Lawmakers to grill VA over problem of suicides among troops, vets

Stars and Stripes

Published: May 25, 2011

The Veterans Administration is taking heat for what Congress sees as the agency's inadequate response to the problem of suicides among active-duty and military veterans after a court ruling cited the VA's "unchecked incompetence" in treating mental health issues among vets.

But the ruling is just the latest indication of a mental health system that has a longtime reputation for failing military veterans — a fact that almost any veteran who deals with the system can confirm.

“I won’t trust the VA,” said Sgt. 1st Class John Kyte, a decorated Iraq War veteran who is in treatment for a serious disorder that has caused him to black out more than 40 times.

Kyte's assessment of the VA: “They are overwhelmed."

Read Politico's story "Veterans committees to look at suicides"

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