Might not have been a great idea for Vietnam vets but this seems pretty cool.

And I can sure think of some spots on the Pacific Crest Trail that need some help....

Smart, thoughtful, economical and compassionate.

Good job, Patty.

Yes, MOAR!

@3 which means the GOP will fight this tooth and nail

@ 5 -- thanks for bursting the bubble, but you're probably right. On the other hand Patty, since she's co-chair of the Super-Congress Budget Committee, she may be able to push it through as long as she's willing to be a dick right back and cut Republican pet projects if they don't go along.

B.S. Out of everyone's sight and everyone's mind. Just like what happened to them when they were in Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam. You might as well put them in prison.

@7: Yes. The woods are just like prison.

Almost nobody in this country gave a damn or sacrificed when these men and women were sent to Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, you name the place. Now you want to further isolate them? Why don't you feel the need to welcome and support them at a level that recognizes that their sacrifices and efforts were suppose to benefit your general welfare?

Send them to some wilderness area? Keep the separated from society? What an incredibly ignorant and callous idea.

@7 & 9,

Combat veterans sometimes have a hard time reintegrating back into a non-violent civilian role in a crowded society. For some people, spending time in an uncrowded natural environment is extremely soothing and mentally healthy. In the article, veterans themselves are praising the program.

Nobody is forcing veterans into this; it is entirely voluntary. It is helping some veterans. I can't see how anyone could possibly complain about this.

I think this is a great idea. Get the VA endorsement and go after more funding. Also, how about say, $15/hour for the vets?

@10

It is an example of how little is given to those who have sacrificed so much by the overwhelming majority who sacrificed virtually nothing.

Sorry, but we owe these people a heck of a lot more than $8.00/hr and a tent in a wilderness area.

@12 - How about forty acres and a mule that shits gold?

This is an awesome idea.

@7 I'm looking forward to camping 12mi from the nearest road this Labor Day weekend. Can't say I'd be equally excited about prison.

Uhhhhh, looks like a plan to put active duty troops into areas known to be favored by CANNABIS CULTIVATORS to me. Color me weird, but I am not in favor of active duty military in my forests...seems to violate several rules of law and order. Oh yes, BTW, I am a cannabis cultivator, but legally, thank you.

This is brilliant... finding some purpose after being institutionalized is incredibly hard, and this is a great way to help bridge that transition. Makes me sad that we don't do more.

I read a news article about how the Japanese have a term that translates into 'forest bathing'. It's when they take trips to wilderness areas to relax and reduce stress. It's shown tangible benefits in terms of blood pressure, heart rate, ...other stress signals. It's been a cultural practice to go enjoy the beauty of nature, but only recently has any tried to quantify it's benefits.

@12,

Veterans get many benefits from the government at the state and federal level: preferential hiring, low interest mortgages, low interest loans for down-payments on their homes, and that's not even including what the feds are contractually obligated to provide.

I'm sorry you're so ignorant of what this society provides to its veterans. If you are a veteran, I suggest doing some homework to find out about all the benefits you're entitled to.

@18
I am a vet, keshmeshi, and only a vet would understand what I am talking about. Integration into society would be a lot easier for returning military personal if there was a common understanding of shared sacrifice by everyone in society. There isn't.

I don't need to read your lecture about vet "benefits". They are nothing more than payoffs to satisfy the ego and guilt of those who didn't and wouldn't make those sacrifices.

@19 - Your view on the benefits provided to veterans is interesting, as is the assumption that "common" people don't empathize with our veterans. It suggests that you wouldn't be satisfied with any measures that "common" society takes to assist veterans. Am I mistaken?

Yes, you are quite wrong. Having empathy for military folks and their needs doesn’t necessarily correlate to a VA loan on a house...and only if they financially qualify for it.

What you and other posters fail to understand, it that when someone joins the military, they are writing a blank check to you and me with their life. That sacrifice isn’t and hasn’t been shared in recent history by those who you refer to as “common” people. Common society gives little more than lip service of “supporting the troops“ when the military is sent overseas. It is nothing more that an overused, empty slogan.

We send these people off to a series of never-ending conflicts and absolutely do nothing to support them while their lives oscillate from incredible boredom to extreme fear and terror. They wonder why nobody back home is attempting or trying to sacrifice like themselves. Instead our world goes on like they are of no consequence while they are living day to day hoping not to be maimed or killed.

We completely ignore them when they really need us, and it is shameful. My
disagreement is that common people haven't and don't put any skin into the game, and I believe that is morally corrupt.

Like I said before, the "benefits" are just payoffs to make us all feel good about ourselves.

This is how the Great Ocean Road along the southern coast of Australia was built. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Ocean…

@21 - Sorry, but everything you wrote supports my impression of your feelings about "common" people. You're argument that unless everyone makes the exact same sacrifice as everyone else, we're incapable of empathizing and helping each other -and your assertion that the average person has "no skin in the game" rings false in a society with a volunteer service made up of "common" people.

You can't possibly know where the average person's sympathies lie. Do we do enough for our veterans? What's enough?