Archive for July, 2010

Not like nonfiction books, but stories about soldiers and stuff like that, having to do with the Military and all…

You’re in luck! I just did a project where I collected 31 books about war, so here’s some of the best ones especially about soldiers:

Slaughterhouse-Five
A Farewell to Arms
Catch-22
All Quiet on the Western Front

I want to know how US military health care really works. Are there long waiting lines up to a month long and is it good as health care that normal civilians get? Are there differences between active duty and veteran health care?

If you’re on active duty and you get up sick one morning, you report yourself to the Orderly Room and request to be put on sick call. You’ll be sent to a clinic within walking distance within minutes, or if you appear to be seriously ill, transported to said clinic or directly to the post’s hospital. There’s rarely a wait time. If you’re in need of special tests and exams, the preparation for those can take a couple days – and you’ll be on limited duty while you undergo the prep.

Veterans’ health care is quite another matter. Wait times for appointments can take months. There are multiple reasons – insufficient staff, including physicians, plagues most Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers. Some VA hospitals do a much better job of wading through the backlog of needs than others – the VA hospital in Syracuse, NY, where I get my care, is one of the good ones.
Yes, Syracuse has a few problems – a couple of the physicians I’ve had to deal with are absolute b*tches! …but I had no difficulty when I asked to be assigned to a different physician. And despite the often over-long wait times for appointments, the major veterans’ health centers do have an emergency room. The one at Syracuse is always well-staffed and fully prepared to deal with any emergency that comes through the doors. I’m sure there’s one near you…