On Veterans’ Day tomorrow, we honor those servicemen and women who were willing to sacrifice everything in the World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, and other conflicts. But we must not lose sight of the hidden battle that veterans fight when they come home.
Despite the humble service our all-volunteer forces provide—offering their lives to defend American interests around the world—we still do not provide them the kind of care and respect they deserve after their service is done. For example, veterans are twice as likely to become chronically homeless, one in 10 veterans is disabled, and the veteran rate for suicide is significantly higher than that of civilians.
In recent years, Congress and the Pentagon have strived to address veteran care, especially as it relates to post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. A dedicated suicide hotline for veterans has been established and proven to be effective. It is excellent that the military—not one of the most progressive institutions in the country—acknowledges the existence and prevalence of serious mental health issues and is seeking to treat them effectively. These facts do not negate, however, the shocking reality of the rates of veteran unemployment, homelessness, and suicide amongst veterans, which far exceed those of the U.S. population at large.
This Veterans’ Day, we prepare to welcome home thousands of troops from service in Iraq. As a country, we must decide to welcome them back in an environment of awareness and understanding. This ought not to be implemented solely through law, but also through attitude. We must investigate ways to better integrate veterans back into society, especially by creating a national dialogue to eradicate the social stigma surrounding depression and other psychological effects of military service. There should also be an increase in funding for research in neuroscience to better understand and treat PTSD and depression in veterans. Additionally, we must maintain clarity in political discourse—essential veteran care ought to be independent from political debates over foreign policy and defense spending.
The waste of American lives will not cease with the end of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As long as we do not provide adequate care for our veterans, the wars will not truly be over. When the long-term effects of combat service arise in the latest wave of veterans of American wars, we have an obligation as citizens, as emerging professionals who will affect policy or treat veterans, to recognize that our society must support them. Veterans have completed their service. Our society must not do disservice to their sacrifice.
