BRYAN - About a dozen local veterans and active duty soldiers asked Congressman Chet Edwards on Monday evening to tell his colleagues in the Legislature that the health care and benefits given to the military are unacceptable and an injustice to those who serve.

U.S. Army veteran Donald Shelby told Edwards, who was visiting the American Legion Hall in Bryan as part of a town hall forum, that it’s not right for soldiers to return home from the war in Iraq only to find out their medical insurance is less than stellar.

The 70-year-old Bryan resident said there is no excuse for not fully funding medical care for the troops.

“Our country needs to change its outlook on fighting wars,” said Shelby, who spent more than two decades in the Army before retiring in 1979. “There are times when you have to fight, but we also have to think about the people who fight.”

Shelby was one of about three dozen soldiers, veterans and their spouses who showed up to meet Edwards and voice concerns about government-run health care for veterans and soldiers.

Edwards was elected last fall to the re-drawn 17th Congressional District, which includes Bryan and College Station.

A handful of men complained about cuts made by lawmakers to programs sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Active-duty soldiers and their spouses told of their repeated problems while trying to find local doctors and obtain proper coverage under the military-run insurance.

One man suggested Edwards push the idea of mandatory funding — which he says should be protected from cuts — for veterans’ medical care.

Another told Edwards that lawmakers should take a holistic approach to the investment the government makes in each soldier — including the money needed to cover a lifetime of medical care.

Many Bryan-College Station area soldiers and their families reported problems finding doctors who would accept military insurance. A small veterans clinic exists in the Bryan-College Station area, but no veterans or military hospital.

One active-duty Marine recruiter told Edwards the military insurance — taken over last year by Humana from Health Net — referred him to a doctor in Bryan who practiced out of his home. Inside, there were cigarette butts scattered on the floor and people cleaning their hands by spraying them with Lysol.

Edwards said the volume of complaints was a clear indicator of problems within the system. His first step, he said, will be setting up a meeting with a representative from Humana and TRICARE, the military health-care system.