Shape Shifting on Veterans Day(h low casualty counts butthis was just...),Health

Our government tried to do war on the cheap, failing to recognize the back-end cost of veterans with disabilities. True, it increased funding for VA programs each year - by amounts far below the rapidly increasing needs of our disabled heroes.

By using the tightest definition to minimize the casualty count, politicians deny reality, preparing a ruinous future for all disabled veterans, especially our youngest generation. In no way is America prepared to deal with the aftermath of today's wars as it will be experienced by veterans in the VA.

This is not meant as criticism of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but to present a more complete picture of the sacrifices made by our men and women in uniform.

Much is made of the idea that veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan differ from past generations of America's defenders. Actually, that's been true of every generation of veterans to date, and the veterans' movement has accommodated those differences.

But one thing will always be the same. Veterans age, and the costs of war last a lifetime.

A soldier who suffers a severe brain injury in Iraq today will still be a disabled veteran 60 years from now when reaching the age of today's World War II veterans. Our nation will still owe that veteran every care in the world.

We must not allow self-serving rhetoric to shortchange any American hero - not now, not ever!