U.S. Military Veteran: ‘Challenging to Justify’ Injuries by National Guard When They’re ‘Basically Picking up Trash’

EXCERPT:

ROUSE: "It‘s really frustrating where troops are always caught in the middle. And when political rhetoric is high, it‘s always the troops that you see visible with the American flag on their shoulder. Even politicians, you know, can go on the subway and by and large not be noticed. But if you‘re wearing the uniform of the United States of America, you know, I mean, you are clearly visible and you are, unfortunately, a target. And this was a — this was a high-visibility patrol and something — something that we would do when deployed in Afghanistan or other countries, this type of thing. But, you know, but so many of the troops in Washington, D.C. have been basically picking up trash, and it's — it seems very challenging to justify that in terms of injuries, you know, an assault like this. You know, are they going to be covered by the VA for injuries that they assume in trash pickup or in a tragic, horrific incident?"