Aligning the Perceptions of the Military and Civilian Communities

Barbara Van Dahlen, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist and the founder and president of Give an Hour™

Special to Veterans Advantage

On October 5 the Pew Research Center released a major study titled War and Sacrifice in the Post-9/11 Era. The report was based on the results of two surveys. The first was administered to a large number of veterans, and the other was completed by adults who had never served in the military. A total of 1,853 veterans were surveyed, including 712 who served in the military after the attacks of September 11, 2001. The general public survey included 2,003 adult respondents. The findings of this report are at times concerning and other times inspiring. The complete report can be found by visiting http://pewresearch.org/pubs/2111/. What follows are some of the key results from the report as well as some reflections.

Veterans who served on active duty in the post-9/11 era are proud of their service (96%), and most (74%) say their military experience has helped them get ahead in life. The vast majority say their time in the military has helped them to mature (93%), taught them how to work with others (90%) and helped them build self-confidence (90%). More than eight-in-ten (82%) say they would advise a young person close to them to join the military.

Clearly, this generation of service members feels very positive about the decision to join the military. They are proud to serve our country and pleased with what they have gained from their experience. In addition, today's enlisted personnel are better educated than those who served before them. Fewer are high school dropouts and more are college graduates. This is what we would wish for them.

These men and women who have volunteered to put their lives on the line report that their time in the military has left them feeling confident, mature, and interpersonally skilled. Indeed they are so satisfied with their experience that 82% would advise their younger friends and family members to follow in their footsteps. It is regrettable that we seem to spend so little time highlighting what is clearly an extremely positive experience for so many of those who serve. Perhaps we can do a better job - through the media and in our schools - of sharing these positive tales.

Unfortunately, not all of the consequences of service have been positive for this generation of veterans. According to the results of the Pew study, despite their overall positive attitude about serving our country, many post-9/11 veterans struggle when they come home:

44% of post-9/11 veterans say their readjustment to civilian life was difficult... About half (48%) of all post-9/11 veterans say they have experienced strains in family relations since leaving the military, and 47% say they have had frequent outbursts of anger. One-third (32%) say there have been times where they felt they didn't care about anything. [In addition,] nearly four-in-ten (37%) post-9/11 veterans say that, whether or not they were formally diagnosed, they believe they have suffered from post-traumatic stress.

For those of us in the mental health field these findings are not surprising. Many of us have devoted considerable time and energy these last several years explaining to those who serve and their commanders - as well as to the greater civilian population - that post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, and substance abuse are understandable and indeed expectable reactions to the brutality of war. The good news is that our military leaders have gotten the message. They are working to educate, to asses,s and to treat the men and women who are suffering from these invisible wounds. But there remain many obstacles before every man, woman, and family receives the appropriate care and support they need and deserve.

Some of the challenges we face are associated with the availability and accessibility of care, especially in the rural and remote areas of our country that are home to so many national guardsmen and reservists. And while our military leaders are providing consistent and clear messages that encourage those who are in need to seek care, we still have a long way to go to educate our civilian and military population so that mental health care no longer carries with it an unfortunate and ugly stigma for those who receive it.

The Pew research study also provides information about our veterans’ beliefs regarding how the rest of us see their service and their sacrifices. In addition, the study provides information about how civilians seem to perceive those who serve.

Some 84% of post-9/11 veterans say the public does not understand the problems faced by those in the military or their families. The public agrees, though by a less lopsided majority - 71%... [In addition], 83% of all adults say that military personnel and their families have had to make a lot of sacrifices since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks; 43% say the same about the American people. However, even among those who acknowledge this gap in burden-sharing, only 26% describe it as unfair. Seven-in-ten (70%) consider it "just part of being in the military"...The public makes a sharp distinction in its view of military service members and the wars they have been fighting. More than nine-in-ten express pride in the troops and three-quarters say they thanked someone in the military. But a 45% plurality say neither of the post-9/11 wars has been worth the cost and only a quarter say they are following news of the wars closely. And half of the public say the wars have made little difference in their lives.

What do these findings tell us about the gap between our military and civilian cultures? For one thing, we seem to be doing a poor job of conveying the experience of the 2.3 million men and women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan since 9/11 to the rest of our population. If we assume that each one of the men and women who have deployed have approximately 10 family members and significant others in their lives, then over 20 million Americans have been directly touched by war, while the rest of us don't seem to be feeling the impact or concerned about the consequences.

Is it the military's responsibility to ensure that our public is well educated and engaged during a time of war? Do we civilians have a responsibility to educate ourselves and our children about these issues, so that we share the burden and the cost? It seems that our society did a better job addressing this issue during World War II. At that time in our history, we were one nation at war and civilians did their part - they sacrificed and they contributed. And all seemed to benefit as a result. Perhaps we have something important to learn from the past.

I recently had the honor of attending the Farewell Tribute to Admiral Mike Mullen on the day he stepped down from his position as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Several hundred attended this event, including President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. The audience was a mixture of military dignitaries, service members and their families, civilian leaders, and those of us whose organizations are devoted to caring for the military community. The speeches were inspirational and compelling, the pageantry was impressive. It seemed as if everyone who gathered that day to honor the extraordinary leadership of a man who has dedicated over 40 years of service to our country shared more than just a healthy respect for Admiral Mullen. We shared an appreciation of and a commitment to the men, women, and families in the military.  As Admiral Mullen has frequently reminded us, much work lies ahead if we are to keep our promises to those who defend our homeland and preserve our way of life.

Give an Hour™, providing free mental health services to military personnel and their loved ones, at www.giveanhour.org.

Editors Note: Give an Hour™ is a strategic partner of Veterans Advantage. Learn more about our partnership with Give an Hour™.

Veterans Advantage is also hosting a special online PTS Transition Center for its members, with customized news and resources to help in this vital area.