Extended Benefits Needed for Veterans Who Suffer with Traumatic Brain Injury

COMMENTARY | Simply put, "war is hell," and this may one of the most important factors on determining why unmitigated benefits for veterans that suffer with service-connected traumatic brain injury receive optimum health care related to this distressing crisis.

My heart goes out to all of the men and women who served in the armed forces, especially scores of those who are suffering from a variety of depression and anxiety related to traumatic brain injury.

My veteran status does allow me to receive treatment for anxiety and depression, a benefit that I do not take for granted. At some point in my four-year tenure as a Coast Guard Seaman, there was one incident where I had to receive an MRI due to a freak accident. If I were not a full-time Coast Guardsmen during the 1980s, my hospital price tag would have cost me thousands of dollars.

Today's post-war veterans deserve the best treatment related to traumatic brain injury. President Obama's nominee for Department of Defense, Chuck Hagel, can play a pivotal role at how much care these post-war veterans will be able to receive. It has become abundantly clear that the war in the Middle East is a sobering reminder the price we pay for freedom, and the price for veterans health care should never be compromised by how much it will cost our nation.

Despite many veterans able to deal with the ills of war, there are countless of post-war veterans still struggling with post-traumatic stress.

I would personally like veterans affairs to mandate and regulate assistance for Parkinson's, dementias, and anxiety disorders. America has the resources to protect the mental health of our men and women whom gave their best to look after the freedom we so much cherish.

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Extended Benefits Needed for Veterans Who Suffer with Traumatic Brain Injury