Veteran Benefits in America - Research Paper Example

?Veteran Benefits Affiliation) Before US military officials are sent to the war they are provided with pre war training. These training sessions are structured to help military officials with any physical and mental challenges they face during the war. These training efforts are not enough and cannot counter the negative impact of the war on a US military official. US military officials have faced various physical and mental challenges when they returned from the war. Following are the problems faced by the US military officials when they returned back to their homes: Health Problems – A research shows that one in every Iraq war veterans develop major emotional health problems. These problems include excessive use of alcohol and very aggressive behaviors. The research even shows that the problems become worse instead of being better as time passes. The same research states that these army officials experience the issue of post traumatic stress as they try to refit in the normal civilian life. This is because they not have co-soldiers to help them settle in their civilian lives. The research shows that out of 1800 veterans, 23 to 33 percent of them presented signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The activities they presented included very aggressive behaviors such as slamming doors, punching walls and starting fights without any reason ((Paulson, 2007). The research even showed that national guards were experiencing issues with settling in normal civilian life as they did not had the support of other soldiers and the standard of their health coverage was inferior than the health coverage provided to active military personnel. Another problem faced by veteran soldiers is that they have to wait for a very long period of time to gain medical coverage or attention. The research showed that veterans were getting medical coverage after 110 days of claim have passed and there were a huge number of veterans that needed medical attention. Other health problems experienced by these veterans include muscular pain. Many soldiers have reported pain in their back, neck, shoulders and knees. Environmental elements and exposure to toxic chemicals have left the veterans with life taking diseases such as heart diseases. Veterans have even experienced infections when they returned from war. Although they have been injected with various vaccinations but these vaccinations cannot control all the infections. US military does not have vaccines for various infections. Other health issues faced by veterans include loss of hearing or problems with hearing such as vibration and ringing in the ears. These issues are experienced due to continuous exposure to gun fire. Many veterans have presented brain injuries also known as Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI). These have been caused due to any injury to the head. The effects of TBI includes loss of short and long term memory, loss of eye sight, depression, decrease in span of attention, and various other issues. Unemployment – Almost every year more than three hundred thousand military officials return home to start their lives as normal civilians. Almost all of them face various problems and one of the major problems experienced by these Vets is unemployment. The war returnees are experiencing difficulty in getting employment. According to a statistical data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the rate of unemployment amount those who have returned from Afghanistan and Iraq war is higher than the rate of unemployment faced by the civilians of America. Many military officials have complained that they have failed to find a job that pays well and has good benefits. The data produced by the Bureau even states that the younger veterans or returnees of war face a higher rate of unemployment. This includes individuals aging between eighteen and twenty four (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2011). The question asked by most is the main reason for the unemployment rate of veteran soldiers. These soldiers develop various important skills during war time; these skills include team work, openness to experience and communication skills. Although, the soldiers develop various important organizational skills but they still experience issues in finding employment. One of the major reasons that compel employers from not employing veterans is that these veterans can any time be called for another duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. This will end up increasing the cost of the organization, thus organizations do not give preference to employing veterans. Suicide – According to a report, in 2009, over 1800 returnees of war have tried to give their lives away by committing suicide. The same study states that after every 80 minutes an American Veteran tries to commit suicide. The report even states that the number of Veterans who want to commit suicide is increasing day by day as the time period of the war increases (Harrell, 2011). One of the main reasons of increase in suicide rate among veterans is the fact that these veterans feel that they are of no use as they fail to gain employment and are affected by PTSD. One major case of suicide was the suicide of Clay Hunt. He took his life in his apartment by shooting himself. His friends and family members reported that he was facing emotional issues, depression, and survivor’s guilt. The Veteran Crises Line started operating during 2007 has reported that it has received over 400,000 help calls and have successfully save more than 1,40,000 lives. Jason Christiansen another Veteran aging 35 even tried to give up his life when he could not find a job after coming back from war. Various measures have been taken the US government to solve the issues faced by the Veterans. To solve the problem of health conditions of Veterans the government has doubled the funding of the budget for treating veterans over the past 8 years and various policies have been made to resolve the problem of PTSD faced by veterans. But the measures have proven to be ineffective as there are a huge number of veterans waiting to be treated. To resolve the problem of PTSD among veterans the Pentagon and the National Institute of Medical Health are identifying effective ways for solving this problem. The USSERRA Act of 1994 which stated that the veterans of war should be employed in positions they would have obtained if they would not have been a part of the war is not effective enough and a large veteran population remains unemployed. Even if veterans are getting employment they are not getting high salaries and the benefits offered to them are not enough to spend an easy life. Some employers are even manipulating veterans by paying them low as they are aware that veterans have failed to find jobs. In an executive order an announcement was made that the veterans of war will be hired by the federal government to promote veteran employment. The executive order even stated that a Council will be created which will help veterans enhance their skills and abilities to increase the probability of veteran employment (United States, 2008). The Veterans Employment Council is taking every measure to promote the employment of veterans. Due to these initiatives the number of veterans hired in the federal executive office has increased every year. In 2011 total hires in the federal executive office were more than 100,000 and out of the new hires 33% were veterans. In 2010 the numbers of veteran hires in executive office were 26% of the total number of hires. Some other steps taken by the US department of Veteran Affairs (VA) includes Veteran Canteen Service. With the help of this service, the eligible homeless veterans of war are provided food and other few necessary items. Another policy that was developed to help Veterans was to provide contracts to small businesses owned by Veterans. These policies helped Veterans in building up their businesses and meet their financial requirements. A Veteran Disability Compensation act was passed. Through this act, veterans with disabilities are paid compensation and this compensation is tax free. The department of Veteran Affairs is even helping those Veterans who want to start their own businesses by providing them financial aid and support. Veterans aging over 65 are awarded with pension benefits, these veterans include those who have limited or no means of making income. The department even provides insurance coverage to those veterans who cannot afford to purchase any kind of insurance policies from private insurance providing companies. In 2007 a Veteran Crises line was created due to the increase in number of suicide among veterans. The helpline has been able to save huge amount of lives and they have received help calls from more than 400,000 veterans but the effort is not enough as the rate is increasing with the increase in number of veterans. Biblioraphy: 1. Paulson, D. S., & Krippner, S. (2007). Haunted by combat: Understanding PTSD in war veterans including women, reservists, and those coming back from Iraq. Westport, Conn: Praeger Security International. 2. Employment Situation of Veterans Summary, Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/news.release/vet.nr0.htm, March 11, 2011. 3. Harrell, M. C., Berglass, N., & Center for a New American Security. (2011). Losing the battle: The challenge of military suicide. Washington, D.C.: Center for a New American Security. 4. As Iraq, Afghan wars cycle down, anti-suicide program for Minn. veterans ramps up | Minnesota Public Radio News. (n.d.). Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved November 7, 2011, from http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/10/29/veterans-suicide-prevention/?refid=0 5. IAVA - In Memoriam of Clay Hunt | Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. (n.d.). Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. Retrieved November 7, 2011, from http://iava.org/blog/memoriam-clay-hunt 6. United States. (2008). Employment of veterans in the federal executive branch. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Read More