Until September 2005, I worked at an East Bay company that contracted with the military to manufacture uniform accessories. I spoke frequently to others in the same business and regularly checked the Department of Defense Web site for proposal requests. It was common knowledge among us that the troops being deployed were woefully under-equipped.

Individual citizens were seeking bullet-resistant vests and helmets for grandsons. Urgent requests went out for socks that met the military’s high standards yet were manufactured in the United States as required by law, because our soldiers had worn out the pairs that the military had issued to them and were suffering terribly with blisters and open sores in the sweltering heat.

Worse yet, every day there was a request for proposal for millions more military ID tags.

I am a mother, a wife, a sister and someone’s child. I give thanks every day that my children, my spouse, my brother and my parents are not in harm’s way, and I pray for every child, sibling, spouse and parent who is.

I fear with those anxiously awaiting their return, grieve with those who have lost loved ones, and rejoice with those who’ve been reunited.

In the 70s, my cousin and so many like him returned from Vietnam forever changed. Gone were the lighthearted, handsome boys who had teased us mercilessly. In their place were bitter, frightened men in shattered bodies.

They battled addictions, failed relationships and were shunned by their neighbors. They were attacked in the media, and spat on by protesters for serving their country when they had been given no choice. They received inadequate medical care and little support from the Veterans’ Administration. We failed them then, and we’re failing them now.

Our administration has continually assured us that the thousands of brave men and women wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan are being cared for. The surprise and dismay that the administration is now expressing at the conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center is disingenuous at best.

This nasty little secret has been a way of life for 24.3 million veterans dating back to before the Vietnam War.

The callous indifference that this administration has displayed by putting our men and women in harm’s way inadequately equipped and by disregarding and abusing our wounded is shameful.

Regardless of one’s position regarding the war in Iraq, these brave individuals deserve better.

Contact Carrie Beavers at