To sign the petition for a Bill of Rights For American Veterans, and to learn about more ways to get involved visit: http://think.mtv.com/groups/brave/

Veterans, ALL Vets are treated unfairly! My father is a Vietnam Vet. My brother And 1st cousin is a Iraqi War vet! Man I've watched the turmoil and hardship that has taken a tole on my father and brother. First off ANY vet should be eating off of a silver platter for the crap that they are put through. I hold Any and every vet on a pedistool . You guys and gals are my heroes and to see them being treated like they are second class citizens! NO! It makes me sick really. yes they need more attention ! They were and constantly go through hell we will never know. I've sat through flashback after flashback with my father and I cannot tell you how it has affected how i veiw things . man its screwed up. I'm just glad i was there for my father . see because he couldn't get the help that he needed he tryed to commit suicide. he came in the house & looked at me and said . I think i messed up joel. he handed me the bottle of pills there were 11 left out of 60 volumes . this is hard but if i don't tell it will never be known . I'm sooo glad i was there that day. because if i wasn't he would not be alive. the pain is not only mental but physical unknown to him during his tours in nam he broke his lower back in copter crashed so it wasn't only the mental pain that led him to do this . I love my father deeply. I hate that i cannot be there for my brother. so yes vets need more attention then just dumping them in society . it doesn't work that way.

We get treated like **** by the VA and by most citizens other than a cursory "thanks for serving". I can't sleep at night, I can't sit with my back to the door anywhere, and I don't like being around large crowds of people.

All this coming from a guy that doesn't like some of the benefits already offered by the military, like tuition assistance to go to college and the Montgomery G.I. Bill. There's not much that can be done about the many variations of PTSD, but what do you think we should do, ghost_turd? There are contracting opportunities for vets that are out there - for example, Raytheon hires non-coms and officers for various positions (if you really are an E-7, ghost_turd). Also, they have to be completely professional and can't act like they're all big and bad, look scruffy, and you have to be competitive. Jobs and benefits are out there so don't get mad if you don't look for them or they're not given to you on a silver platter.

1. I am talking about the treatment in society as a whole. The average citizen has ZERO concept of what it is like to live near death as a warfighter does, which is reflected in the VA (veteran's association) and their treatment of veterans. I am on medicine for anxiety that I take only when needed, as are many of my peers. Your personal attacks are tiresome. Serve your country for a while in a combat arms position, then you can talk as much **** as you do.

2. I am an e-6(p) not an e-7.

3. I care little for being a contracting parasite on the military industrial complex (working for Raytheon). I get out of the service in in four months (after over five years of service) and have taken the LSAT and am applying for Law School.

4. I grew up poor in a single parent household and went to college on an academic scholarship, after which I joined the army to fight for my country, which I now see is an extremely naive viewpoint.

5. Grow up. Talk all the **** you want from your computer, from the comfort of your bedroom, but sleep well knowing that people like me are ready to do violence on your behalf, because you won't do it yourself and we suffer the consequences of such grave actions. Not you. (If you've really read anything LtCOL Grossman has written)

1. You're talking about the treatment in society as a whole? How is society supposed to treat a volunteer for the military service that will make you happy? I go by this statement: No one in this world owes you anything. However, benefits are there for people who want them - and sadly not everyone takes advantage of them. The thought of relying on the VA never crossed my mind and this recession is a good time to start putting money into a 401k. You think my "attacks" are tiresome, you should see it from my point of view looking at people whine about how bad of a situation they are in. Everyone on this planet has their own problems to deal with, but some are annoying in how they don't deal with theirs.

2. Does E-6(p) mean Staff Sergeant promotable, meaning you're waiting to be promoted to E-7? You also said you have a time in service (TIS) of "over five years." Am I tracking on this so far?

3. I didn't say you had to become a contractor, so you can calm down. I simply stated it as a job option to those professionals who get out of the military. Everything you say is a knee-jerk reaction to what you think I said, instead of what I actually said.

4. Okay, you went to college on an academic scholarship. Great. Now, you blast those soldiers who go to college using the military benefits. If you go to college on an academic scholarship (which not everyone can get), it's good. If you go using the military (which requires enlistment or commissioning), it's bad - according to you.

5. Yeah, I'm talking %#@!, because I advocate people taking charge of their own lives instead of relying on the VA (which they know isn't perfect) and complaining about their own predicament. I'm so horrible. Yup, I've read LTC Grossman's books and even wrote academic reviews about them. Every book I read, I write a review about it - and I've read 16 books (cover to cover, by academics) in the last 7 months.

Mach10, i'm assumeing you haven't been in the war or even close to it what so ever. To ridicule somebody of their experience serving their country is extremely immature and selfish. I suggest you eat your words and go about your day becuase you have absulutly no right to comment at all on somebodys experience in the war becuase while you were doing your daily affairs somebody was out there fighting for you to live in freedom. No respect at all.
Ghost_turd I am not an american citizen but my uncle is and does serve in the american military and i am extremely proud to call him my uncle. Ghost_turd i highly appreciate of what you do/did because it takes a lot of courage to go out there and fight. I belive in you and you will most defiantly acomplish great things in life. Don't let some immature selfish brat get to you becuase he is not worth the time.

Thank you Saroin- Mach doesn't like me, he's attacking me, not all veterans.

Last deployment in Afghanistan, we did some NATO operations with Canadian forces. Top notch professional soldiers in my opinion. I ran their 28km race I came in second for US personnel but your countrymen/women beat my time by 10 minutes easy! I loved the Tim Horton's they had at Kandahar and their hockey games were fun to watch. I am sure your uncle is among the most professional of them.

Mach- E-6p= promotable, you are right. Do you want my sequence number too? Grow up bro, seriously. Keep reading books about war, because that is the closest you will get to it, which is directly reflected in your callous opinion of PTSD sufferers, amputees, blinded soldiers, burn victims, blast injuries, broken backs, inoperable shrapnel, etc.
You are complaining about people complaining about mistreatment! Really man! Just leave them be if it so bothersome, or don't listen to their complaints.
It goes back to liability. If I have a company, then I am required to treat those injured in LOD (line of duty) for their ailments. The same goes for the military and VA. If you think for one second that the Military Medical System and the VA actually take care of soldiers, then you are amazingly uninformed.

Before you answer this post, please do every service member the favor and talk to a few seriously injured vets about their treatment. One of my best friends and members of my unit has a burst fracture in his L5 from an airborne operation and can't even sleep laying down- he's 23- and is given TYLENOL for his pain and the run around for an operation or med board. Seriously man, War is nothing like you read about, it is far worse than you can imagine, and if you have never been there, you will never know.

GT, I'm so sorry you went through so much horror. Do you know you don't have to continue carrying those burdens? I'm sure you fought bravely, and I'm very grateful that you put your life on the line for us civilians. But don't think you are sentenced to be shackled with so much emotional turmoil. Should you decide you really are tired of carrying all that, should you decide you would like to sleep well again and enjoy some peace in your own life, Yahweh is readily available to take your loads from you. He's big enough to handle it. I can't offer much except to say that I respect what you've done for your country, and I will pray for you. Also, if I ever met you, I would be honored to shake your hand. Thanks again.

Aiight, kids. It's time to learn a little more about Mach10. Whenever someone sends me a private email on here about what it is I do, I usually tell them that it's not important. The reason why is because I don't want to get into a pissing contest with another person that has the same background as I do. So here you go saroin and ghost_turd: I have a military background (Infantry) and experience working as an independent contractor. Once upon a time I even held a job working at a pizza place and a lumber yard. If you want to retract any of your statements, saroin, then be my guest. This isn't the first time you've been wrong about me, so it should be a little easier this time. I don't have to eat any words I've said. No one owes anyone a living, and no one is young forever (and combat arms in the military is a young person's profession). I've said these statements before. Now run along, saroin.

Nah, ghost_turd, I'm attacking what you said. There have been some statements you've said that I agree with, but I chose not to comment on them (where two people agree, one is redundant). I will continue to read books on war, not because you told me to however. I'm not complaining; I'm saying to the complainers that they need to get over life not being fair - and the VA has always had problems, so people shouldn't rely on it. You bring up the analogy of a company, but a government organization is far from a private company. People complain about how inadequate government schools are. People complain about the government's social security program being inadequate even though billions are spent. Government organizations being unreliable... are you seeing a pattern here, ghost_turd. Now, show me where I said that the VA is amazing at doing its job. Pay attention to what I say, ghost_turd, because you're putting words into my mouth that I actually didn't say... again. Are you going to stop it, or should we go to round 3?

Before I posted, I thought for about 2 seconds and then started typing.

I think Ryan's story was really moving, because for one it's like most other stories of soliders. They are young and engergetic and want to do something in life. But the war is so much to take in. It's so overwhelming and scary. To have to go back after already serving, it's like reliving your greatest fear. I fully support helping the vets because after experiencing emotional and possibly physical damage, how can life be the same?