Veterans Response Essay

Over the last decade, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have drastically increased the need for effective mental health services and treatment for U.S. veterans and service members, especially those suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Nearly 1.5 million American service members have been deployed in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) since the attack on the Twin Towers in September 2001 (Price, Gros, Strachan, Ruggiero, & Acierno, 2013). Approximately 25% of soldiers and wounded warriors returning home from OEF/OIF present with mental illness due to combat-related violence and other trauma exposure (Steinberg & Eisner, 2015). According to Price and colleagues (2013), OEF/OIF soldiers and veterans are at greater risk for developing mental illness compared to others who served in past military operations.

There is a common belief that many combat veterans are suffering; many from invisible wounds that affect them in many ways. The challenge that the VA and other government agencies face is determining which veterans need help, there are several factors that affect this, from the individual’s desire to accept help, to the stigma that most veterans have accepted, which is “if they ask for help, they are weak.” During separation from the military it is a critical time for all soldiers, this time provides an opportunity for the military, the VA and our government to intercede and work with men and women while they are still soldiers. Veteran suicide is an epidemic, the number of veterans taking their life daily has been steadily growing, the statistic published by the VA is that twenty-two veterans end their lives every day (Suicide Data Report, 2012); steps have been taken to curb this number but the efforts have been woefully inadequate.

Rates of trauma and mental illness are reported to be disproportionately higher among American veterans, especially those of the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The barriers to care after civilian reentry further disadvantage this already vulnerable population. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been the longest sustained US military operations since the Vietnam era, sending more than 2.2 million troops into battle and resulting in more than 6,600 deaths and 48,000 injuries. Veterans are at risk mental health challenges, as well as family instability, elevated rates of homelessness, and joblessness. Veterans have disproportionate rates of mental illness, particularly posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse disorders, depression, anxiety, and military sexual trauma.

Both articles identify the issue of providing mental health services for veterans with an extra emphasis on those that served in Afghanistan and Iraq (OEF/OIF veterans). It is no surprise that returning veterans suffer from both visible/invisible (physical and mental) wounds. Most veterans have this “high” expectation that they are going to receive quality care from both the DoD and VA. Unfortunately reality steps in where veterans are slapped in the face because they are receiving a lack of poor quality care all while jumping through Beuracractic hoops. The challenges faced to access these services include resistance, stigma, lack of professionalism, and geographic and/or regional disparities in the distribution of services resources and/or benefits, and the system simply refusing to change.

For many years, the VA has offered health care to the men and women who have surrendered a large part of their lives to protect our nation. The VA has made great stride in providing specialized services to veterans such as Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Military Sexual Trauma (MST), and Mental Health treatment. In fact, the VA is leading the field on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) research, but now that many of our men and women are returning home from war, the commitment that the VA made to provide accessible health services and a smooth transition from military life back to civilian life to these heroes and their dependents are not being granted in a timely manner. Studies show that suicide among veterans is the number one leading cause of death in the United States and

“The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is home to the United States’ largest integrated health care system” (Mason e.t. al 2016). Because of technological and medical advancement, surviving injuries from war has lead to a greater need for post deployment and discharge care. I often hear the phrase “Freedom is not free”; the mental health of our active duty soldiers and veterans is one area that ends up costing America. Some lose time with their families, some are injured physically and mentally, and some lose their lives.

Recent research has revealed that the majority of Veterans with a mental disorder under-utilize mental health services [3]. Among OEF/OIF Active Duty Veterans, only 23-40% of those with mental

There are several barriers to rural veterans receiving quality of care. These include the rural and military stigma against mental health services, the insufficient timeliness of receiving care, the lack of skilled professionals in positions to serve veterans, and the tangible challenge of access to care. These barriers cause many veterans to not receive services at all. At best, it causes major hindrances for rural veterans resulting in sporadic treatment, low quality of care (Buzza, et al., 2011) and financial concerns (Gayle & Heady, 2011).

Many veterans are unable to leave behind the trauma of Vietnam and psychologically return home. They struggle with a variety of extremely severe problems that neither they nor their families, friends, or communities knew how to understand

The need for effective services is clear. The effective treatment, according to Ray & Vanstone (2008) is to address this particular issue is for the afflicted veteran to seek support among friends and family members, but to also seek professional help. The professional help should focus on helping sufferers improve interpersonal skills and work with their existing social supports. Another treatment option would be to form new social supports. This can be done by attending peer support groups.

Since the Post 9/11 Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have ended, there has been a plethora of veterans, returning back home to the United States. Out of the thousands of veterans who were exposed to combat during their deployment, many of these soldiers experienced Acute Stress Disorder, which later turned into (PTSD) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, after one month of their condition not being treated (Yehuda & Wong, 2000). What makes matters worse is that many of these veterans, who endured PTSD, fail to receive treatment for their disorder, which later led to other detrimental issues, including other psychological disorders, child abuse, divorce, substance abuse, suicide and job loss. In fact a study

With the withdrawal of U.S. military troops from Iraq and the reduction in force due to federal budget constraints, thousands of military members are returning to civilian life. For some military service member the adjustment to civilian life is challenging. During the reintegration period, veterans face a variety of issues from relating to friends and family, moving to find work, entering the work force and creating a new structure within their daily lives. Not all problems can be solved, but as a step forward every veteran should be assigned a social worker and provided with better job preference within federal, state and county sections. Reintegration process has come a long way from previous years, but there are still visible issue that

The care for our veteran service men and women has been inadequate since the founding of our nation. The intent of this section is to provide an over view on the history of the military and the policies that have affected our veterans. Additionally, I will address the gaps in current mental and healthcare policies affecting veterans today.

Veterans willing to participate in psychiatric screenings and services along with their families, preferably through the Veterans Administration, can receive the support and guidance they need to promote an ongoing healthy civilian life transition. America’s heroes need not suffer in silence and

Veterans have struggling with their civilian life after separated from military. Returning to the civilian life seem to be a big challenge for veterans who have no prior job’s skills for civilian because they had been influenced from military’s training, have physical and psychological injuries, so they have a hard time for