“I believe in making sure that people who sacrifice for us are given all the care and the benefits and support that they need. And I believe strongly that taking care of our veterans is part of our solemn duty as Americans.” – Hillary Clinton, June 18, 2015

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” – John F. Kennedy

“How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!” – Maya Angelou

None of conscience (obviously this excludes the Westboro group) would deny that our veterans are to be thanked, that they are the heroes of the day, and that our nation has an obligation to help them return and re-establish their lives in the best possible way.  However, those of us who have never served in the military cannot possibly understand the challenges that face a veteran returning home.  A short, but excellent article in Forbes  written by a veteran who tries to explain what it is like to return home is well worth the time to read.  That said, there are some very real problems facing veterans returning home:

Suicide:

• Every 65 minutes, a military veteran commits suicide.
• 22 military veterans commit suicide every day.
• More United States troops have died from suicide than have been killed in Afghanistan since 2001.

Mental and Physical Health:

• PTSD occurs in about 11-20% of Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars (Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom), or in 11-20 Veterans out of 100.
• Nearly 89,000 service members who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2005 have received a PTSD diagnosis.
• There has been an average of almost 21,000 service members diagnosed with traumatic brain injury every year since 2000.
• From 2002 to December 2012, 253,330 service members were diagnosed with a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) of some kind.
• As a result of battle injuries in the Iraq War, 991 service members received wounds that required amputations; 797 lost major limbs, such as a leg. In Afghanistan, 724 service members have had to undergo amputations, with 696 losing a major limb.

Unemployment

• The unemployment rate for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans is 10% — compare to the national rate of 4.7%.
• The Labor Department projects that 1.5 million service members will be making the leap from active duty to a civilian job, over the next five years.

Homelessness:

• The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimates that 39,471 veterans are homeless on any given night.
• Roughly 45% of all homeless veterans are African American or Hispanic, despite only accounting for 10.4% and 3.4% of the U.S. veteran population, respectively.

None of the above issues are truly ‘stand-alone’ issues; all are inter-related.  The bottom line, however, is that these are all very real issues that, in addition to the difficulties of re-assimilation into family, friends, and society in general, veterans must contend with.  Hillary Clinton who, as a Senator served on the Armed Services Committee, includes the following in her plan to improve the lives of veterans:

• Fundamentally reform veterans’ health care to ensure veterans’ access to timely and high quality health care and block efforts to privatize the VHA
• Modernize and refocus the full spectrum of veterans’ benefits across the federal government
• Overhaul VA governance to create a new veteran-centric model of excellence
• Empower veterans and strengthen our economy and communities by connecting their unique skills to the jobs of the future
• Sustain and strengthen the all-volunteer force
• Strengthen services and support for military families

All of the problems facing our veterans are complex and I do not pretend to understand all the nuances, such as the issue of privatizing the VA, However I do think the problems are reparable if only we are willing to divert the time and resources to repairing them.  We need to do so now, as more veterans will be returning to civilian life within the next decade. I have only listed an outline of Ms. Clinton’s plan here, but please do follow this link   for additional information and insight.

On the other side of the aisle, this seems to be the one issue that Ms. Clinton and her opponent fairly much agree on.  The major exception is that he would privatize the Veteran’s Administration (VA), while Ms. Clinton would reform it.  As I said, I am not well-informed (yet) on this issue, so I cannot comment, except to say that it seems putting these services in the hands of for-profit businesses would increase costs substantially, with no guarantee of providing better service.  While it may be that Trump and Clinton are ideologically aligned on this issue, the reality is that Ms. Clinton has much more experience and is better suited to understanding how to achieve the goals. If you wish to take a look at Trump’s positions, here is a link. 

I am of a generation who lost friends who served in Vietnam, and equally important, I remember the toxic environment to which other friends returned after serving in in Vietnam. Vietnam was a controversial and divisive war, and those controversies, unfortunately, carried over onto the men and women who served, many without choice.  They came home to protests, people who were angry with them for serving, and faced serious discrimination. Today’s veterans are more respected, but still, there are so many hurdles for them to cross before they can return to a ‘normal’ life.  It is important that we take steps to make the process as painless as possible, to help them find their way.