I just finished watching MTV (yea, it's still on the air!) and they had Senator(s) Obama and Clinton speaking with a group of recently separated veterans.
At one point a young veteran, who had been homeless for a period of time after departing the service, asked Barack what he would do to ensure that our military veterans did not find themselves living on the streets after they're done serving our country.
Mr. Obama stated that he's already drafting some legislation at the Senate level which would provide housing, medical, emotional, and job training facilities (and those facilities would be on-site) for military veterans to transition back into civilian life.
Having served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps from 1988 to 1992, and as a Desert Shield/Desert Storm veteran, I can write the rest of this post based on my actual experience.
Sorry Senator, but the troops have what they need while they are serving. If they choose to depart the service, it is of their own free will, just like it was when they enlisted. There are job search facilities, resume assistance, and a host of other transistional services already in operation - but those are for currently enlisted troops, and it is up to the individual soldier to take advantage of them before they exit the service.
I remember when I departed the service, back in 1992, and I had been a civilian no more than 4 hours when I decided that I was hungry. A quick trip to the base commissary (grocery store) was the first thing that I thought of, so I jump in the car and headed back to base. They wouldn't let me on base because I didn't have a military ID card (they take them when you leave the service).
Sure, I was a bit pissed, because I was used to having everything that I needed nearby for the last 4 years of my life. So, that was a rude awakening back to the civilian life, but that is the way it goes.
In summary, Senator Obama - please do not spend our tax money on duplicating a system which is already present.
To any of the currently enlisted men and women who might happen to read this - check the job listings before you decide to get out of the service - while you may think that things are rough where you are, the job market is much worse out here, and there's nobody out here with us to help make things any easier.
This is the year, where if I had stayed in the service, I would be retiring with 20 years of service. It sure got here quicker than I ever imagined.
I agree, that wasn’t well thought through on Senator Obama’s part. When I left the USMC in 1978, I had a motorcycle and cruised from NC to New Orleans and on to Austin Tx. When I got bored with that, I went back to my parents house for a couple weeks and then on to the city. It took me about 6 months to jack myself up and get back into the job market. probably wouldn’t have done it that quickly except that my new girlfriend got me jump started. I don’t know why it’s kind of difficult.
Know what spooks me deeply? (W/respect to the good folk doing good work … hope they don’t burn out.) Wey often the people extending services are incompetent while bill-collectors and such are always right on the mark.
It’s yet another Catch22. (Just what a body with PTSD needs, confusion, frustration, paradox …) Someone recently offered to help me with some paperwork. He knows the system. In less than 2 months he pushed through stuff I couldn’t get moving in over 2 years.
AFAIK what snaps the mind is the un-specific feeling that even folk who seem merely distracted are actually components of a system that’s deeply corrupt and profoundly antagonistic.
Homeless vets … like single moms on the street, that shows just how badly our community is dealing with its real responsibilities. Which, of course, leaves the impression that I’m whiney and irresponsible … yet.another Catch-22.
stay well
-bentrem
With the exception of a VA home load back in 1992, I have never asked the Government for anything since I left the service. Some people consider that a stupid move on my part, but I sleep rather well at night. Thanks.
Testing blog comments after a few hours of digging around trying to find out what was broken - all seems to work now - sorry for those ‘white screens’ after posting comments before.
…the troops have what they need while they are serving. If they choose to depart the service, it is of their own free will, just like it was when they enlisted. There are job search facilities, resume assistance, and a host of other transitional services already in operation - but those are for currently enlisted troops, and it is up to the individual soldier to take advantage of them before they exit the service.
I’m going to have to disagree with you on this one based on my 7 years experience working with the military and being a military wife. First, not all service members leave the service of their own free will, some branches will force you out if you haven’t been promoted after a certain period of time (sometimes this is due to a lack of positions in a certain MOS - but that is another story) so saying that if a service member chooses to depart it is of their own free will, is a generalization and isn’t a fair statement.
Second, many service members only know about transitional services and these resources if they are told about them by their superiors and/or the MWR. There are many differences between the branches so someone in the Marine Corps on a base might have access to little more information than someone on a Navy Sub with no real contact with the outside world, for example. I can’t even begin to tell you how many service members aren’t aware of all the resources they have available to them until it is too late – and that isn’t their fault.
Let me also add that if you are working 12 hours shifts, have duty, a family and other mandatory responsibilities this doesn’t leave one much time to “take advantage” of what little the military offers you in transitional services that are scheduled during normal business hours.
Finally, have you seen or experience some of these “resources”. They aren’t very comprehensive nor are they all that helpful. I’m not saying all but the ones I’ve checked out for myself leave much to be desired.
Did you know? A recent U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs study found that 18 percent of the veterans who sought jobs within one to three years of discharge were unemployed, while one out of four who did find jobs earned less than $21,840 a year.
It’s a serious issue and though SOME services might be duplicated by additional legislation, the issue still needs to be addressed across the nation and dramatically improved.
I think Gov. Schwarzenegger has the right idea: http://gov.ca.gov/issue/veterans-military
Here are some recent news stories about this including the statistics -
Stars & Stripes: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=61006&archive=true
The Roanoke Times: http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/wb/150452
Nashua Telegraph: http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080210/BUSINESS/362669099/-1/OPINION02
Abt Assoc:
https://www.abtassoc.org/page.cfm?PageID=16700&FamilyID=16000#Feb-stu
NC Times: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/02/08/military/13_94_362_7_08.txt
@dayngr,
It’s not a generalization - service members getting “forced out” does happen, but it’s not like it is unexpected - those service members in question know what is going to happen.
Ignorance is no excuse - waiting around for someone to tell you something is no way to live life - being proactive and finding out what information is available makes more sense. If they do not get the answers they expect, then they should ask someone else, and keep on asking until they get what they need.
Working 12 hour days with other aspects of life - yeah, I suppose if one chooses to sit around and make excuses, that one is just as good as any other. It doesn’t explain how the majority of people in the exact same situation are able to find the time in order to control the same aspects of their life.
The final point is this. Serving in our military is a very honorable and appreciated thing to do - it’s not an upscale welfare system, so nobody, and I do mean nobody, should expect any handouts after the job is completed (barring any career related medical problems - but that is another story and beyond the scope of my initial post).
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