In a troubling report, National Public Radio’s Daniel Zwerdling recently told about the obstacles that stand between U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq and the mental health care that many of them need.

According to Army studies, between 20 and 25 percent of them show signs of psychiatric problems including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Yet Zwerdling found, in exhaustive interviews with returning servicemen, their families, some of their superiors and others, that those with urgent, service-related troubles could not get timely help. One GI in the midst of a serious emotional struggle asked for an appointment with a counselor and was told to come back in a month.

Having mustered the courage to recognize their problems and seek help, many found themselves shunned and harassed by their peers in uniform, making matters worse.

Zwerdling’s findings mock the nation’s widely shared conviction – one that transcends political differences over the war – that we owe thanks and respect to those who risk their lives on behalf of the nation.

With that conviction in mind, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs adopted a strategic plan in 2004 to increase spending on veterans’ mental health needs by $300 million over the next two years.

Approving a plan is one thing, however, and carrying it out is something else.

The General Accountability Office this week released a report noting that the VA was unable to spend the full amount allocated, and, moreover, failed to track what was spent well enough to assure that it went for the purposes intended.

Americans are divided over the political rationale for sending young military personnel through the nerve-racking ordeal of combat, but there is strong accord that those who accept that role as their duty are entitled to appropriate care for the wounds they suffer, both physical and emotional.

Part of the reason given for the VA’s failure to spend the full $100 million added to the 2005 budget was that officials ran out of time. Amazingly, that was still part of the explanation for another shortfall in the extra $200 million for 2006.

The 5 million veterans who receive care through VA facilities each year deserve the comfort of knowing the agency is fully dedicated to meeting their legitimate needs.

Some Americans will be slow to fault a federal agency for not spending tax dollars. But war is an enormously costly enterprise. Those who face the peril up close pay a much higher price than the meager monetary toll assessed to the national treasury. The public and the government must discharge their own obligations just as faithfully.