Life After Service: A look at problems facing American veterans today - PART 2

It has been said that the military consists of the “best of the best” in way of men and women serving, yet statistics show that, following careers in the armed forces, many veterans fall upon hard times. What events can lead to the difficult decline that leaves over 130,000 veterans in the United States homeless, according to data from the Department of Veterans Affairs?

Furthermore, what can be done to help troubled veterans overcome difficult times?

Brig. Gen. Al Smith served roughly 30 years in The United States Air Force, working in a number of different capacities, including at the Pentagon command post during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

The Virginia native now resides in Hemingway with his wife, Maggie, and currently sits on an insurance board that works to provide coverage for men and women in the National Guard. He sat down for an interview Nov. 12 to discuss his views on problems facing some veterans today.

Smith had some personal experiences with homeless and needy veterans during his time as a county commissioner in Maryland following his military service. One of the cases he remembered involved a veteran who was about to be discharged from a medical center in Maryland, while it was known the man was in no condition to leave and also had no other place to go.

“I only found out about (him) through a fellow Lion in my Lions Club,” Smith said. “When I heard the story I couldn’t believe it. Just from…a human being standpoint, no one should stand back and let something like this happen to a man. But when I found out he was a veteran I said, ‘What do you mean they’re not going to do anything for this man?’ So, that’s why I got involved.”

Smith went down to the center where he heard the man was going to be discharged. There, he told the staff that he was not going to leave until they found the veteran a bed. Smith came prepared to fight, calling Maryland senator Barbra Mikulski, his representative at the time, and asking her to do what she could to help the man in need. The two were successful and Smith said the veteran is still at the facility and doing well, however he is actually one of the lucky ones.

The hardships facing veterans in medical institutions around the country has been well documented in recent years. Problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center famously made in headlines in 2008.

In a Pulitzer Prize winning article by Anne Hull and Dana Priest of The Washington Post titled “It’s Not Just Walter Reed,” various problems with veteran health care were outlined as very bleak in parts of the United States. Hull and Priest wrote of soldiers, veterans, their families and medical personnel at facilities across the country being given “substandard” support from the federal government.

Since that article was printed, actions have been taken on a number of levels by the federal government, but problems still exist. In some cases, Smith said, veterans still run into difficulties even after receiving help from physical and mental health professionals.

The general recalled one case in particular when a friend of his returned from the war in Iraq only to be met with the grim reality of his life after service.

“He was fallen on hard times,” Smith said. “He had just come back from deployment…The job he had when he left was no longer being held for him…His wife had left him. This guy’s down in the dumps.

“He went over to Walter Reed, got some counseling, but he was clearly a changed man… it's just like he lost his soul, he lost his self-worth. He felt like nobody appreciated him. He said, ‘You know general, nobody has even said ‘thank you…’ Nobody appreciates what the hell we go through, what we’ve done…’”

When his friend’s condition didn’t seem to be improving, Smith said he contacted another veteran he knew that was involved in a support group made up of “wounded warriors.” The group used each other’s common experiences to support one another and learn how to cope, he said.

“This guy needed some help, he needed to be along with other people that felt similar things,” Smith said. Last he heard, the general said his friend was doing better now, but that is just another example of how difficult, even with professional counseling, overcoming the hardships after service can be.

The idea of groups of veterans banning together and using their common experiences to help each other is something frequently used at the end of a military person’s service. At an event the week before Veterans Day in Kingstree, Sgt. Dennis Harvin, a spokesperson for the local Veterans of Foreign Wars in Kingstree, said that while some perceptions of veterans from the public are skewed, the work of the VFW helps many dealing with not only their personal problems but also continuing their involvement in the community.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, there are nearly 23 million veterans in the United States today.

“The Downward Spiral” is the second of three installments in the “Life After Service” series, featuring segments from the interview with Brig. Gen. Al Smith, discussing troubles facing veterans today. Look for the final installment in an upcoming edition of The Weekly Observer.