Ex7: Why we miss war.

 

 

19 November 2016 // Public Intel

This is the second in a series of blog posts concerning veteran reintegration into civilian life. The first post can be found here.

I’m a big fan of TED talks. TED, which stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, is a nonprofit organization which promotes the spreading of ideas through small but power talks, the majority of which can be found on their website. They have talks that range from renowned professionals at the top of of their profession to enthusiastic amateur who have discovered something new or cleaver. Their tag line is “Ideas Worth Spreading” and this is exactly true.

There are several thousand videos on the TED website, dozens which deal with veterans, but I have found two that videos will perhaps help civilians connect with a veteran they know that is struggling.

The first is a talk by Sebastian Junger title Why Veterans Miss War. While not a veteran himself, Sebastian Junger is a journalist that has become passionate about veteran issues after his time in Afghanistan when he was with Battle Company  2/503.

The other talk is by Wes Moore title How to talk to veterans about the war. Wes Moore is an army veteran and he talks about not only his own military experiences but his struggles with talking to veterans before his first deployment.

 

In my next blog post in this series I’m going to going to post my review of these two talks.

-Pubic Intel

Ex7: Transitioning home after war

17 November 2016 // Public Intel

This post will be the first of a series that will talk about transitioning back from the military to civilian life.

Talk to most veterans and they will fondly recall their first memories of boot camp. It does not matter which military branch they were in or when they served, that first transition into the military is both terrifying but also a defining moment of purpose and pride. This moment has become so iconic that Hollywood has turned the act of going through boot camp into a trope. The movie Full Metal Jacket focused half the film on boot camp, but movies like Tigerland and Stripes used boot camp as the moment when the main character of the movie became the hero of the story. Marine Corp boot camp is one of the most defining events in my life, next to those other important events like marriage and my first deployment.

However, like all beginnings, there also has to be an ending. Transitioning from the military has never been easy, the culture is too different from standard civilian culture and the military is very good at getting you to adapt. Generally, you have to rely on your family for support, which if you have a good family or especially a military family then your transition back into civilian life can be easier. Friends are another support method, and again only if you have friends who are a good influence and especially if they are veterans themselves.

There are programs for returning veterans, some hosted by the government like the VA or Department of Defense (DOD), or others hosted by organizations like the VFW or American Legion that can be helpful, but depending on location and work schedule they can be either limited or next to useless for returning veterans. One attempt is the National Resource Directory, which is a place where veterans can go to find resources to help them with transition issues like locating housing or employment.

One program that my family has used is military onesource. What this program offers is a simple telephone number for either the military member or dependent to call. While I was on deployment, my wife needed to have a tree trimmed in the alleyway of our backyard. Not a major issue but she did not know whom to call so she called military onesource and they provided her the contact information for a local tree trimming service. The DOD provides this program but the VA does not have a similar program.

There are many reasons why over 20 veterans take their lives every day, but a failure to transition back from the military into civilian life has to rate high among the reasons. The same amount of effort needs to be used into transitioning veterans back from the military as was spent on them in the first place.

In the next post, we are going to look at a couple TED talks I found that I think will shed some light on this problem.

-Public Intel

 

Isn’t Veterans Day the same as Memorial Day?

Public Intel // 13 November 2016

I wanted to post this blog entry before Veteran’s Day but a few things kept me from doing so, but two days late wont hurt anything.

Someday, I might compile a list of frequently asked questions that I receive as a veteran. They range from the standard ‘Have you ever killed anyone?’ -Not Yet.- , to the funny ‘If some dude got in my face, like in those movies, then I would knock him out!’ -Yea, guy, I’m sure you would…-, to the insulting ‘I though about joining the military, but my parents could afford college so I didn’t need the G.I. Bill.” -That’s nice.-

However, one question that always throws me off is when someone asks me why there are two holidays for the military. While Veterans Day and Memorial Day are both holidays that celebrate people with military service, the nature and history of the holidays are different. Since Veterans day just passed so lets start with that one.

Veterans Day is a public holiday and is celebrated on November 11th. Originally intended to celebrate the end of Word War I, which ended on the 11th hour , of the 11th day of the 11th month, the holiday has evolved from a day of remembrance for a particular war to a day of celebration of honoring those who are currently in the military or are veterans of military service.

Memorial Day is a public holiday that that is on the last Monday in May, so the exact day can change from year to year. Originally intended to celebrate the Union war dead of the American Civil War, the holiday has come to include all those kill in any war. Traditionally, Memorial Day is for only remembering those who died while serving. As part of this tradition, small flags are placed near the graves of veterans, and in many places even the veterans who died long after their service are still honored with a flag.

So, the easy way to think of the holidays is like this: Veterans Day is acknowledge the dedication that a few had to give everyone else. Memorial Day is to remember the sacrifice some gave for all of us.

-Public Intel

Easy Money

Public Intel // 23 Oct 2016

The ghosts of the wars we fight never truly go away, the way they haunt us just changes over time. When the last US troops pulled out of Iraq on December 18th, 2011, many thought that chapter in our nation’s history was done. Now there are stories surfacing of veterans who fought in Iraq being forced to repay bonus for doing so.

Ten years ago, at the height of the Iraq war, right before the 2007 surge, the US began to offer cash bonus for certain jobs to stay in the military longer. Now, it wants some of that money back.

The problem centers around the Army National Guard with Californian as the epicenter where retention officers violated rules in order to meet quotas mandated by the pentagon. The soldiers who violated those rules have been fined and sentenced to various jail terms, but now the pentagon is going after the soldiers who received those bonuses, and anyone who refuses can be assessed additional fines, interest or other possible punishments.

The average bonus was between $15,000 and $20,000 and  nearly 10,000 veterans across the country are effected by this problem. With the majority of these bonuses awarded nearly ten years ago, the demand by the pentagon to reclaim this money creates a financial hardship on these families, who were not at fault. This demand to return the bonuses is also unreasonable in light of the amount of fraud and abuse of government funds that takes place within the military.

It is situations like this that encourage veterans to be cynical of any government programs and will likely result in thousands of veterans not taking advantage of programs to help them just so they can avoid the possibility of being forced to repay any assistance they receive.

-Public Intel

Presidential Discourse

Public Intel // 22 October 2016

With the third and final presidential debate over and the election close at hand, I thought I would shift through the proposals both Clinton and Trump have stated they will do for veterans after they get elected.

Interestingly enough, there has been little substance released by either side so far, which is understandable since I believe neither candidate understands nor care much for veteran issues.

When it comes to veterans, the first aspect most people associate with them is the Department of Veteran affairs and, for anyone that follows the news over the last few years, the VA’s numerous problems servicing the veteran population. Both have called for bureaucratic overhauls at the agency. Trump would select a secretary who’s sole purpose would be to “serve the veterans”, a dubious prospect at best. He would also create a commission that would investigate alleged fraud and wrong-doings at the agency. Clinton has also called for bureaucratic changes but has limited them to departmental cooperation between the VA and the military.

As for healthcare, both agree that the wait time for veterans is too long but disagree about how to resolve the issue. Trump wants to offer certain veterans the option of seeing a private physician instead of going to a VA clinic. Clinton’s plan would be to reorganize the VA’s healthcare system to shorten wait times by allowing veterans with other healthcare options, such as medicare, to get specific procedures done outside the VA healthcare system.

Without specific and detailed plans, I’m not certain either candidate takes veterans’ health issues seriously and I don’t see much difference between them on this issue.

-Public Intel

 

PSA – Operation Smile

Public Intel // 22 Oct. 2016

On November 12th, the Indiana University South Bend Dental Hygiene Clinic will celebrate Veteran’s Day by offering select services for free to Veterans. operation-smile-2016

The event will last from 9am to 1pm and will include a dental exam, x-rays, cleanings and referrals to local dentists for follow up work, if required.

Appointments are required, and limited, so call early to set up your time, which can take up to an hour. Also, you’ll need to bring your DD214 and driver’s license for identity and proof of service. This event is open to veterans of all ages.

To set up the appoint call 574-520-4156 and the clinic is located at 1002. Esther St., South Bend, IN 46615, neat the Indiana University South Bend campus.

This is a great opportunity for veterans who don’t have access to regular dental care to either fix minor problems or prevent future problems. In the military, dental care was a major issue and in some cases even prevented individuals from deploying when problems were ignored.

So don’t be a Yuck mouth and go get your fangs cleaned.

-Public Intel

 

At the Library

Public Intel / 10.10.2016

Recently I had the opportunity to meet one of the librarians at my university library and have them show me around the possibilities they provided. Before now I already felt familiar with my university library; as a history undergraduate, research is required for most of the papers i had to write for my classes and honestly thought the librarian could not offer me anything I didn’t already know. Boy was I wrong.

First, we covered the resources such as OneSearch and the journals that could prove useful to my veteran research, but then she suggested something I hadn’t considered before. There is a small, but growing, section of the library that is dedicated to online streaming of videos. Beyond the cat videos of youtube, there are a multitude of documentaries concerning veterans and the issues they face, many of which are freely available on the internet if you know where to search. Plus the library offers access to some sites that require subscriptions.

Up till now I have not thought about what such a great resource documentaries could be, even though i personally watch them at home all the time. Just that change in thought process justified the trip to meet the librarian and I would suggest everyone else also go visit them if for no other reason to have a professional offer alternatives that you hadn’t though about.

-Public Intel

 

 

Ex2: Veteran Preference

10 October 2016 // Public Intel

Whenever I am asked by a fellow veteran where they should look when they need to find a job, I always point them to two places. First, their local unemployment office, which is an excellent resource, but then I send them to usajobs.gov, the website for federal employment.

The reason I encourage fellow veterans to go after federal employment is simple, the veteran point preference. If you had served for more than 180 days on active duty during wartime then you get five points added to your employment preference, if you have a service connected disability of more than 10% then it jumps to ten points. These points can also be transferred to spouses, children, and even mothers of veterans in certain situations.

However, this preference has been under threat for the last several months with proposals in congress to place restrictions upon the veteran point preference system, chiefly to limit it to a single, first time use. One of the first things president Obama did when he entered the oval office was to sign a presidential order that made hiring veterans a top priority for federal employment. With now close to 1 in 2 federal positions being filled by veterans, from a group that represents only 7% of the population, resentment in federal workplaces has grown. Due to this hiring preference, nearly 1/3 of federal positions are now staffed with veterans.

For now the veteran point preference will remain. President elect Trump has stated that one of his first priorities is to freeze the hiring of federal employees, which I think is only going to make this problem worse by inflaming workplace resentment between veterans and non-veterans.

-Public Intel

 

EX1: Hey, Brother

 

16 June 2015

I remember staring at the 12 foot high earth embankments that served as the walls for the FOB (Forward Operating Base) that we were building. My buddy Tim had just called to tell me that my friend Mike had died.

The funeral was to be in a few days but since my unit was on its annual two weeks of training, I was in the reserves at the time, I couldn’t go to his funeral. However, through text messages and Facebook I knew that everyone who cared for him would be there for him. Maybe not everyone, since I couldn’t be there, but that is the nature of military service, and I know Mike would understand.

Mike was one of the lucky ones. Though he wasn’t injured during his back-to-back deployments in Iraq, the cancer he brought back eventually caught up with him while he was on active duty orders. From the day the doctors first found the cancer, it took less than 30 days for him to be discharged from the Marines with 100% disability, directly into the care of the VA system. One reason this happened so quickly was because the Department of Defense had him on both the Burn Pit registry and the Depleted Uranium registry, based on his time and locations of service in Iraq, so he didn’t have to fight with the VA to get the care he needed. He was also lucky because he lived next door to his parents, had a caring family and his Marines brothers stayed with him to the end.

It is because of Mike that I want the VA to work better because from everything I know, they treated him right, but there are so many veterans who are not so lucky. The VA can do better, I have seen it with Mike, so the best I can do is hold them accountable to the veterans they are charged with caring for.

Mike, I can’t wait to see you again when we guard the streets together.

-Public Intel