College-educated service members who have recently returned to civilian life
earn almost $10,000
<http://www1.va.gov/vetdata/docs/Employment_History_080324.pdf> less per
year on average than other college-educated adults.
Who are our veterans?
Approximately 23.4 million <http://www1.va.gov/opa/fact/docs/vafacts.pdf>
veterans are currently living in the United States.
More
<http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/images/foia/pdf/PDF2/gwot_claims_02_0
9.pdf> than 1.8 million U.S. troops have been deployed to Afghanistan or
Iraq since October 2001.
Approximately 37 <http://www1.va.gov/vetdata/docs/Pamphlet_2-1-08.pdf>
million Americans are dependents (spouses and dependent children) of living
veterans or survivors of deceased veterans. This represents about 20 percent
<http://www1.va.gov/vetdata/docs/Pamphlet_2-1-08.pdf> of the U.S.
population.
Mental health problems
Stanford University estimates that as many as 665,000
<http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/index.php/veterans-category-articles/
1424-vcs> or 34 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are experiencing
symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Yet only 53
<http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/images/articles/PDFsforArticles/usnip
roceedingssep2009.pdf> percent suffering from PTSD or major depression have
seen a physician or mental health provider.
As of January 2009, nearly one
<http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/images/articles/PDFsforArticles/usnip
roceedingssep2009.pdfhttp:/www.veteransforcommonsense.org/> in five Iraq
and Afghanistan veterans have experienced a traumatic brain injury.
Yet only 46
<http://www.armymedicine.army.mil/reports/mhat/mhat_iv/MHAT_IV_Report_17NOV0
6.pdf> percent who experienced a mild traumatic brain injury were screened
for a concussion.
According to the Army, 133
<http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/06/11/us.army.suicides/index.html> active duty
and activated reserve soldiers committed suicide in 2008. That number makes
for a rate slightly higher than the national average.
Lack of health care coverage
A research team at Harvard Medical School estimates that more than 2,200
<http://www.pnhp.org/news/2009/november/over_2200_veterans_.php> U.S.
military veterans under the age of 65 died last year because they lacked
health insurance and thus had reduced access to care. That figure is more
than 14 times the number of deaths suffered by U.S. troops in Afghanistan in
2008, and more than twice as many as have died since the war began in 2001.
Addiction
3,057 <http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,156956,00.html> veterans of
the Iraq and Afghanistan wars were treated for drug dependency between 2005
and 2007. From 2002 through 2004, the Veterans Affairs Administration put
that number at 277 <http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,156956,00.html>
veterans.
Combat veterans are 31
<http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN1252304620080812> percent
more likely to begin binge drinking than those not exposed to combat.
Homelessness
2,000 <http://iava.org/files/iava_coming_home_2009.pdf> Iraq and
Afghanistan veterans have so far received help from the Department of
Veterans Affairs' homeless outreach program.
131,000 <http://www1.va.gov/homeless/page.cfm?pg=1> veterans are homeless
on any given night, and twice that number
<http://www1.va.gov/homeless/page.cfm?pg=1> were homeless at some point
during 2008.
One-third <http://iava.org/files/iava_coming_home_2009.pdf> of homeless
Americans are veterans, even though only one-tenth
<http://iava.org/files/iava_coming_home_2009.pdf> of all adults are
veterans.
11 percent <http://www.legion.org/documents/pdf/womensguide.pdf> of
homeless Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are women, and 23 percent
<http://www.legion.org/documents/pdf/womensguide.pdf> of the women in the
VA's homelessness programs have young children.
The housing crisis
8 percent <http://iava.org/files/iava_coming_home_2009.pdf> of veterans
serving since 2001 spend more than half of their income on housing.
Foreclosure rates in military towns increased at four
<http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&refer=home&sid=awj2TMDLnwsU
> times the national average in 2008.
Unemployment and low wages
61
<http://www.military.com/aboutus/twocolumn/0,15929,PRarticle110507,00.html>
percent of employers in a 2007 survey said they don't have "a complete
understanding of the qualifications ex-service members offer."
More
<http://www.military.com/aboutus/twocolumn/0,15929,PRarticle110507,00.html>
than 75 percent of veterans report "an inability to effectively translate
their military skills to civilian terms."
College-educated service members who have recently returned to civilian life
earn almost $10,000
<http://www1.va.gov/vetdata/docs/Employment_History_080324.pdf> less per
year on average than other college-educated adults.
We have no greater duty than to ensure that our troops receive the highest
quality training before their deployments, the best equipment and medical
care we can provide for them while in action, and the best help and care
upon their return.
This Veterans Day, we at the Center for American Progress once again honor
the millions of brave men and women in the active and reserve components of
the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard who have made great
sacrifices to protect our country and our freedoms-especially those who have
given their lives. We also honor the families, friends, and loved ones who
made their service possible.
This by-the-numbers look at service members and veterans paints a picture of
the many men and women who have served our country and the difficulties they
face before, during, and after deployments, including combat stress injuries
and trouble finding jobs and affordable housing. The wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan continue to put a tremendous burden on our fighting forces, and
we must meet our obligation to provide them with the best possible care and
support.
To speak with our experts on this topic, please contact:
Print: Suzi Emmerling (foreign policy and security, energy, education,
immigration)
202.481.8224 or [log in to unmask]
Print: Jason Rahlan (health care, economy, civil rights, poverty)
202.481.8132 or [log in to unmask]
Radio: John Neurohr
202.481.8182 or [log in to unmask]
TV: Andrea Purse
202.741.6250 or [log in to unmask]
Web: Erin Lindsay
202.741.6397 or [log in to unmask]
Source: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/11/veterans_day.html
Rootages: Find the cost of freedom, buried in the ground. (CSN&Y)
Veterans, war-era veterans, and combat veterans and their families: All
wrote a blank check to her and his country to serve. All gave some. Some
Gave All. All and their families will never be the same.
Dan Kern
AD21, Reading
East Central College
1964 Prairie Dell Road
Union, MO 63084-4344
Phone: (636) 583-5195
Extension: 2426
Fax: (636) 584-0513
Email: [log in to unmask]
http://www.studentveterans.org/
Veterans Day 2009: http://www1.va.gov/opa/vetsday/
www.vietnamwomensmemorial.org
Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?' Expediency asks the question, 'Is
it politic?' Vanity asks the question, 'Is it popular?' But, conscience asks
the question, 'Is it right?' And there comes a time when one must take a
position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it
because one's conscience tells one that it is right. (Martin Luther King,
Jr.)
Instruction begins when you, the teacher, learn from the learner. Put
yourself in his place so that you may understand what he learns and
the way he understands it. (Kierkegaard)
To freely bloom - that is my definition of success. -Gerry Spence, lawyer
(b. 1929) [Benjamin would be proud, I think.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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