These things are like a bug on the kitchen counter. Easily squished, but telling us something about the larger picture.
This is another in a series of similar stories, like the problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Correcting another specific problem is nice but not sufficient. There is a larger problem in the system. These repeated incidents reveal the values of the people in the senior echelons at DoD, and that must be changed. Or we will continue to read stories like this, again and again.
“VA testing drugs on war veterans“, The Washington Times (17 June 2008) — “Experiments raise ethical questions” — Excerpt:
The government is testing drugs with severe side effects like psychosis and suicidal behavior on hundreds of military veterans, using small cash payments to attract patients into medical experiments that often target distressed soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, a Washington Times/ABC News investigation has found.
In one such experiment involving the controversial anti-smoking drug Chantix, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) took three months to alert its patients about severe mental side effects. The warning did not arrive until after one of the veterans taking the drug had suffered a psychotic episode that ended in a near lethal confrontation with police.
“Disposable Heroes’: Veterans Used To Test Suicide-Linked Drugs“, ABC News (17 June 2008) — “An ABC News and Washington Times Investigation Reveals Vets Are Being Recruited for Government Tests on Drugs with Violent Side Effects” The report will air on Good Morning America. This article has more details than the Washington Times article. — Excerpt:
“Lab rat, guinea pig, disposable hero,” said former US Army sniper James Elliott in describing how he felt he was betrayed by the Veterans Administration. {details of his story follow}
For more information about this
See the website for the story, providing documents and testimony to support these articles.
Letter from Senator Obama to James Peake, Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Letter from Senator John Cornyn, Texas Republican, to Secretary Peake.
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