Since the Iraq war began, more than 1,000 American soldiers have been killed and nearly 8 times that number have been injured according to the Department of Defense.

While the public is treating them like heroes, the system is treating them like enemies. So many of the injured Iraq war veterans are facing many months ofDelays in receiving treatment and much needed services.

When I was here in East Longmeadow on Memorial Day, I spoke about the Department of Veterans Affairs as being a system in crisis and woefully underfunded to meet the needs of the current pool of Veterans no less those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

We are now experiencing the beginnings of a grave crisis in our ability to meet the needs of our returning combat veterans. Severely injured vets are finding that it takes many months to finally receive their medical discharges and that during this time, they receive no treatment or financial support.

An ABC News expose, aired on October 14th, exposed the outrageous and cruel treatment accorded by the Pentagon to a number of severely and permanently injured Iraq vets after their shipment home from the war. In one case, a soldier at Walter Reed Army Hospital, still recovering from severe and life-altering wounds received in a mortar attack, received a notice from a collection agency demanding repayment of his enlistment bonus because he could not serve out his 36 month enlistment.

General Franklin “Buster” Hagenbeck, a three-star general and the Army’s deputy chief of staff for personnel was incredulous and said, “I can’t believe we allow these things to happen” and blamed these problems on “faceless beaurocrats. Other wounded veterans are systematically being denied treatment and benefits and critics claim these delays are really cost-saving measures by the military.

Worse yet, military families back home are struggling financially and many are being told by the military to go on welfare and get food stamps. Even more egregious, our troops overseas are reporting that they are in need. Families claim they have to purchase Kevlar vests for service members and send basic necessities such as soap and other toiletry items. Americans across the country are taking up donations for our people overseas and their families back home.

No matter your view of the war itself, everyone in the United States everyone supports our troops. Our nation will never make that mistake again. But many of us are shocked that our government seems unwilling and unable to do the right thing for our service personnel both overseas and when they return home injured and disabled.

Please help our troops: Write to General Franklin Hagenbeck at the Pentagon and tell him you want him to stop making excuses and to do better by our veterans and you want him to do it fast.

Here in Massachusetts:

A number of my house and senate colleagues are sponsoring a bill to aid distressed families of Massachusetts servicemen and women activated since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The bill would establish a “Military Family Relief Fund” subsidized by a voluntary check-off box on state income tax returns, which would allow taxpayers to contribute all or part of their refund to the Massachusetts National Guard and Reserve Families Foundation.

Established in 2003 to assist military families whose main wage earners are activated, the Foundation provides monetary support to help cover shortfalls for food, housing, utilities, medical bills, and other expenses. Since most military reservists and National Guard members face a pay cut when called to active duty, their families often suffer significant financial hardships.

Men and women honoring the call to duty in the service of our country are too often forced to sacrifice their family’s future and financial well-being in the process. In many instances, their families face hardship and deprivation not shared by the general population. The tax return check-off mechanism for donating to these families will, hopefully, create a revenue stream to assist them.

Under the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act of 1994, employers are not required to pay employees who are on military leave. Paying employees while on military leave or making up the difference between military pay and what he or she earned on the job is optional.

The 1994 Act does require employers to either reinstate reservists upon their return or to provide them with equivalent positions. Their benefits and any raises they would have otherwise received are also protected under the Act. While the vast majority of employers abide by the law, more employers than ever before, nationwide, are refusing to comply with the law and complaints about noncompliant employers have risen steadily since the deployments began after 9/11, prompting Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao to issue public service announcements reminding employers of their legal obligations.

In the meantime, the pay gap forces the families of many reservists into economic failure. The Massachusetts Military Family Relief Fund bill is designed to help fill the monetary gaps.

Other versions of military relief funding have already been passed in Illinois, Maine, and Wyoming. The Massachusetts bill is expected to move quickly so contributions can be made with the 2004 tax returns.

To submit donations or applications for aid write to the Friends of the Massachusetts National Guard and Reserve Families at PO Box 313, Medway, MA 02053. Military families can download an application for aid at www.mangfriends.org.