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THIS IS AMERICA - For Veterans, Pride in Service, and Health Systems Pushed to Limits
By Jerilyn Watson / Broadcast: Sun, 4 Nov 2007 16:00:00 UTC
VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.


Mary Robles (age 5) stands with her father, Master Sgt. Daniel Robles, during a Purple Heart ceremony in San Antonio

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Barbara Klein. November eleventh is Veterans Day in the United States. The holiday honors those who served in the military. That describes almost twenty-five million people alive today. This week on our program, we talk about veterans and some current issues they face.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

A visitor to the National World War Two Memorial in Washington stands looking at the water rising from the fountains in the middle.

The memorial has an Atlantic side and a Pacific side. The visitor, a man with white hair, walks over to the Atlantic side -- the war in Europe. He looks at the stone block honoring veterans from Massachusetts, his home state.

Fighting in the war was terrible, he says. But being a veteran changed his life.

He explains that he attended college and became an engineer because of legislation passed in nineteen forty-four. The law was known as the GI Bill of Rights. GI is slang for a soldier.

It provided veterans with money for education. It guaranteed loans for homes and businesses. It helped support veterans who had trouble finding jobs. Today, there is a modern version called the Montgomery GI Bill.

The last military draft ended in nineteen seventy-three. Since then the armed services have been all-volunteer.

VOICE TWO:

Many young veterans today served in Iraq or Afghanistan, or in some cases both.

Military and veterans health systems have faced struggles and criticisms of their ability to meet current needs. Close to thirty thousand American troops have been wounded in Iraq since the war began in two thousand three. Many were severely1 injured, including lost arms and legs and brain injuries as a result of bomb explosions.

President Bush says the system for managing care is old and needs to be changed.

His proposals are based on suggestions from the President's Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded Warriors2. Some measures can be taken without legislation; others have to be approved by Congress. The president appointed the commission in March after news reports brought the issue to national attention.

VOICE ONE:


President Bush with member of the National Guard at Walter Reed Army Medical Center Photo: The White House

In February, the Washington Post reported on problems for soldiers recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. These included poor living conditions and long delays in decisions about the future of their care and their military service.

The newspaper series raised wider questions and quickly brought promises of improvements.

For example, the Army is developing new teams in an effort to improve case management for wounded soldiers. But the Government Accountability Office recently reported that the Army is having trouble filling positions on these teams. At the same time, long-standing problems remain to be solved.

Last month, Mister Bush proposed legislation to speed up the process for wounded service members. Now, they go through medical tests and complete paperwork for the Department of Defense3. They have to repeat the same process for the Department of Veterans Affairs, the V.A.

The legislation calls for the Defense Department to decide if a wounded veteran could return to active duty. Those too badly injured would be moved to the care of the V.A. The V.A. would rule on the extent of their injuries.

VOICE TWO:

Family members caring for veterans would receive six months of unpaid4 leave from work so they would not lose their jobs.

Also, all Iraq and Afghanistan veterans could get care for post-traumatic stress disorder5, or PTSD. They would not have to prove it was connected to their service.

And other measures are being proposed.

The Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission, in its final report last month, called for an immediate6 increase in disability payments. The group was established in the two thousand four defense budget.

The commission said Congress should increase payments by up to twenty-five percent. This is being called for as a step toward future measures based not just on work-related losses but losses in quality of life.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Almost one and one-half million men and women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Over a four-year period doctors reported about sixty thousand people with PTSD or serious brain injuries.

Several drugs and mental health treatments are used for post-traumatic stress disorder. But a report released last month said most of the treatments are unproven.

The report came from a committee of the Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academies in Washington. The experts found problems with many studies of PTSD treatments.

They decided7 that there is not enough evidence to make judgments8 about any medications. In the words of chairman Alfred Berg from the University of Washington in Seattle: These therapies may or may not be effective -- we just don't know.

VOICE TWO:

The committee said the same thing about most of the psychotherapies. However, the experts found enough evidence to say that exposure therapies are effective in treating people with PTSD. These forms of therapy expose people to a threat in a safe environment to help them deal with their fears.

Still, the experts said they were not suggesting to discontinue any treatment or only use exposure therapies. Doctor Berg said there is an urgent need for high-quality studies of the best possible care.

The committee found that there is not even a generally accepted definition for recovery from the disorder.

VOICE ONE:

PTSD is the most common service-related mental disorder found in troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Almost thirteen percent of those who fought in Iraq, and about six percent in Afghanistan, are believed to have experienced it.

The Institute of Medicine noted9 that large numbers of Vietnam veterans and veterans of earlier conflicts have also reported PTSD. And most people who suffer from it also have other conditions such as alcoholism, depression, drug use or anxiety disorders10.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

The V.A. says about one-third of homeless adults in the United States have served in the armed forces, mostly during the Vietnam War.

The department says an estimated one hundred ninety-five thousand veterans are homeless on any given night. And, it says, perhaps twice as many are homeless at some point during any given year.

The V.A. has special treatment programs and services that were established twenty years ago to serve homeless veterans.

VOICE ONE:

Last year there was a documentary film about homeless veterans called When I Came Home. It tells the story of an Iraq war veteran with PTSD named Herold Noel. In one scene, he talks about living in his automobile11 in New York.

(SOUND)

HEROLD NOEL: You want to see my home? You want to see my home? My home is right there. That's my home. You understand? There's my home.

VOICE ONE:

The press materials for the film included a newspaper story about Herold Noel in the New York Post in January of two thousand five. The story said he was seeing a psychiatrist12 at a V.A. hospital and had been given three different drugs for his PTSD. But he needed housing for his family. He went to an emergency assistance office in the city. The story said he was told there was no more government-assisted housing available.

VOICE TWO:

The documentary shows how his life changes after meets Paul Rieckhoff. Mister Rieckhoff is the founder13 of an organization called Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. The movie follows Herold Noel as he becomes active and receives media attention. It shows him going to Washington to ask Congress for more help for other veterans.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Three years ago, Illinois Army National Guard pilot Tammy Duckworth was flying in a Black Hawk14 helicopter near Baghdad. A rocket struck the aircraft. She lost both legs and suffered severe injuries to her right arm.

She says veterans of the Korean and Vietnam wars helped her through her painful recovery with support and advice.

Last year she was a Democratic candidate for Congress. It was her first campaign for public office. She lost the election. But she now serves as director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs.

VOICE TWO:

Another veteran, Joyce Robinson, keeps a book of memories. One of them is a photograph of a young woman in the military. That was her, more than sixty years ago. She served in the Army occupation forces in Japan after World War Two. Joyce Robinson says she is happy she served, and glad to be a veteran.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Caty Weaver15. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Barbara Klein.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 severely SiCzmk     
adv.严格地;严厉地;非常恶劣地
参考例句:
  • He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
  • He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。
2 warriors 3116036b00d464eee673b3a18dfe1155     
武士,勇士,战士( warrior的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
  • The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。
3 defense AxbxB     
n.防御,保卫;[pl.]防务工事;辩护,答辩
参考例句:
  • The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
  • The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。
4 unpaid fjEwu     
adj.未付款的,无报酬的
参考例句:
  • Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
  • He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。
5 disorder Et1x4     
n.紊乱,混乱;骚动,骚乱;疾病,失调
参考例句:
  • When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后,他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
  • It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。
6 immediate aapxh     
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的
参考例句:
  • His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
  • We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。
7 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
8 judgments 2a483d435ecb48acb69a6f4c4dd1a836     
判断( judgment的名词复数 ); 鉴定; 评价; 审判
参考例句:
  • A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
  • He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。
9 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
10 disorders 6e49dcafe3638183c823d3aa5b12b010     
n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 );凌乱;骚乱;(身心、机能)失调
参考例句:
  • Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告,厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
11 automobile rP1yv     
n.汽车,机动车
参考例句:
  • He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
  • The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。
12 psychiatrist F0qzf     
n.精神病专家;精神病医师
参考例句:
  • He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
  • The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。
13 Founder wigxF     
n.创始者,缔造者
参考例句:
  • He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
  • According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说,罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。
14 hawk NeKxY     
n.鹰,骗子;鹰派成员
参考例句:
  • The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
  • The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。
15 weaver LgWwd     
n.织布工;编织者
参考例句:
  • She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快,而且布的质量很好。
  • The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

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