The Challenges When Our Troops Come Home

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

Special to Veterans Advantage

Veterans Day 2011 has come and gone. There were parades, tributes, and events in communities across the country. A few weeks prior to Veterans Day, President Obama announced that the war in Iraq had ended and the nearly 40,000 troops still serving there would come home by the end of the year. As a result, this Veterans Day had a different feel for those who have been waiting for their loved ones to come home. And while the end of a decade of war is definitely a cause for celebration, we as a nation have much to do to adequately prepare for our troops return. For one thing, we must ensure that all of the men, women, and families who have served - as well as those who continue to serve - receive the support and care they need and deserve. We also have some work to do to close a gap that exists between our military and civilian cultures.

Since September 11, 2001, over 2.3 million men and women have served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Tragically, 6,308 service members have died and over 46,000 have been injured.  In addition to the wounds that we can see, many of our returning service members return with the invisible wounds of war, including post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, and traumatic brain injury. Some studies indicate that as many as 35% of those who see combat will experience significant mental health concerns during their lifetime. For those of us in the mental health field, this is not surprising. Post-traumatic stress and other mental health conditions are understandable consequences of exposure to war. Fortunately, there is much that can be done to assist those who suffer - but only if we can reach and educate them about these issues and only if we can make resources readily available to them.

In addition to mental health concerns, service members and their families face many other challenges. Our troops are coming home to a struggling economy:  jobs are difficult to find, and skills developed within the military do not always translate easily to civilian positions. For those who want to go to college, the student culture that exists on most college campuses may not be a great fit. Furthermore, many military families are facing financial and legal difficulties, and this generation of veterans is entering the homeless population at a much faster rate than prior cohorts. Although our country seems united in its support for military families, most Americans have little or nothing in common with the men and women in uniform.  This lack of connection will affect our ability to effectively respond to the needs of our military families as these wars conclude.

This issue is the topic of the November 21 cover story  of Time magazine, titled "An Army Apart" and written by Mark Thompson.  In his article Mr. Thompson notes, “Never has the U.S public been so separate, so removed, so isolated from the people it pays to protect it.” There are many reasons for the gap between the civilian and military cultures, and Mr. Thompson does an excellent job of outlining several of them. As he points out, most Americans have not served in uniform, most do not have a parent who served, and most are unlikely to encourage their children to enlist. By contrast, a growing number of active-duty troops have a sibling or had a parent in uniform. Similarly, 100,000 troops are married to another service member, and the number of cadets at the U.S. Military Academy who also attended West Point has grown by 50% in the past generation. It appears that over the last decade our military community has become more removed from and more dissimilar to our civilian community.

If those who served - and their families - remained tightly connected to their units and the military community upon separating from the Armed Forces, our nation might not need to have this conversation. If veterans congregated in neighborhoods, attended institutions of higher learning specifically for veterans, and ultimately worked for a select number of companies, perhaps our veterans would truly be able to “take care of their own.” And if those who served were interested in and able to receive all of the care and services they will require for the rest of their lives through some process or institution controlled by veterans and their families, then perhaps it would be possible for these two cultures to exist separately within our country. Of course this would be a rather sad state of affairs and would certainly have long-term consequences for all citizens as one subset of our society would exist to defend and protect the other. But in any case the model really isn't feasible because those who serve and their families return to communities—not installations—and they become our neighbors, our coworkers, and our friends. And there is no organization or entity that can provide all that is and will be needed for those who serve and their families moving forward.

So there are questions we must ask ourselves and difficult tasks we must tackle if we are to successfully assist our troops with the challenge of integrating into civilian communities once they leave the military. And the questions that must be asked are appropriate for those on both sides of this equation. We as a nation must wrestle with how to better integrate these two communities. There will always be those who go to war to protect and defend our way of life and those who remain at home to ensure the growth and stability of our country. As long as we have an all-volunteer force, we will have to work to determine how to better integrate the experiences of those who choose to serve with those who appreciate their service.

The needs of those who are coming home will, I hope, force us to struggle with these issues more directly because we are clearly a nation that wants to support our returning troops and their families. Admiral Mike Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, frequently refers to the "Sea of Goodwill” expressed toward military personnel when describing the unique role that communities must play in assisting those who serve when they come home. Indeed, several efforts are under way to help communities provide this support. Our First Lady and Dr. Jill Biden are using their powerful voices to engage corporations and citizens through the Joining Forces Initiative (http://www.whitehouse.gov/joiningforces). And the Community Blueprint Network Initiative, now under the auspices of the Points of Light Institute, provides community leaders with promising practices and innovative strategies for creating a coordinated and integrated system of care for those who serve and their families (http://www.handsonnetwork.org/community-blueprint).

As we move into the holiday season, let's continue this conversation, wrestle with these difficult issues, and develop strategies that will allow us to become a nation that recognizes and appreciates the sacrifices and efforts of those who choose to wear the uniform. Let's move toward a model that allows our civilian and military cultures greater access to each other and encourages greater collaboration and integration. We are all Americans, and we have much to be proud of when we all work together to ensure a safe and healthy future for all.  

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.