VA Sec. James Peake Is A Huge Asshole

He's dumber than dirt too. Via Think Progress:

Over the weekend, Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake visited Alaska with Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK). While there, they met with Vietnam veteran John Guinn, who questioned the Secretary about the growing problem of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) amongst veterans. Instead of addressing Guinn’s concerns, Peake dismissed them:

VA secretary Peake suggested some of the concern about post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury has been overblown.

Many of the brain injuries are serious but some of them are akin to what anyone who played football in their youth might have suffered, Peake told Guinn.

Guinn wasn’t entirely satisfied with the answers. He said it’s a real issue for returning soldiers as well as their families, and he doesn’t think job training is enough.

On Saturday, Peake also said that many vets with PTSD may just need “a little counseling” and shouldn’t “need the PTSD label their whole lives.”

Despite his 40+ year military career, retired US Army Surgeon General Peake has proven he not only knows nothing about veterans but he also knows jack all about medicine. Where do I start ripping?

Vets with PTSD do not “need the PTSD label their whole lives.” PTSD is not a label anyone would ever want for any reason. With proper intensive treatment, not "a little counseling as Secretary Peake suggests," many vets will lead relatively normal productive lives.

I used to play contact sports. I was also a serious downhill ski racer. I’ve been in a few car accidents. I've whacked my head a few too many times (which explains a lot). I’ve had one diagnosed TBI or traumatic brain injury. I’ve also had PTSD.

Traumatic brain injury is a medical term describing what occurs when your head is struck by something, stops and your brain keeps going striking the inside of your skull. This could be caused by a bomb's concussion blast or a simple slip & fall. PTSD is a psychological term describing a specific response to a severe emotional trauma. While both can happen concurrently, they are completely different medical problems that require specific, intensive and separate treatment.

As long as we have clowns like Peake in charge of their wellbeing, veterans will continue to get short shrift.

-AF