The horrors that the boys who went to Vietnam saw and then returned as men cannot be understated for the reason for drug abuse. Mercifully God took my brother in the TET offensive but if he did come back I would want all the services to help the Vets including drug addiction. And now they are going to fire 70,000 employees of the VA. Am I missing something or has respect for those who serve becoming a thing of the past.
I am a disabled veteran and I am very well versed in what the VA does well or not so well. The VA is a bloated agency that tries to accomplish it's mission in a typically inefficient government way by having large staffs and spending lots of money. Firing 80,000 non-essential employees will not affect veterans services one bit as long as the employees that remain, (399,957) really care about veterans, show up and work hard. Most of my interactions with the VA have be a real "s__t" show. Too bad !
I am so sorry for your experience with the VA and for the information you provided to those of us who have not had to use the VA. My main concern about the firings was that it would affect the doctors, nurses and aides. After my brother died my father wanted to do something for the Vets so he donated one day a week for years at Castle Point to help shave and just provide some company for the Vets. My sister also has a scholarship at Westchester Community College for any honorably discharged vet who wants to continue their education. Losing my brother gave my family a strong incentive to help those who returned. Thank you for serving and to all Vets who served.
I am a regular user of the VA's medical services at the Montrose campus (I am a Vietnam era vet.) The people there are very dedicated. If the cuts of 80K VA jobs had taken place after very careful, months long analysis of the need for these positions, David might have a point. But there is ample evidence that Musk and DOGE have taken a slash and burn approach, have made many mistakes, and are driven by ideology and not by efficiency. This has already led a number of judges to halt what they are doing.
I agree that the DOGE process and has been chaotic and uneven at times. I also know that VA medical services can be very uneven based on geographic location and other factors. While VA Montrose may provide excellent service based on anecdotal evidence, other VA facilities located around the country not so much, again based on anecdotal evidence from veteran friends who have had occasion to use them. The VA and all its various parts VHA, VBA, NCA etc is a real bear to manage. Very easy for a veteran suffering from mental or medical issues to get lost in the shuffle. Not very easy to fix!
I always questioned why veterans aren’t simply issued a gold medical card, which guarantees payment from the federal government to private health providers. Please don’t attack, but the Department of Veterans Affairs is not immune to bloat, inefficiency, and fraud. Are veterans forced to use the VA for healthcare or can they visit “outside” providers with their insurance?
Veterans healthcare is not really insurance, it’s a direct benefit. I believe in communities where there are not VA facilities there is some kind of subcontracting. But I think the gold card idea is an interesting one.
Having also served in the Army during the Vietnam era I believe that the various branches of the military are somewhat responsible. A large breakdown in discipline allowed the open use of drugs and alcohol in a combat zone. Why?
I don't know what the mention of Dale Page's race/ethnicity is for. The mention that he is Vietnam veteran is relevant as the source his drug addiction, for which he unfortunately failed to be rehabilitated.
Are you inferring that his race/ethnicity has something to do with his addiction and criminality?
You don't mention the race/ethnicity of other subjects in your articles.
The race or ethnicity of a subject is often mentioned routinely in media accounts, and is really a judgment thing based on circumstances. In some cases, when a photo is published of a subject, these details are fairly obvious, or when someone has a Hispanic or Asian last name. In the case of Dale Page, having spent time talking to him, it became clear that the fact that he is African-American was relevant to his experiences both in the Army and in jail. Those familiar with the Vietnam era know that Black soldiers had unique experiences and were distinctly over represented in the ranks of those who had to fight and die. I was in the Army during the Vietnam era and had first hand experience of this situation and knew many Black GIs and their circumstances. As for his many years in prison, had he been white, he may well have gotten more breaks and shorter sentences and had an easier time getting his life on track. You seem to want to say that this decision was based on racism, but you would be off the mark. Our coverage of his case has in all instances been with the aim of humanizing him, especially for those who are not able to see beyond race in such situations. I suggest going back and reading all of the stories we did about him. The Chronicle went out of its way to look into who he was and why he was stealing from ShopRite, which I dare say no one else bothered to do.
For further reading about the experiences and special situations of African-American soldiers during the Vietnam era, there are a lot of sources, here is one to get those interested started on the subject. https://time.com/5852476/da-5-bloods-black-vietnam-veterans/
I did not cover that story because it had already gotten a lot of coverage from local media. The Chronicle tends to cover stories that are not covered elsewhere rather than repeat things. You seem to be ignoring everything I said and still want to accuse me of racism, apparently. Your lack of engagement with my explanation of why I mentioned Dale Page’s race in this story is telling. Did you or did you not know about this history? There are two principle kinds of anti-racism, performative anti-racism and real, effective anti-racism. You seem to be engaging in the first one. The Chronicle has engaged in the second one.
Many unfortunate veterans (of all races and ethnicities) became addicted in Vietnam. We all know that addiction can lead to criminal behavior, but are you saying Black Vietnam vets that suffer from addiction are more prone to criminality?
Race is often used by left leaning pundits to engender sympathy through paternalistic tales of Black victimhood. Right leaning pundits often paint Blacks as inherentlly more antisocial. I do not know to which of these camps you belong, but I'd prefer you belong to no camp, if your intensions are truly journalistic.
According to you, the fact that I am African-American should make my argument stronger, but it really doesn't.
The horrors that the boys who went to Vietnam saw and then returned as men cannot be understated for the reason for drug abuse. Mercifully God took my brother in the TET offensive but if he did come back I would want all the services to help the Vets including drug addiction. And now they are going to fire 70,000 employees of the VA. Am I missing something or has respect for those who serve becoming a thing of the past.
Mary,
I am a disabled veteran and I am very well versed in what the VA does well or not so well. The VA is a bloated agency that tries to accomplish it's mission in a typically inefficient government way by having large staffs and spending lots of money. Firing 80,000 non-essential employees will not affect veterans services one bit as long as the employees that remain, (399,957) really care about veterans, show up and work hard. Most of my interactions with the VA have be a real "s__t" show. Too bad !
I am so sorry for your experience with the VA and for the information you provided to those of us who have not had to use the VA. My main concern about the firings was that it would affect the doctors, nurses and aides. After my brother died my father wanted to do something for the Vets so he donated one day a week for years at Castle Point to help shave and just provide some company for the Vets. My sister also has a scholarship at Westchester Community College for any honorably discharged vet who wants to continue their education. Losing my brother gave my family a strong incentive to help those who returned. Thank you for serving and to all Vets who served.
I am a regular user of the VA's medical services at the Montrose campus (I am a Vietnam era vet.) The people there are very dedicated. If the cuts of 80K VA jobs had taken place after very careful, months long analysis of the need for these positions, David might have a point. But there is ample evidence that Musk and DOGE have taken a slash and burn approach, have made many mistakes, and are driven by ideology and not by efficiency. This has already led a number of judges to halt what they are doing.
I agree that the DOGE process and has been chaotic and uneven at times. I also know that VA medical services can be very uneven based on geographic location and other factors. While VA Montrose may provide excellent service based on anecdotal evidence, other VA facilities located around the country not so much, again based on anecdotal evidence from veteran friends who have had occasion to use them. The VA and all its various parts VHA, VBA, NCA etc is a real bear to manage. Very easy for a veteran suffering from mental or medical issues to get lost in the shuffle. Not very easy to fix!
I always questioned why veterans aren’t simply issued a gold medical card, which guarantees payment from the federal government to private health providers. Please don’t attack, but the Department of Veterans Affairs is not immune to bloat, inefficiency, and fraud. Are veterans forced to use the VA for healthcare or can they visit “outside” providers with their insurance?
Veterans healthcare is not really insurance, it’s a direct benefit. I believe in communities where there are not VA facilities there is some kind of subcontracting. But I think the gold card idea is an interesting one.
https://news.va.gov/39882/10-things-know-veterans-choice-program/#:~:text=The%20Veterans%20Choice%20Program%20(VCP,for%20the%20Veterans%20Choice%20Program%3F
Having also served in the Army during the Vietnam era I believe that the various branches of the military are somewhat responsible. A large breakdown in discipline allowed the open use of drugs and alcohol in a combat zone. Why?
That is certainly not the case today, I hope!
I don't know what the mention of Dale Page's race/ethnicity is for. The mention that he is Vietnam veteran is relevant as the source his drug addiction, for which he unfortunately failed to be rehabilitated.
Are you inferring that his race/ethnicity has something to do with his addiction and criminality?
You don't mention the race/ethnicity of other subjects in your articles.
The race or ethnicity of a subject is often mentioned routinely in media accounts, and is really a judgment thing based on circumstances. In some cases, when a photo is published of a subject, these details are fairly obvious, or when someone has a Hispanic or Asian last name. In the case of Dale Page, having spent time talking to him, it became clear that the fact that he is African-American was relevant to his experiences both in the Army and in jail. Those familiar with the Vietnam era know that Black soldiers had unique experiences and were distinctly over represented in the ranks of those who had to fight and die. I was in the Army during the Vietnam era and had first hand experience of this situation and knew many Black GIs and their circumstances. As for his many years in prison, had he been white, he may well have gotten more breaks and shorter sentences and had an easier time getting his life on track. You seem to want to say that this decision was based on racism, but you would be off the mark. Our coverage of his case has in all instances been with the aim of humanizing him, especially for those who are not able to see beyond race in such situations. I suggest going back and reading all of the stories we did about him. The Chronicle went out of its way to look into who he was and why he was stealing from ShopRite, which I dare say no one else bothered to do.
For further reading about the experiences and special situations of African-American soldiers during the Vietnam era, there are a lot of sources, here is one to get those interested started on the subject. https://time.com/5852476/da-5-bloods-black-vietnam-veterans/
Then why didn't you cover the woman who stole $64k from the same ShopRite? I wonder if you would have specified her race/ethnicity?
https://patch.com/new-york/ossining/dutchess-woman-stole-64k-gift-cards-westchester-shoprite-cops
I did not cover that story because it had already gotten a lot of coverage from local media. The Chronicle tends to cover stories that are not covered elsewhere rather than repeat things. You seem to be ignoring everything I said and still want to accuse me of racism, apparently. Your lack of engagement with my explanation of why I mentioned Dale Page’s race in this story is telling. Did you or did you not know about this history? There are two principle kinds of anti-racism, performative anti-racism and real, effective anti-racism. You seem to be engaging in the first one. The Chronicle has engaged in the second one.
Many unfortunate veterans (of all races and ethnicities) became addicted in Vietnam. We all know that addiction can lead to criminal behavior, but are you saying Black Vietnam vets that suffer from addiction are more prone to criminality?
Race is often used by left leaning pundits to engender sympathy through paternalistic tales of Black victimhood. Right leaning pundits often paint Blacks as inherentlly more antisocial. I do not know to which of these camps you belong, but I'd prefer you belong to no camp, if your intensions are truly journalistic.
According to you, the fact that I am African-American should make my argument stronger, but it really doesn't.