Let me begin by stating I’m a veteran who served 20-years in the US Navy, between 1980-2000. The Veterans Administration (VA) awarded me a 100%, service connected, VA disability rating. I have a bad back, and a bad right wrist, but most of my disability rating stems from my propensity for depression, and my type II bipolar condition. My bipolar condition was diagnosed in 1997 — it’s a condition that is usually controlled with medication and talk therapy, but even low levels of stress can (and in the past few years, more than once has) cause me to have rapidly cycling mood swings.

My primary healthcare provider is the VA. I receive mental health services from the VA on a regular basis; the mood stabilizers and mood elevators I take daily are prescribed by a VA mental health professional. With the help of two mental heath providers at the VA Medical Center in San Diego, California, I was able to admit to myself for the second time in my life (the first time was at age 14) that I was a transsexual, and that I needed to transition.

The VA helped me deal with the effects of being sexually harassed in the Navy; they helped me figure out I needed to transition; they helped me when I felt under so much stress that I broke my skin a number of times tracing the veins on my right wrist with my military ID card. I don’t think I’ve ever reached the point of truly being suicidal, but I certainly have experienced suicidal ideation — and I’m absolutely sure I would have reached the point of suicide eventually. The realization that I would probably kill myself if I didn’t transition is part of what prompted me to act on my transsexuality.

I’ve been functional, and not experiencing prolonged depression or severe mood swings for well over four years now because of the effective treatment I’ve received. I feel fortunate — and feel very grateful — that the VA has been taking care of my mental and emotional health care needs for many years.

Apparently though, I’m more fortunate than I could have guessed in the quality of my treatment. On April 17th, the Rand Corporation released a study that reports One In Five Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Suffer from PTSD or Major Depression — more on that in a bit.

In a federal lawsuit filed by Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth, and going to court Monday, there are some startling facts came out on veterans’ mental health issues:

The [Department of Veterans Affairs] is falling short of its goal of addressing claims within 125 days, saying that it was now closer to 180 to 185 days, Mr. Lepley said. But he said the department had added 3,700 mental health care professionals in the last two years, bringing the total to 17,000, and started a program where anyone feeling suicidal could get attention within 24 hours and a follow-up appointment within two weeks, he said. The program started last summer, he said, so it is too new to measure its effectiveness.

Over all, there are 6,600 suicides per year among the 25 million veterans of all wars, representing about one in five suicides in the country, Ms. Childress said. There are an estimated 1,000 suicide attempts per month among the 7.8 million veterans treated by Veterans Affairs, she said. The suicides tend to be more frequent among older veterans, she said, citing statistics from data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The number — 126 suicides a week, higher than the 120 published in previous studies — was in a December e-mail message from Dr. Ira Katz, the head of mental health services for Veterans Affairs, to Dr. Michael J. Kussman, the under secretary for the Veterans Health Administration in the department. Mr. Erspamer displayed the message in his opening argument.

[After the fold, Rand Report information, and video on the VA's Mental Health Director apparently being directly involved in covering up the numbers related to veteran suicides.]

Let’s get back to the Rand report, where the report documented that one in five Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans suffer from PTSD or major depression.

Nearly 20 percent of military service members who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan — 300,000 in all — report symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder or major depression, yet only slightly more than half have sought treatment, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

In addition, researchers found about 19 percent of returning service members report that they experienced a possible traumatic brain injury while deployed, with 7 percent reporting both a probable brain injury and current PTSD or major depression.

…In the first analysis of its kind, researchers estimate that PTSD and depression among returning service members will cost the nation as much as $6.2 billion in the two years following deployment — an amount that includes both direct medical care and costs for lost productivity and suicide. Investing in more high-quality treatment could save close to $2 billion within two years by substantially reducing those indirect costs, the 500-page study concludes.

If we, as a country, live up to promise of supporting our troops/supporting our military veterans, it’s going to cost we taxpayers an awful lot to treat the veterans with mental health needs and brain injuries.

A recent lawsuit now alleges that the VA has failed to prevent suicides:

The Department of Veterans Affairs isn’t doing enough to prevent suicide and provide adequate medical care for Americans who have served in the armed forces, a class-action lawsuit that goes to trial this week charges.

The lawsuit, filed in July by two nonprofit groups representing military veterans, accuses the agency of inadequately addressing a “rising tide” of mental health problems, especially post-traumatic stress disorder.

…The trial is set to begin Monday in a San Francisco federal court.

As part of discovery for this trial, the defense is asserting that the VA Hid Suicide Risk:

The Department of Veterans Affairs came under fire again Monday, this time in California federal court where its facing a national lawsuit by veterans rights groups accusing the agency of not doing enough to stem a looming mental health crisis among veterans. As part of the lawsuit, internal e-mails raise questions as to whether top officials deliberately deceived the American public about the number of veterans attempting and committing suicide.

So on top of the need for mental health care for veterans being so immense, there have been revelations about the VA’s Mental Health Director downplaying the mental health needs of vets, specifically by not publicizing the number of attempted suicides and completed suicides by veterans, even after a freedom of information request. The U.S. Senate Committee On Veterans Affairs held a hearing this week, and committee member Patty Murray (D-WA) was extremely angry about the revelations relating to the VA’s Mental Health Director:

The Department of Veterans Affairs lied about the number of veterans who have tried to kill themselves, Sen. Patty Murray said Wednesday, citing internal e-mails that put the number at 12,000 a year while the department was publicly saying it was fewer than 800.

“The suicide rate is a red alarm bell to all of us,” the Washington state Democrat said. She added that the VA’s mental health programs are overwhelmed by Iraq and Afghanistan veterans even as the department seeks to downplay the situation.

“We are not your enemy, we are your support team, and unless we get accurate information we can’t be there to do our jobs,” Murray said.

VA deputy secretary Gordon Mansfield acknowledged the numbers discrepancy and apologized during a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing, telling Murray and other senators he didn’t think there was any deliberate attempt to mislead Congress or the public.

But Murray remained skeptical, saying the VA has shown a pattern of misleading Congress when it comes to the increasing number of soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan seeking help and putting a strain on Defense Department and VA facilities and programs.

The video above shows documentation that appears to show that at least with Dr. Ira Katz was intentionally hiding information. To text some of this out, here’s a report of what the VA’s Mental Health Director (Dr. Ira Katz) wrote in his internal email (emphasis added):

In one email message titled “Not for the CBS News…,” the VA’s head of mental health Dr. Ira Katz wrote “Shh!” and then claimed there were 1,000 suicide attempts per month by veterans under the care of the agency. The e-mail was written last February when CBS News was questioning the VA about the number of veterans who have tried to kill themselves.

After a public records request, the VA provided CBS News with data that showed there were a total of 790 attempted suicides by VA patients in the entire year of 2007. This number was nowhere near what Katz was saying privately in his email.

Two Senators have already called for Dr. Katz’s resignation/removal from office:

Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chair Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) and committee member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) on Tuesday called for the resignation of Department of Veterans Affairs Mental Health Director Ira Katz, alleging he withheld important information regarding suicide risk among veterans, the AP/Washington Post reports.

And now, I’m left wondering what would have happened to me if I would have came to the VA this week — instead of coming as I did to the VA in 2000. Would I be one of the ones that would have fallen through the cracks?

What I do know is that our new veterans, many of whom have sacrificed so much for what has become a incredibly unpopular war in Iraq, deserve adequate resources being devoted to their care. And, the public that will be paying for the veterans care deserve truthfulness to the extent problem, and realistic cost protections for providing the care we owe these veterans. With people like Dr. Katz appointed to positions of authority in the VA, I don’t think veterans should expect adequate care and the public getting “good government” accountability until we get a new president.

With regards to mental health care in the present tense, the “Support Our Troops” slogan seems to be moving towards becoming little more than doublespeak. If I didn’t know from first hand experience with the VA that it still does still provide good mental health care — if you can get it — I would guess I’d consider the slogan already to be doublespeak.