Veteran's Voice -- Big step in preventing veteran suicide

Starting Jan. 17, Veterans in acute suicidal crisis are now able to go to any VA or non-VA health care facility for emergency health care at no cost – including inpatient or crisis residential care for up to 30 days and outpatient care for up to 90 days. Veterans do not need to be enrolled in the VA system to use this benefit. The Veteran Crisis Line can be reached by dialing 988, and then pressing “1”, or texting 838255. For more information on the new crisis treatment option, go to http://bit.ly/3kE2eIt.

Vets4Warriors

We all know that prevention is better than the best cure. You might not be in crisis, but are facing some tough challenges, and no matter what the concern, you can contact Vets4Warriors, part of the Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care National Call Center, to get some assistance and resources. The people on the other end of the line are fellow veterans or serving military. If you want to speak with a peer, call, or text Vets4Warriors at 1-855-838-8255, or chat online by visiting www. Vets4Warriors.com. There are veteran/military peers standing by 24/7, 365 days a year, and all contacts are confidential.

Pentagon taking a step back on COVID-19 vaccine discipline The Pentagon has removed the mandate that all troops receive a vaccine against coronavirus. The Secretary of Defense is also saying that no adverse actions will be taken against service members who have been seeking exemptions to getting the vaccine, and any service members who received a letter of reprimand or some other “adverse action” will have it removed from their record.

Those who refused to get vaccinated and received a general discharge can petition the Board of Corrections for Military Records, presumably to have their discharge upgraded to Honorable. This leaves open the possibility of former military members who were discharged to be able to rejoin the military, and some legislators have called for back pay to those kicked out over COVID vaccine refusal.

For veterans, this whole episode is a mixed bag. First, there is the disciplinary issue of disobeying a direct order to get the shot. At the same time, given the nature of the vaccine, was the mandatory requirement a “legal order”? Many will remember the Anthrax Vaccine program of Desert Storm, then again later in the 1990s and early 2000s. The circumstances were practically the same, and many military members were temporarily or permanently impacted by side effects, and some even died. Courts stopped the program for several years and the vaccine was “revised” before the program was resumed.

Young people joining the military have knowledge available to them of the detrimental effects of Agent Orange on Vietnam War veterans two generations ago, the anthrax vaccine program one generation ago, and other concerning military medical episodes that will naturally make people wary. As a practical matter, military leadership should look at this poor record of the past and realize that an all-volunteer force in our current culture is more likely to “take the highway” rather than roll up their sleeves when the next controversial vaccine program comes along.

You might not be in crisis, but are facing some tough challenges, and no matter what the concern, you can contact Vets4Warriors to get some assistance and resources.