
“The point I was trying to make, perhaps not so eloquently, is that the scope of the needs confronting our troops and their families is too great and too deep to be met only through the bureaucracy,” Mullen said. “Yes, the government must provide our veterans with educational opportunities, employment assistance and quality health care. But we must also recognize there are some needs best delivered and best administered at the local level.”
Gorman’s comments come after Mullen gave a series of speeches about getting nonprofit groups to help returning veterans.
In Morgantown, W.Va., on April 20, Mullen said, “There is a huge list of needs, growing needs. It cannot be met by the Pentagon. It cannot be met by the VA. It only can be met, I believe, by community groups throughout the country joined together with the Pentagon and VA to get it right for those who’ve sacrificed so much.”
On April 26, speaking before the Council on Foundations in Denver, he said veterans need education, training and health care, including treatment for mental health problems and substance abuse, that go beyond with the Defense Department and VA can provide.
“I am not arguing in any way, shape or form that this should be the purview of our government because what I would like to see happen is community outreach to them and the government just be out of it,” he said.
Mullen appeared to be talking about help outside of the normal window of transition assistance, counseling and health care provided by the government, but Gorman said Mullen’s remarks make it sounds like the government is not responsible.
A DAV statement said Mullen’s ideas are “both naïve and harmful” and said Mullen “diminishes” the role of the VA.
Mullen said in response that he regrets the impression he may have left that veterans’ care isn’t the government’s purview. “Nothing could be further from the truth or from my personal belief. And I appreciate the Disabled American Veterans for noticing those comments and calling me on it,” he said.
“Mine was a poor choice of words in response to a question from an audience member about the best ways to meet the needs of our returning veterans. Clearly, the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments have immense responsibilities in this regard — responsibilities that all of us in leadership positions take very seriously,” Mullen said.
Mullen said he has been pushing what he calls a “sea of goodwill” where a family and community provide assistance that goes beyond government programs. Most returning troops, he said, “want what every other American wants: to lead productive, independent lives; to provide for their families, and to raise their children to a higher standard of living. The government helps with all that, to be sure, but it cannot — and should not — try to supplant the millions of ways in which a soldier’s family or neighborhood or hometown can make those dreams come true.”
The sea of goodwill “is out there,” Mullen said, “I am just trying to find ways to better connect our veterans to it.”
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/05/military_veterans_community_mullen_050410w/