Probably not as bad as Byfield, but compared to the standard of living now to back then, probably not that different when matched against the general population.
I’d say America is taking care of them pretty well compared to Dickensian conditions.
Disability can be easy or hard to get, depending on which generation you got injured in and whether or not they think you're playing it up. I've heard both people saying that they were pushed to claim disability when they didn't actually need it, as well as men who definitely needed it getting turned down.
Actual health care at the VA can be really uneven too. A friend of mine got a knee injury and was basically given a three month supply of an addictive painkiller and told to go sit at home and take however much he wanted.
What do you think happens to a young man in his prime who is stuck glued to a couch other than sit around playing video games drunk all day addicted to painkillers?
Well, in his case at least, he managed to get off of them and turn himself around before it became too destructive, but the lack of care he was shown by the doctors put him at significant risk for permanent harm.
I've heard other horror stories, and stories of nothing but praise as well. YMMV.
He has no combat deployments. He has a home gym, rolls BJJ 6 days a week. Has a government (tax payer) paid Bachelor’s and Master’s in Comp. Sci. and makes 6-figures working as a civilian DOD employee.
So I’m not sure in what meaningful sense of the term he’s “100% disabled” but he’s enjoying his salary so good for him?
After all, it’s not as if normal people in normal society lack these conditions as they age. Connecting them to the service is spurious and often fraudulent. By all means, let’s take care of the folks with serious physical and mental injury that cannot provide for themselves, but let’s be real our system is heavily gamed and abused.
Counselling? Therapy? Provided.
Community based support?
Money?
College education? Vocational training?
I hear about the great experiences less often, though that's to be expected since unhappy people tend to share more.
Even this bullshit response is exactly what the author discussed
Disdain and contempt for servicemembers who fought, were hurt or maimed in wars
So again, ironic, given the topic context
I believe that the people on his show are real and have the money issues they claim. But I also believe that his crew select for sensationalism. You aren't ever going to see someone who the system is genuinely fucking over on his show. They will not invite that guest on. They only invite people on who have done colossally stupid shit and could be getting their shit together if they weren't complete fucking doorknobs.
There are more than enough idiots in the world to keep his channel going for at least a couple of years.