Life After Service: A look at problems facing American veterans today - PART 1

With Veterans Day almost a month behind us, many have moved past thanking veterans for the enormous service they have provided our country over the years. In the midst of the holiday season, when charitable giving is often at its highest, many veterans are in dire need of assistance. The veteran population is a difficult one to overlook, as are the many troubles some of these former fighting men and women face at the conclusion of their military service.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, there are nearly 23 million veterans in the United States today. Of those 23 million, approximately 131,000 are or have been recently homeless. These veterans, the overwhelming majority of which are men, have served in conflicts spanning from the Second World War to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Remarkably, nearly half of the homeless veterans today served in Vietnam.

It has been said that the military consists of the “best of the best” in way of men and women serving, yet statistics like these might raise questions regarding how and why these same persons of excellence became plagued with so many hardships when they left military life? Furthermore, what can be done to help troubled veterans overcome difficult times?

Brig. Gen. Al Smith, currently a Hemingway resident, enjoyed a long distinguished service in The United States Air Force In a career that spanned roughly 30 years, the native Virginian worked in many capacities, first as an enlisted man, then an officer. After retiring from active duty, having achieved the rank of colonel, Smith continued his involvement in the military with the Virginia National Guard, where he would achieve the rank of brigadier general before retiring from that post in 1996.

During his career, the general was involved in a number of military operations, including working in the Pentagon command post during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

Smith now sits on the insurance board for Ventures, a group carried by insurance provider ING, and works to provide insurance for men and women in the National Guard in 38 states. He sat down for an interview the day after Veterans Day to discuss his views on common problems facing some veterans today.

In an article that appeared in the New York Times on Veterans Day, statistics show that on average veterans arriving back from the Vietnam War who are now homeless or suffering from various other problems began a downward spiral within five years of being released from duty. Shockingly, the article discussed, some studies show veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan hitting “rock bottom” in just 18 months following their tours. Smith said the large influx of guardsmen and reservists being called to serve is a contributing factor to these statistics.

“You’re finding the ages of people that are being lost in combat are 40’s, 50’s,” Smith said. “Even these folks at Fort Hood recently. One of them was 62. You serve in the Guard until you’re 65.”

Smith said there are a number of factors that can lead to difficult times for returning service men and women, especially for older members who might have families waiting for them at home. He pointed out that since guardsmen and reservists are serving at rates and lengths more common for career soldiers, many changes associated with such commitments can be somewhat of a shock for both them and their families.

“Not only do you have the stress of dealing with the mission, but you have the stress of what’s happening back home,” Smith said. “Many times on the active duty side, if you have multiple deployments, one right after the other, that’s what the active duty component has always been used to… For guardsmen and reservists, they’re having multiple deployments, too. They leave and they go out for six months or nine months and they come back. They’re no sooner back and they are redeployed again.”

For a person who is generally asked to serve only a few months out of the year, some might not be totally prepared for the hardships that come with being a full time soldier.

Some common scenarios the general recalls hearing over the years included resentment issues from spouses who are left to deal with finances, raising children and the possibility that their loved one might not make it back home. As a result, whether on purpose or not, changes occur on the home front, the personalities and behaviors of the people there altering in the process.

“People start looking for ways to (deal with stress) and they start changing,” Smith said. “Not on purpose, but they just start changing. So, when the soldier comes home he’s faced with even more challenges, perhaps, in that part of his life than he ever had on the battlefield, where he saw his buddies getting killed.

“He’s been dealing with that… now, he’s coming home and his personal life with his whole family, he’s seeing things have changed… In some cases, it causes guys to snap.”

Common problems facing veterans include Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which government studies have shown has lead some veterans to abuse drugs and alcohol as a result.

Challenges can go beyond problems at home or readjusting to civilian life. Smith said some are burdened by the fact that jobs they held at the beginning of their deployment aren’t waiting for them after their service is done. Smith said that while federal law mandates employers give returning soldiers the position they held before their tour of duty, sometimes employers are forced to make changes.

“They want to be patriotic, they want to support that,” Smith said, speaking of employers and honoring returning soldier’s positions. “But after a while… You do have employers that ultimately say ‘I can’t keep letting this person deploy and redeploy, it’s killing my business.’ Patriotism sometimes flies out the window… How long do you keep asking the (employer) to make the sacrifice?”

All of these factors, Smith said, can lead to veterans feeling unappreciated when they return home and is often the first step in what can be a dangerous downward spiral.

This is the first of three installments of “Life After Service,” featuring segments from the interview with Brig. Gen. Al Smith, discussing troubles facing veterans today. Look for Part Two in an upcoming edition of The Weekly Observer.