As we’ve noted in here before, a woman can put on the uniform of the US military and risk her life in one of Chimpy’s wars-but she might as well STFU if she’s thinking about complaining about sexual harrassment, or even rape. Boys will be boys, after all. Is it really THEIR fault that a woman serving in Iraq or Afghanistan has as much to worry about from her alleged male comrades in arms as she does from the local insurgents?

This attitude is, of course, an offshoot of right-wing thinking regarding women. A woman is seen mostly as a breeder, and doesn’t need to be pampered with things like respectful treatment. That should be reserved for the male, the head of the family and the only authority figure in the household. Given the years of official Rushpublican disdain for the rights of women, is it any wonder that these attitudes can now be found in our Armed Forces?

You’ll be as unsurprised as I was to learn that the official disdain for our women in uniform continues when they come back to this country and try to get the treatments we promised them when they signed up. I am certain that the Rushpublican misogynist asshats that Chimpy planted throughout Government look upon our female veterans with contempt for their audacity in even signing up in the first place.

The rest of us, we ought to care more. Of this, there is no doubt.

The Department of Veterans Affairs often fails to provide adequate medical care to female military veterans, five of them told the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Tuesday.

A Veterans Affairs official agreed.

“At the root is a system that has not been responsive to the needs of women veterans,” said Patricia Hayes, the department’s national director of women’s health care.

The five veterans said that women sometimes aren’t properly informed upon discharge that health benefits are still available. They described how dealing with government is frustrating and confusing, and that often their unique needs, such as child care and sexual assault counseling, aren’t understood by government officials.

“I looked to the VA for help when I most needed it, but never succeeded in completing my enrollment, let alone actually receiving the care I needed,” said Genevieve Chase, the founder and executive director of the American Women Veterans organization.

Hayes agreed. “Women don’t really know about VA services,” she said.

Department representatives acknowledged Tuesday that they’re struggling to adapt to the unique needs of female veterans. The idea that the military should provide pap smears and mammograms is still somewhat new, they said.

Chase recalled how, when serving in the Army in Afghanistan in 2006, her truck was hit by an improvised explosive device, “nearly disintegrating” the vehicle. Upon her discharge, she was given only a list of Web addresses and a five-minute briefing about the health care services she qualified for.

Seeking help for her post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries, Chase was frustrated by what she said was an “unclear” veterans’ government Web site and “unfriendly” phone advice.

“In communicating with other veterans, I have found that I am hardly alone in this,” she said. “Veterans should not need a third party to help them navigate the VA system.”

If these damn harlots had been at home, popping out little ones and doing laundry, they wouldn’t be in this predicament now, would they?

No, you’ll never actually hear a Rushpublican scumbag say it, but you know damn well that’s what they’re thinking.

Tags: failure, misogyny, rushpublicans, veterans, women

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 at 4:03 am and is filed under Jolly Roger, Support The Troops!. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.