Another scandal, as if we don't have enough.

Scandals, where would the human race be without them? The truth to the matter is simple, boring people make boring news. Allow me to paint an example in your mind of a scandal. If we were to place one hundred boring men on television, film them all standing in a straight line, each wearing the same boring clothes and boring shoes for exactly ten minutes, one week later, not one would be remembered.

Now, let’s change that scene just a tad, by having one of the men pull the zipper to their trousers down, insure he’s in the same spot doing the same boring thing as the remaining ninety nine boring individuals and reshoot the scene. One week later everyone would still be talking about the guy’s zipper being down.

Some people would find it hilarious; others may find it disgusting that a grown man could not insure his package was properly locked up behind tight security. This example would fall under the primary definition of a scandal, i.e. a disgraceful or discreditable action, circumstance, etc.

On any given day, the term, scandal is used on any number of reports published regarding the current administration. The latest Walter Reed controversy is a prime example of a scandal as well as a public display of the time honored, ancient political craft of “Cover Your Ass”, also known as CYA in Washington.

CYA can best be described as one or more politicians implementing an investigation into any scandal uncovered through investigative reporting, with one of its hidden agendas to immediately find as many sacrificial lambs as possible. After all, someone must take the heat for all of this, if not, well, they really don’t want to think about that.

Once identified, shorn of their wool, they are marched naked to their public slaughter, their names leaked to the media by members of somebody’s staff, somewhere, but no one really ever knows who. As if Houdini himself was involved, the lamb’s personnel files find their way to some reporter’s desk. At that point, get out the mint jelly Martha, the media is serving us all lamb tonight.

You can bet your bippy, (Rowan and Martin Laugh-in show days) that the unemployment lines in Washington increase exponentially in direct proportion to how big the present scandal is.

Walter Reed and the rest of the military’s hospitals are well respected institutions, providing high caliber health care to our nation’s war veterans as well as making many inroads into the treatment of trauma. Just ask any politician, that’s their stock reply they have been spoon-feeding the public after every war and it is also a total load of crap. Ask surviving veteran of any of America’s wars or undeclared police actions, they will all tell you many horror stories or tales of being forgotten, left to tending to their own dressings and early discharges that send them home while still facing recovery that would normally require confinement to an after-care medical center.

I must address the inroads in trauma care before continuing. This is a true statement and the military physician’s and scientists should be commended for all the work they have done in this specialized field of medicine. The field of initial treatment and follow up surgeries were and still are where military physician’s shine. The medial treatment per se, has never been much of an issue. It was the after care that was and is problematic; this is also the field of medicine where civilians traditionally augment the ever increasing burden of military health care.

After the war in Viet Nam, the complaints emanating from our wounded veteran’s over their medical care were not as high as those pertaining to any subsequent post-operative, or rehabilitative follow up. The overwhelming complaints they were receiving, prompted Congressional investigations then as well. This eventually led to many changes to military medical and after care which reflected the new doctrine and resulted in better care for our nation’s wounded veterans.

The problem in military health care, especially post-operative follow up and long term convalescence has always been one of their major problem areas. There has never been adequate Congressional funding in military health care during war time and that statement itself could be a contradiction in terms. I did attempt to reduce that statement to two words; I wanted to show another military oxymoron, but was not able to do so. I will just state that the term, inadequate medical funding during wartime is a paradox and forget about it.

Politicians have followed the exact path every time they have been faced with these allegations, by the media, founded or unfounded, pertaining to taking care of their wounded veterans. They implement their typical committees to investigate the charges and fire as many officers and non commissioned men and women as possible. Then they publish their committee findings consisting of several thousand pages of absolute nothingness, contradictions and empty promises of how it will be fixed in the future, stop by the club for a few drinks to congratulate themselves for a job well done and go back to work searching for that ever elusive bill to attach their pet projects to.

In the mean time our nation’s wounded men and women live in the same run-down, after-care over-crowded and cramped quarters, receive the same sub-standard post operative follow-up and question why this is happening to them. They ask themselves why is it they put their lives on the line for their country, paid a price and are now caught up in so many catch 22’s that the book’s author, Joseph Heller would even scratch his head in amazement before advising all of the veterans to tell the media what exactly is going on.

Of course, the politician’s have all discussed this serious breech of soldier conduct and in doing so arrived with a solution to the entire problem. No more will their constituents pick up their morning paper and read articles condemning the military’s medical care. In fact, they handled it quicker then Andrew Jackson sent the British packing at the battle of New Orleans, they ordered all of the military to shut the hell up.