Stop Loss & VA, The War in Iraq

Stop Loss & The VA System
I saw the movie Stop-Loss last night and despite the plot of the movie, I was concerned mostly about the issues. The idea behind the movie, stop-loss orders issued by the government, intrigues me quite a bit. This intrigues me because it gives the military the right to order back into duty a member of the military who has already served active time. Yes, this may be necessary since we do not have a draft and casualties are climbing, requiring more manpower, but lets look at the overall picture. By doing this, the government is "backdoor drafting" these fine young men and women, who have already been through the rings of hell in Iraq. As I said previously, they are being placed back into the line of duty because of existing situations that require a certain number of soldiers active over in Iraq. The ability for the government to do this not only disturbing in itself, but so are the repercussions that have followed. We cannot use and abuse our voluntary system of military with these orders, and then not give proper treatment to the men and women upon their return home from war, often injured mentally and/or physically. I wrote last month about the VA (Veterans Affairs organization) and how they improperly handled my Grandfather's situation when he was gravely ill earlier this year. He was elderly, but he did serve in the biggest battles during World War II, including the Battle of the Bulge and the Battle of Normandy. He was wounded while on duty, and came back to endure difficult post-war years burdened by alcoholism and other family issues. Can you blame any veteran for suffering from such ill-fated problems after they are shipped back from war? I have not been there so I cannot explain or fathom the extent to which they hear, see, or feel pain. But I have read, watched movies, and talked to veterans, and through their words I have empathized with them. I have empathized with the bravery they devoted to our country while at war, only to return home in worse condition than they were beforehand, and no one gives a damn except their families and friends. If we are going to continue to stop-loss our soldiers, then we better have the best care given to these men and women upon their return home to our land of the free and the brave. And we better make sure that we are giving them the same opportunities to live post-war, as they have been giving us through the various wars they have fought in to protect and preserve our freedom.