VSOs GET OVER YOURSELVES

You Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) need to GET OVER YOURSELVES! I’m sick of ALL of y’all’s whining and gossiping and acting like YOUR organization is the ONLY one that helps veterans or that matters… IMMEDIATELY after you tell me what all you CAN’T do, because THIS veteran isn’t a member of YOUR VSO, or THAT veteran never deployed overseas, or that veteran over there already has a wheelchair, so YOU can’t help him with his truck payment until he gets all these casts off his arms and legs so he can get back on a ladder he fell off in the first place to break his bones and be able to work again. Or that veteran was in the wrong service (she isn’t Army, or is’n't a Marine etc.) so you can’t help her out with food or rent or school supplies so her kids can start school.  

And my absolute favorite ridiculous thing: "The _(insert  any  VSO)_ is already helping him by paying his water bill.  GGGRRRRR!!!

Conversely, I’m SICK TO DEATH of everybody duplicating everyone else’s effort and acting like you are the ONLY VALID organization doing anything. Everybody ELSE’s program is invalid or, as I was told by someone today, “is causing trouble”, but can't tell me what KIND of trouble. EVERYONE is on the 22 a Day train, and everyone thinks THEY and THEY ALONE have the solution to THAT problem… like every veteran who ever served somehow is in the exact same dark place for the same reason.  Didn’t it ever occur to you that veterans, like ALL HUMAN BEINGS IN THE WORLD do NOT come from the exact same cookie cutter???

Take Christianity for example (something everyone understands to some degree), some Christians are Baptists and some are Methodists and some are Presbyterian. So some veterans are Navy, some are Army, etc. and they all have different military experiences and different other experiences that can send them to that dark desperate despondency. Some are “combat vets”, but most veterans served in duties OTHER than infantry. There is supply, food service, communications, instructors, drill sergeants, base operations, airplane and helicopter mechanics, and on and on and on! So it isn’t just carrying a rifle or driving a tank that causes veterans to later kill themselves. Nor is it divorce or unemployment or foreclosures. It is MUCH more complicated than that. And everyone is DIFFERENT.

While I’m ranting, let me tell you about some statistics that aren’t advertised very much. First, it is TRUE that the vast majority (like 17 out of 22) of veterans who commit suicide every day are NOT enrolled in the V.A. System. You can continue to cast aspersions on the V.A., but they ARE saving lives. Here’s another fact: The majority of veteran suicide prevention programs focus on OEF/OIF veterans. Well, the fact that goes with THAT is that 69% of veterans who kill themselves are over age 50. OLD MEN. Senior citizens! The ink isn't still wet on their DD-214s. GGGRRRR AGAIN! 

"CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG????" Apparently not.

Now, that said, I must be fair. I MUST mention a couple of VSOs that do NOT get involved in these controversies at all, at least not locally. (In my experience, most of the others DO have conditions and gossips and jealousies and RULES enough to make me PUKE.)

Locally, AMVETS will help ANY veteran file for benefits, for FREE, and will even go to Montgomery with him and represent him if there is a hitch at the State level. That's their main job, and they do it very well.

The DAV (locally) does that too. Help ANY veteran file for benefits, for FREE, and they are also experts at it. But they will also give ANY VETERAN who shows up and requests it, a box of food. Good food. They don’t ask how much your income is, what branch you were in, or were you deployed overseas. Just ONE question: How many people are in your household?

Alabama Veteran isn’t a VSO, but EVERY veteran is welcome to come to their events for camaraderie, and they don’t care how old you are, or what your gender or race is. They don't care what your income is. They have a large, statewide database. If you are a veteran who needs a job, they will reach out to their database and try to find you something to do. If you just are homebound, ask them and they will usually find someone to just come visit you and talk. If you aren’t homebound, they will invite you to their gatherings. Just come and be with other veterans. No membership fee. No conditions.

If the flag on your front porch is ragged and too high for you to reach to change it, ask them. They will usually find someone who will come out to change it for you.  If you are a 90 year old veteran and can no longer walk behind your lawn mower, they will probably find someone who will come out to cut your grass. They are not bound by rules about who is or isn’t a member, who served where or for how long, or what branch. 

Their Facebook page always has veterans events, job fairs, etc. listed. And it is current. Alabama Veteran is REALLY and TRULY “Veterans Helping Veterans”!

Rant over, until something else sets me off.