In Vietnam, I’m told, soldiers and marines in infantry units didn’t make a special effort to learn the names of new guys joining the unit. They called them FNGs. New guys were welcome because they filled ranks; there were more people to pull security and hump ammo on patrol. But they were also viewed suspiciously; they were untested and thus a potential weak link.
Since this is my first blog post for Battleland, I’m the FNG here. Like all FNGs I feel the pressure to live up to the standards of the unit and those who have come before me. All I can say is I’ll do my best. I’ll try to bring a different perspective to the blog, that of a soldier and now veteran.
I will certainly write about some of the struggles veterans face returning to civilian society. We’ve sent two million Americans to fight in these wars. Many of them have served multiple combat tours. Communities, medical care systems, courts, the VA, and families are all struggling under the weight of their needs.
Let me start with this: there are over three-quarters of a million claims for benefits stuck in the system at the VA. Almost half a million of those have been sitting unprocessed for four months or longer. I know veterans who have been waiting over nine months for a hearing on their claim for compensation.
Secretary Shinseki has promised to clear the backlog by 2012. Shinseki, who was seriously wounded in Vietnam and who retired as the Army Chief of Staff, has his hands full grappling with the second largest bureaucracy in the U.S. government. He has done well in directing the health care side of the VA. But the Veterans Benefits Administration is testing his mettle.