...I-Search The Life of a Vietnam War Veteran “Sorry kids, Mr. Watson will not be able to come in this year and talk to you all about his experience of the Vietnam War. It’s too difficult for him, to express the pain he went through during the war and after”. As Mrs. Harvey explain to all of us y Mr. Watson is unable to make it this year I sat there wondering why. What made it so difficult not only for him but for all Vietnam veterans to share their experiences with other people. And I am writing this paper to find what why it is hard for these veterans to share and also what kind of conditions do they go through when coming back home. I am not completely unaware about Vietnam War veterans. I know a few things about life of a Vietnam veteran. For example, I know that they are usually suffering from some type of mental health issue. Also many of them are afraid having cancer due to Agent Orange. I am aware that they don’t like to share stories of the war to society or even close ones. Most importantly, I recognize that these men are going through many problems due to that war. Janda 2 Although I did have a general knowledge of Vietnam War Veterans, I wanted to further enhance my knowledge of the topic. The greatest way I felt to got more edcucated abouit this subject was to interview James Watson, Vietnam War Veteran. I have never really understood the motivation and necessary of their problems. I wanted to know how Vietnam War Veterans becomes so changed due to the war...
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...Facing It Vietnam War veteran, Yusef Komunyakka describes a direct experience into his emotions when he went a visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in the poem Facing It. In the poem Facing It, Komunyakka caught my attention because of the title, and how Komunyakka explains the meaning of his title, by the types of speech he has in his poem, and how he describes the wall. Komunyakka’s figurative launuage in this poem drives home the speaker’s feelings and memories that he is encountering at the war memorial, Yusef starts the poem off with an example of visual imagery. He states, “black face fades.” This tells us that Yusef is African American, and it also tells us the key word fades, meaning that he wasn’t the only person affected by the...
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...the Military EH 1020 Professor Reynolds December 3rd, 2012 Abstract A military career will provided a person with a rich set of experiences and skills that many civilian employers seek in new hires. Only having experience and job related skills are no guarantee that you will land a job once you are discharged from the military. Having an education is one of the most important qualities a person can have. Many employers have minimum education requirements just to be considered. If you don’t meet the minimum requirements you risk your resume not being reviewed and chances are your resume will not get a second glance. Meeting the minimum job requirements might get your foot in the door; however, generally education will often be the tie-breaker that will get you hired. Educational Benefits in the Military There was a time in the military when having an education was insignificant. You could join with no if, ands, or buts about it, and be on your way to basic training in no time. There was a time when the military did not even require you to have a high school diploma in order to join. Times have changed, and so has the military in regards to the ability to receive an education. Serving in the military today is a very specialized and intense experience. You no longer can just join like stated above, you have to take an ASVAB test (multiple-aptitude battery that measures developed abilities and helps predict future academic and occupational success in the military), (http://www...
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...nursing field, we see many differing cultural diversities on a daily basis. Racial, religious, and ethnic differences are mostly easy to spot in the health care world. These differences are readily discussed in nursing education, and education is given on how to provide culturally competent care for many different backgrounds. While this is an amazing thing to have in the nursing world, my question is what about the culture of military Veterans? Veterans are typically overlooked when it comes to the concept of culturally competent care. They have their own way of thinking, own belief systems and even their own language along with the specific mental and addiction health disparities. It is important that nurses do not overlook the rising number of Veterans, and the specific care they need due to the differing culture. Culturally competent care for veterans, any vulnerabilities of the Veteran culture, standards of culturally competent care in the Veterans Administration, application of nursing theory, and solutions for providing culturally competent care for Veterans will be addressed in this paper. Culturally Competent Care and Standards The United States is widely known as the “melting pot” of the world, and that comes with many differing cultures, ethnicities, religions and race. Caring for all of these different patients in health care means that the nurse must be educated in many different cultures and how to provide care for them in a respectful and safe manner. There are many...
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...Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Unethical Business Practices and their Influence on Veteran Unemployment Chase Jeffrey Engel Georgetown University Abstract Military veterans have consistently experienced high unemployment rates. Challenging veterans’ efforts in finding and maintaining employment is the issue of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Exacerbating this problem, is civilian employers’ utilization of deficient hiring and employment practices. In particular, employers have developed a sense of fear and uncertainty about PTSD. These perceptions often prove to be a reason why employers choose not to select veteran candidates for employment. Additionally, organizations fail to successfully acclimate and socialize new veteran employees (who do or may suffer from PTSD) into the organization’s culture. Such failures can lead veteran employees to quit their job. Together, the deficient hiring and employment practices displayed towards former service members have significant ethical implications that serve as the catalyst for high unemployment rates for the veteran population. To minimize these implications and to improve veteran employment opportunities, organizations’ human resources (HR) departments must develop and incorporate new approaches to hiring and employing veterans who do or may suffer from PTSD. Keywords: PTSD, invisible disability, human resources, implicit bias Post-Traumatic...
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...To: Mayor Eric Garcetti Date: November 19, 2015 Subject: Veteran Suicide Prevention in California (Nationwide) ______________________________________________________________________________ EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: “All I ever considered when I thought about suicide was the guilt I was feeling and just wanting a way out, wanting to not have those memories anymore,” said Clinton Hall, 35, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan as an infantryman and now lives in Portland, Ore. His friend and fellow soldier killed himself shortly after returning home. An epidemic is raging among us and some of us have no idea the problem sits next to the very flag of freedom we encounter throughout our day. Suicide is one of the many causes of death for American military forces. A research project in 2012 reported in Times Magazine regarding active duty members of the military, shows a surprising 349 veterans took their own lives; more than the death from combat operations that year. The Veteran Affairs Department estimates that 22 vets die by their own hand every day. For a veteran, the sound of a firework can spark a flashback of war; while shopping at the aisles of the super market, a veteran may suddenly feel the need to seek cover as it reminds him of being ambushed in Iraq or Afghanistan. The reality is that our patriots are leaving one battle and returning home to another. Some veterans feel ostracized, others are homelessness, have become drug addict,, and are unemployed. These problems relate to...
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...Leading Change: A Plan for SAMHSA’s Roles and Actions Strategic Initiative #3: Military Families Lead: Kathryn Power, Director, Center for Mental Health Services Key Facts • Approximately 18.5 percent of service members returning from Iraq or Afghanistan have post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression, and 19.5 percent report experiencing a traumatic brain injury (TBI) during deployment.48 Approximately 50 percent of returning service members who need treatment for mental health conditions seek it, but only slightly more than half who receive treatment receive adequate care.49 The Army suicide rate reached an all-time high in June 2010.50 In the 5 years from 2005 to 2009, more than 1,100 members of the Armed Forces took their own lives, an average of 1 suicide every 36 hours.51 In 2010, the Army’s suicide rate among active-duty soldiers dropped slightly (162 in 2009; 156 in 2010), but the number of suicides in the National Guard and Reserve increased by 55 percent (80 in 2009; 145 in 2010).52 More than half of the Army National Guard members who killed themselves in 2010 had never deployed.53 In 2007, 8 percent of soldiers in Afghanistan reported using alcohol during deployment, and 1.4 percent reported using illegal drugs/substances.54 Between 2004 and 2006, 7.1 percent of U.S. veterans met the criteria for a substance use disorder.55 Mental and substance use disorders caused more hospitalizations among U.S. troops in 2009 than any other cause.56 According to an...
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... I intend to demonstrate the existence, magnitude, urgency, and relevance of veterans' issues through survey responses and outside statistics. Furthermore, for persuasive success, I will primarily apply the Social judgement theory in order to evaluate and change the audience's current attitudes. Most significantly, the paired questions 1 and 2 are crucial in establishing the relevance of veterans' issues with the audience. In fact, Q1 concluded that nearly 82% of students have a friend or relative either actively serving or who has served in the past within a branch of the military; thus, the majority either directly know a veteran or someone who will eventually become one. Essentially, the audience's connections to veterans will make the message more persuasive since people care more about family members and friends than random strangers. Q2 provides elaboration on the specific relationships between the audience and veterans....
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...Professor Rickards Criminal Justice 21 March 2024 Veteran Courts As we know, Veteran Courts are a new form of specialty courts for criminal offenders who served in the military. The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania says, “Utilizing the successful drug court model, participants come before judges regularly, receive support and guidance from veteran mentors, are supervised by specialized probation officers, and receive treatment and support from the Veterans Administration to address underlying problems often caused by post-traumatic stress disorder” (UJSP, 2). Veteran Courts are there to assist veterans who have been charged with crimes and who are struggling with addiction, mental illness, or disorders. To me, this shows...
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...the men and women who protect us through their military service, especially those who have been deployed and risked their lives so that we can maintain the privileges afforded to us simply by living in America. Unfortunately, our country has not taken enough measures to protect and restore the mental health of the veterans who have protected us. According to Jaycox eds. and Tanielian (2008) “About One-Third of Returning Service members Report Symptoms of a Mental Health or Cognitive Condition” and approximately 19.5% of our returning veterans have experienced a probable traumatic brain injury (TBI) (p. 492). While the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Veterans Association (VA) have taken steps to meet the needs of these returning veterans, there is still much room for improvement when it comes to providing these hero’s with the mental health and neurological care that they require for a healthy life. PTSD and TBI share many symptoms, sometimes making it difficult for professionals to distinguish the cause of the symptoms, therefore, the mental health and TBI issues are often addressed together. One of the issues that our servicemen face with receiving proper treatment is that PSTD can sometimes take a year or more to surface after returning home. (National Council on Disability , 2009). The Department of Defense has designated and deployed a Mental health taskforce to research and address the needs and concerns of our military member’s psychological well being and as of 2007...
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...their families, and caregivers with information they need on military facilities, health care services, and benefits. It supports access to the Wounded Warrior Resource Call Center and trained specialists who are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by phone at 1-800-342-9647 or by e-mail at wwrc@militaryonesource.com. Advocacy/Support - Disabled American Veterans* www.dav.org The DAV’s 1.2 million members provide grassroots advocacy and services in communities nationwide. From educating lawmakers and the public about important issues to supporting services and legislation to help disabled veterans — the DAV is there to promote its message of hope to all who have served and sacrificed. Advocacy/Support - National Veterans Foundation* www.nvf.org Our Mission: to serve the crisis management, information and referral needs of all U.S. Veterans and their families through: * Management and operation of the nation’s only toll-free helpline for all veterans and their families. * Public awareness programs that shine a consistent spotlight on the needs of America’s veterans. * Outreach services that provide veterans and families in need with food, clothing, transportation, employment, and other essential resources. Advocacy/Support - Salute Inc.* www.saluteinc.org SALUTE, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing awareness and support of issues facing active military personnel, veterans and their families and to provide financial support through...
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...Military Veterans From research studies, military veterans aren’t well compensated for their service in the military. Not only are they not well compensated, there were many combat soldiers coming home with anger issues, PTSD, depression, and other psychological problems. According to research, half of the homeless individuals are military veterans not just an opinion but it’s a proven fact. Veterans are often not honored, as they should be. Why aren’t they? Another question is why aren’t our veterans not well taken care of? No health insurance for veterans First, scientific studies show that working age veterans don’t have health insurance. According to Genevieve Kenney, a senior fellow with the Urban Institute and co-author of the report...
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...The United States Department of Veteran Affairs PAD 705 Organization Theory and Management May 12, 2015 Brian Wilson Since an Executive Order in 1930 the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has been an independent agency dedicated to serving America’s Veterans. “The Department’s mission is to serve America’s Veterans and their families with dignity and compassion and to their principal advocate in ensuring that they receive medical care, benefits, social support, and lasting memorials promoting the health, welfare, and dignity of all Veterans in recognition of their service to this nation” (VA 2010). The VA is the second largest Federal department with over 278,000 employees as of 2010. Among these employees are a wide array of professions including; nurses, physicians, counselors, statisticians, architects, computer specialists, and attorneys. The VA is comprised of a Central Office, and field facilities throughout the Nation administered by its three major line organizations: Veterans Health Administration, Veterans Benefits Administration, and National Cemetery Administration. The services and benefits provided to our nations Veterans are presented through a nationwide network comprised of 153 hospitals, 956 outpatient clinics, 134 community living centers, 90 domiciliary residential rehabilitation treatment programs, 232 Vet centers, 57 Veterans benefits regional offices, and 131 national cemeteries. The Secretary has identified five strategic goals for...
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...Unit 6 Project Veterans Having Trouble Finding Jobs After the Military Mark Everhart Kaplan University Professor Sandra Fontana Veterans who have served this country by going to war are quickly realizing that America is not appreciating the sacrifices made for our service members. Veterans are being passed over for employment for many different reasons. Some of these reasons include Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), lack of job skills for performing civilian jobs, and the inability to cope with the transition from military to civilian life. The unemployment rate for veterans is 6.9 percent (Norman, 2012). The government and the employers need to work together to make the transition out of the military a smoother process. The Department of Veteran Affairs cannot process the applications for the G.I. Bill fast enough to accommodate the veterans. Veterans lack the job skills necessary to perform jobs in the civilian sector after the military. All military veterans should have special training, skill and mind set for the transition from military to civilian life, provided by the government and employers to ensure employability after serving their country regardless of how many years of service one has served. Veterans lack the special training and skills that are necessary to compete with the civilian population. Veterans often have jobs that cannot transfer to the civilian world (Hefling, 2011). For instance if they are an infantryman, they cannot get a job as a mechanic....
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...information made available to the public about post traumatic stress disorder(PTSD). The military have their own community of trained professionals that gives support during time being served in the military. Upon discharge there are some resources available but the ease of access is a challenge. Once a veteran has seen combat and is ready for discharge they are not given additional monitoring or treatment once they enter civilian life. It is left up to the individual to recognize they need mental support. Most of these veterans do not seek such assistance. Instead they consider this the norm and go on with their lives as they suffer in silence. The news is filled with reports of Veteran Administration systemic problems with their health care facilities and the ability to take care of combat veterans. The VA Secretary Eric Shinseki is getting increasing pressures from congress and the public regarding the faults of the system. The ability of the system to take of a veteran is poor. The PTSD patient warriors of current wars like Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from the inability to receive proper care. (Landen, 2014) Reports are finding problems in the VA system with improper scheduling of patients, and excessive waiting times. “1 in every 5 veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan have PTSD. Half on those veterans never seek treatment.” (Liebert & Williams , 2013 p. 227) Many veterans of today have untold stories of the past that they attempt to lock away from the world...
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