Camoflauged Veterans

As many, I was appalled by the PM’s action of leaving the D Day Anniversary early and especially leaving for a relevantly unimportant political matter. I am not though surprised at the behaviour as the majority of MPs, even veterans, wear the subject of the day as a T shirt in order to be seen publicly supporting the issue for political and selfish means, only to discard it the next day for the T Shirt of that day.

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No government, blue, red, or yellow, has looked after veterans. It’s over 2,000 charities that do that work, they care for veterans or at least try to. It’s action that’s needed, not words. The forces covenant isn’t action, it’s words, nothing but pledges and with a lack of finance and resources, empty promises. A veteran with tears flooding down his cheeks and a rope around his neck doesn’t need promises, he needs support, understanding, and ‘real’ physical action to help.

Neither the powers at be, nor any charity, or organisation, know exactly how many veterans there are (we are all numbered and registered), 1.85 million (from the last census) but that’s just England and Wales and only those who could be added on the census if they wanted to say. The worrying statistics are: how many are homeless, suicidal, have dependencies, wrongly incarcerated, in mental health protection, and so forth? The answer should be zero, but maybe out of sight out of mind, who really cares?

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How many veterans are hidden away with PTSD or other challenges where constantly triggered videos play before their eyes, whether open or closed, etching images into the brain, together with the noise, smells, sounds, and stomach tying trepidation.

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How many since leaving service are working for their school age group who are now years ahead in their careers which the veteran can never equal, pay or employment level. Who employs veterans? Unless an artisan they are in security, an unskilled workforce, or a labour force the majority in manufacturing, and construction. How many veterans have difficulty working in the civilian world? How many just put up, say nothing, and ‘soldier on’ in their civilian post. How many veterans secretly hide and cry in corners, never fully part of the team, never able to trust anyone? How many can’t talk to civilians, not openly, not fully, not emotionally, the civilian won’t understand anyway?

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How many veterans are looking around and considering the best way of ending their lives and doing so that it doesn’t inconvenience people too much? How many are in constant physical pain, living on pensions taxed or deducted from benefits, but who cares? Over two million veterans, nearly five with close families, none of whom has a voice. Where are all these officers who governed the lives of others? How many are physically doing something for veterans? Where are they? Who is standing up and shouting for veteran wellbeing, care, trust, belief, or is the cannon fodder worthless and a group to charge with offences to save other’s necks. Charge and jail lower ranks, lose the trust that the military is built on, then open the door and let Putin in as everyone will be questioning their orders, wanting it in writing, protecting themselves as they can’t now trust. No voice, no protection, no unity, two million people, veterans, a leaderless group of the forgotten and used.

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Veterans are not civilians. They used to be but were transformed physically, socially, and mentally. They lived, loved, played, worked, laughed, cried, fully trusting their neighbour they disliked, in the military world, the military culture with its own language, rules, laws, behaviour, standards, boundaries, and punishments. Twenty-four hours a day, 7 days a week, professional even when sleeping, fitter than any footballer, and ready at a moments notice to fight where told to, to protect their colleagues, their nation, their way of life, to fight bare handed if necessary, to lay down their life so others may have theirs. How can they be a civilian again, they can’t, nor are they military, that closed gate is behind them, they are, we are veterans surviving the best way we can, alone in the civilian world.

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Things must and will change. I’m trying to start this change (for others better than me to run) and I’m presently designing the ‘Veterans Organisation (VO)’ which will be a self-funded nation-wide healthcare system for veterans, run by veterans, where veterans talk to and are treated by other veterans. Taking around half of the veteran and their families will take some 3 million people out of primary care and some secondary care saving the NHS some ￡13 billion plus a year. It will be with service people from the moment they enlist to the moment they leave where we will help them adjust and be there with and for them until the time they pass out from this world.

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I am working alone in my spare room and have support from the green party who are slightly busy at this time. All I can do is construct and design a working system, a skeleton, but I certainly do not have the skills and knowledge to complete it, but other veterans have. In around 6 to 9 months, I’ll be screaming for experience, skills, people with desire and ability to take my skeleton and together construct a workable system. When approved by the greens we shall take this to all parties, modify it where needed, and then we veterans, from Private to General, from Airperson to Air Marshall, from Able Rating to Admiral, Commando, Marine, and even the Military Police, will pull together, as we have in the past, and build our medical units, run our shops, transport our goods, until together we have a strong networked and unified healthcare system, and veteran organisation that will constantly improve, and work tirelessly for every veteran no matter what, as every brother and every sister has the right to the best Quality of Life that we, a nation they served, can give.

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