Walking hand-in-hand with his mother at the age of 5, Roxley Pratt looked up and saw what he wanted to be. He spotted the crisp uniform, impeccable posture and stoic gaze of the sentry standing guard at the U.S. Embassy in war-torn Sierra Leone, and he knew who he wanted to be: a U.S. Marine.
Years later, after he and his family were finally able to immigrate to America, Roxley joined the Marine Corps to fund his education. After 9/11 he deployed to Iraq, where he rehearsed counter-ambush techniques in the intense heat. The work was dangerous, but unlike some of his younger counterparts, Roxley was familiar with war. He knew from his childhood in Sierra Leone, the Marines would be entrusted with leaving a positive impression on Iraqi children. He served honorably for six years, but upon returning to civilian life, Roxley felt something was missing.
"Coming home from combat transforms you in ways for which you are not prepared," he says. Over the next four years, people graciously thanked him for his service, but when it came to landing a decent job, he struggled to get interviews. For a time, this proud Marine was between apartment leases, and was forced to zip himself into his sleeping bag in the backseat of his car for a few hours of rest each night.
A survey released recently by The Mission Continues, a national nonprofit organization, and Bad Robot, a Hollywood television and film production company, suggests that Roxley's story is the story of this generation of veterans: Respected for their service and applauded for their sacrifice when they return home, they are also, in some important ways, deeply misunderstood by the people they fight for.
The research, conducted by a bi-partisan team of leading public opinion firms, is the first of its kind to focus on public perceptions of the nearly 2.4 million military service members who are now returning home since volunteering to serve after 9/11. Modeled in part after a similar survey conducted in 1979, it reflects a marked increase in positive public perception of our nation's veterans.
Among the encouraging conclusions, Americans by a significant margin (86 percent) describe veterans as "very valuable assets." The public views veterans as disciplined, willing to work hard, and more involved in their communities than non-veterans. Those surveyed recognize that the military provides an important public service: 86 percent ranked Iraq and Afghanistan veterans as a valuable national asset, on par with firefighters (94 percent) and nurses (91 percent) and over 20 points higher than Supreme Court Justices (64 percent), lawyers (19 percent), politicians (11 percent) and celebrities (5 percent).
The results, however, show those surveyed believe that a majority of veterans return home suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a genuine concern for post-9/11 veterans. On average 2 out of 10 veterans will experience some level of PTSD. The public, however, tends to believe that almost every veteran walking around on a college campus or interviewing for a job is a bundle of nerves ready to explode.
Additionally, the public incorrectly assumes that veterans have lower levels of education. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, veterans are actually more likely than their non-veteran peers to have obtained some college education and advanced degrees. Although Roxley completed his degree in management with a minor in finance, he still found it difficult to convince civilian employers that the decision-making and managerial skills he honed as a Marine would transfer to the business world.
The data shows the public believes we need to let our veterans recover and let others lead. Veterans strongly disagree. By a margin of 64 to 31 percent, veterans believe they should play a major role in continuing to lead and serve in their communities. Roxley says, "If I could inspire untested Marines to stay focused through perilous foot patrols in Iraq, I can lead a team back home." He needed a chance to prove it.
Unemployed and struggling to translate his military skills at civilian job fairs in southern California, Roxley discovered The Mission Continues with which he earned a six-month community service fellowship with Habitat for Humanity. Through Roxley's fellowship, his civilian co-workers now understand the important logistical knowledge Roxley brings to their mission. Roxley is similarly learning how to translate his military skills for future employment in the civilian world.
The Mission Continues and Bad Robot believe that a first step to helping our veterans is to understand the reality of what they are facing upon returning home. Today we are asking every American -- veterans and civilians who want to understand them -- to spend time with one another, listen to one another's stories, and serve side by side in community service projects in your area. Let's be a generation that not only welcomes our veterans home with dignity and pride, but helps them become citizen leaders who continue to serve at home.
http://www.change.org/petitions/the-u-s-senate-provide-service-dogs-to-veterans-with-post-traumatic-stress-disorder
Then, we also need to stop defunding Veteran's Hospitals, provide ongoing psychological and social support, and give massive tax breaks for the first year to employers who hire veterans.
This all might be possible if we get Republicans out of office. They TALK about honoring the military, but have consistently voted against decent Veterans' benefits. Another thing that would help is the requirement that any person candidating for a Federal or State office would have served in the military (which, unfortunately, would let me out). How can you vote for war unless you know firsthand the horrors. And service to country where your butt is on the line seems like an intelligent pre-requisite to serving in Congress or the White House, etc. This simple Constitutional change should also cut down on the corruption of politicians....some at least. Veterans are more honorable and honest than the general run of person.
We didn't invade Kuwait to help the Kuwaiti people, because our ambassador had already GIVEN Saddam Hussain tacit approval of the US to attack Kuwait. It wasn't until Saddam had TAKEN Kuwait and turned his tanks towards Saudi Arabia (AKA Friends of Bush) that we suddenly had to go into Kuwait.
We veterans are used as disposable corporate commodities, the strong arm of Corporate America. Lots of "support", but many enlisted families are living on welfare, because we don't pay our military a living wage. More and more low ranked enlisted personel HAVE families, because they enlisted because theres so few jobs. (Thanks Republicans.) When these troopers return home, they get a pat on the back and boot in the ass. Theres no jobs. They are preyed upon by these "For Profit" schools who offer much and actually provide nothing.
If we actually valued our military, we'd treat them like it. Theres no reason a soldier (Sailor, airman, marine) who serves 4 years of active duty service, who offered up their life for the country, doesn't deserve the SAME healthcare (At the very least) as a junior congresscritter who also spends 4 years in his position, and does much less for his country.
That has to change.
The Gov (your employer) needs to make good on what they offered you. And I will support you 100% on that. But if you think you're entitled to anything else from society, you need a reality check ;
The Gov's wars for money helped bring our economy down, and disgrace our nation.
The military is a con. The Pat Tillman story exposes the rot at the top. God bless the vets, and keep them safe from all enemies, foreign AND domestic.
Was this theme adopted to help vets or was it perhaps adopted to advance a particular political agenda without thought to the damage being done to these young people? Essentially what I read always seemed to say "Look at what we are doing? Let's stop these senseless political wars!"
I hate war. But I also live in the real world. Sometimes war cannot be avoided. But using these young volunteers as a means to an end is wrong by any scale you care to choose. I do not believe in the philosophy that the end justifies the means no matter how cruel & hurtful.
The damage done by our thoughtless meda can be undone. But will it? I think not.
Any health costs that a veteran or his or her family has that are service-connected belong to all of us, not to the employers who hire these men and women.
Here's the critical information:
Unemployed and struggling to translate his military skills at civilian job fairs in southern California, Roxley discovered The Mission Continues with which he earned a six-month community service fellowship with Habitat for Humanity. Through Roxley's fellowship, his civilian co-workers now understand the important logistical knowledge Roxley brings to their mission. Roxley is similarly learning how to translate his military skills for future employment in the civilian world.
The critical point is that veterans need a transitional work experience. It's a buyer's market, and employers aren't interested in job candidates who aren't already doing EXACTLY what they're hiring for. The US should be setting up transitional work for our veterans, and perhaps even subsidizing them in those jobs. This will not only help them re-adjust to civilian life and get recent job skills that are clearly transferrable (as opposed to transferrable, but it takes five minutes of thinking to see it), it will get them a civilian network.
We can't keep saying "thanks and good luck," when we know that that won't work.
In that way, depression and PTSD were treated much the same as homosexuals in that they were hit with drugs far heavier than were needed.
The vets' problem is greater because the VA insisted on refusing to treat it unless it manifested itself in the army or within 6 months of discharged.
They continued to abuse us until the VFW and American Legion forced them to admit they were wrong.
Bush compounded the problem when he slashed the VA's budget to feed his buddies some more money. His final effort came when two of his minions slashed the part of the budget by basing their number of homeless vets by ignoring the VA's own statistics.
The Democratic Congress started the process and the Obama administration has continued. That VA is still badly understaffed but significant strides have been made in customer service.
These people care about the vet and they show it.