Panic Time

"You have one minute and 25 seconds of air time", I was told by the TV person in charge of my interview. "You may bring one veteran with you and you can have 6 seconds to read from his chapter. The reporter doing the interview is inexperienced so please be concise and make only a few points".

Well, I'll be.....What was the old expression?...a monkey's uncle, as I remember.

I am comfortable doing a radio interview. I have two coming up this month. One gives me 60 minutes and I may bring as many veterans as I wish. The other is 50 minutes. During these two interviews I have time to discuss the book, Reveille in Hot Springs, and bring up many pertinent issues.

TV is another matter! I have never done this type of interview. How am I going to promote the book, as well as bring up the crucial issues, read a passage, and allow time for the one veteran that will be interviewed with me? If I had at least 20 minutes I might be able to manage all of that.

I admit, I had a sleepless night. What to say, what to do in order to give the audience some ideas of the importance of this issue to all of our veterans present and future?

The book tells the stories of veterans from WWII through Afghanistan, from all branches of service, who have served their country, given up three or four years, or more of their lives to the military, and who were promised health care for life, much as our politicians who have also served. Now those promises are being whittled away...one by one, with the ultimate goal, it appears, to privatize all health care for veterans. In this process the VA will not cover medical issues unless they are directly service related. We know that many veterans need increasing medical care as they age...the same as all of our retired politicians. Many of these veterans cannot afford private insurance and do not know what they will do.

To add insult to injury, veterans are being shifted away from VA facilities..."outsourced" is the term...to be treated by medical professionals untrained to recognize PTSD, Agent Orange, toxic poisoning and all of the accompanying emotional issues facing our veterans.

Veterans suffering from combat trauma do not heal well in larger cities, surrounded by triggers to send them back into their addictions. The VA in Washington is focusing on closing the peaceful, rural VA facilities that are more condusive in the healing of veterans and helping them regain their places in society. The veterans have told me that they are treated like a number in the huge VA hospitals. In our VA they are treated as a veteran and a person.

I could go on and on, but I have one minute and 25 seconds to share the plight of our veterans with viewers who do not know. They need to know. Washington needs to know.

Now my job is to focus on the most important point in the time alloted. I was hoping if I wrote down these thoughts it would help my concentration, but there is more to share and in looking back I know that I have passed my time limit. I have until tomorrow to decide how to narrow down the meat of my book and the struggle of our veterans. Many have fought before and now they are fighting again...this time for their benefits and the benefits of future veterans. This book is their story and their struggle. They want the country to hear them. They want you and all of the citizens of this country to speak out for them. They deserve nothing less.