Military families coping: a new study
An article in Foreign Policy touches on an issue that is pressing but often absent from the public eye - the challenges faced by military families.
The article focuses on a new study undertaken by two researchers at the Army War College, which looks at the effects of multiple deployments on a servicemember's adolescent children (those between 11 and 17). The study found the following:
- Contrary to conventional wisdom, the study found that with each additional deployment, the adolescent's stress level actually decreases (but not beyond the 4th and 5th deployment). Gerras and Wong speculate that Army adolescents mature and increasingly learn to cope with each new deployment, and that there is no evidence that multiple deployments have a cumulative negative effect on their mental health.
- Army adolescents are a lot more optimistic about their own well-being than their deployed parent.
- 14-16 year olds have noticeably less stress about a deployed parent than other ages according to Stephen Wong, who cited interview responses that said the absence of a disciplinarian made life easier. The stress level of 17 year olds goes back up, however, because they keenly feel the absence of a deployed parent at important life events, like high school graduation, sports matches, and the college or job search. A "flat daddy" would be a lousy substitute at these rites of passage.
- The two best predictors of an adolescent being able to successfully cope with having a deployed parent are the beliefs that their mom or dad is making a difference in the world and that the American public supports the war. It also helps if you are from a ‘strong family' and play sports. (Let's get those pasty teen Warcraft players out into the sunshine!)
Read the full article here.
Proposed increase in the family separation allowance
GOOD Magazine has a nice piece on the struggles of being wounded in battle, and a proposed increase to the family separation allowance. The family separation allowance is a benefit paid out to servicemembers separated from their families during a tour of duty. As the author of the article notes, the family separation allowance can make a big difference when a servicemember is wounded and is taken to a military hospital back in the US. Since the military hospital is often located far from the wounded servicemember's family, it is costly for the family to come visit. The family separation allowance can help to reduce this financial burden.
The family separation allowance is currently set at $250 per month, but Congressman Jerry McNerney of California is proposing that the allowance be increased to $450 per month, in addition to increases for a number of other benefit payments (read here for more details on Congressman McNerney's proposed legislation).
Imagine how difficult your life would be, and how much more money you would have to spend, if your husband or wife left home for seven to 15 months at a time. Would you have to pay more often for babysitters, lawn services, and prepared food? Would you have to take extra time off from work to do all those things that usually take two?
Now imagine the stress on you and the rest of your family if your spouse wasn’t just gone from home, but in Iraq or Afghanistan, and you spent every day scared to death of a phone call. Or imagine yourself as the deployed service member, trying to focus on the mission in front of you, worrying from afar if your family has enough money to pay for food, rent, and utilities. Isn’t it worth $200 more per month to help alleviate the psychological and physical stress, heartache, lack of sleep, and the cost of a missing spouse and parent?
Read more: http://www.good.is/post/from-the-hurt-locker-to-capitol-hill/#ixzz0fAmLBW1V
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution
Read the full article here.
Then and now: a reflection on returning OEF/OIF veterans
Belleruth Naparstek has a good piece at the Huffington Post about the differing climate facing returning veterans from the Iraq/Afghan conflicts and the Vietnam War 40 years ago. She comments on medical advances in the understanding/diagnosis of PTSD, the cultural shift in valuing the sacrifices made by our service men and women, and a change in the DoD's and VA's attitude to treating psychological wounds.
This new group of active military in Iraq and Afghanistan knows what's happening to them, to a much greater extent. There's been a push to educate our troops and the general public about posttraumatic stress as well as TBI's (traumatic brain injury), thanks to a renewed commitment to the mental health of our troops, found in both the Department of Defense and the V.A. Secretaries Gates and Shinseki have been working hard at destigmatizing mental health problems, in ways never seen before. So that's another lesson learned from Vietnam, and no small matter. Still, career soldiers still worry a lot about stigma.
[...]
So now that we're learning about the new barriers to receiving help -- some quite positive, by the way (Indeed, what's wrong with not wanting to be a career patient, anyway?), I expect the V.A. will get more flexible in how it offers services. And there will hopefully be much more widespread use of self-administered guided imagery downloads -- shown at multiple research sites to reduce symptoms quickly and pretty dramatically while being a pleasant and self-reinforcing experience for the listener. Not to mention inexpensive and useable even in remote locations.
We are getting so much more interest and openness to guided imagery than even a year ago, from both the DoD and the VA. These are great trends, very hopeful. I do believe we're gonna seriously help a lot of vets.
It's a good read with some interesting discussion going on in the comments section; check out the full article here.
Difficulties for women at VA hospital facilities
As NPR reported yesterday, the challenges of being a female in the military don't end upon discharge. Many female veterans are encountering challenges at VA healthcare facilities--often they face perceptions that women do not sustain as much physical or mental hardship in battle as their male counterparts.
When retired Air Force Reserve Cmdr. Gwen Sheppard, 47, returned home to suburban Milwaukee from Iraq in 2003, and began having a range of medical problems, including trouble remembering things. She wondered whether inhaling smoke that had been all around during a dangerous mission in Iraq had made her sick.
But back in 2004, the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center in Milwaukee did not seem prepared to handle Iraq veterans, especially women.
"A lot of times, I would get blown off with things," says Sheppard. She says she was told, "Oh, well, that's just a female thing."
"I'm like, 'No, there's something going on. I know my body. You guys need to dig a little deeper,' " she says.
Fortunately VA hospitals are working to affect the cultural change within the system necessary to fully integrate women. At the Milwaukee VA's Medical Center, posters are being put up which show two female veterans with the tagline "We are veterans, too. Ms. or Mrs. will do." Additionally, the hospital added a new women's clinic, and doctors are being hired that specialize in comprehensive women's care.
Read the full article here. NPR also has an interesting map showing which states have the highest concentration of female veterans; view it here.
Business to Our Troops: We’ve Got Your Back
It's refreshing to hear about employers who fully realize their responsibility to support the military community. Con-way Freight has penned an article expressing their appreciation of the sacrifices made by the military community and a commitment to support our nation's service members, particularly from the National Guard and Reserves.
Our citizen-soldiers should not come home from serving our country only to face yet another battle to get their job back. They deserve our respect and admiration, and our unqualified support. Nothing less is acceptable.
My company, Con-way Freight, recognizes this not only as a responsibility, but a duty. At any one time we may have as many as 100 employees on active deployment. While on leave for deployment, the families of these service men and women continue to receive company medical benefits. In the case where the deployed-employee’s military pay is less than their Con-way pay, the company makes up the difference. Upon return, these employees have access to resources and counseling under the company’s health plan to help them deal with the stresses of their deployment and reintegrate into society. And finally, the job they had when they went on deployment is there for them when they come home.
Read the full article here.
Lawsuit results in possible benefits increases for veterans with PTSD
This article in the Washington Post tells about a recent legal agreement that will result in the military reviewing the medical records of thousands of OEF/OIF veterans with PTSD that were denied benefits for the disorder.
The agreement stems from a judge's order in a class action lawsuit originally filed by seven combat veterans. They alleged the military illegally denied benefits to those discharged, at least in part, because of the disorder during a six-year period that ended Oct. 14, 2008.
Legal notices are currently being mailed to about 4,300 veterans informing them they can "opt-in" to the lawsuit until July 24 to be part of the expedited review. Attorneys for the veterans estimate that millions of dollars could be paid to veterans under the agreement, with some veterans receiving hundreds or more dollars in increased monthly benefits.
More information on the lawsuit can be found here. For the full article click here.
Warrior Games to provide competition and fun for wounded veterans
This May will mark the first ever Warrior Games, a national multi-sport competition for Wounded Warriors. The Games will be held May 10-14 in Colorado Springs, CO. Two hundred men and women--both veterans and active duty service members, from all branches--will compete. Events are to include track and field, swimming, shooting and archery.
“What we have to do with our servicemembers is inspire them to reach for and achieve a rich and productive future, to defeat their illness or injury, whatever lies in the way, to maximize their abilities and know that they can have a rich and fulfilling life beyond what has happened to them in service to their nation,” Cheek said.
You can read the full article at Stars and Stripes here. The Kansas City Infozine also has a good article on John Register, the wounded veteran heading up the Games, here.
A great idea: Operation Welcome Home
Today in the state of California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is launching a new initiative for veterans, appropriately named Operation Welcome Home. The program consists of the hiring of 325 combat veterans, whose job will then be to advise returning veterans on the resources available to help them find employment.
Additionally, California is seeking to coordinate 1000 volunteers to form the new CalVet Corps. These volunteers will take on a similar role - working with veterans and connecting them with resources available to them - but they will work in a number of issue areas, including housing, healthcare, and employment.
“California has more returning veterans than any other state. So our state, as well as the federal government, has a special responsibility,” Schwarzenegger said in draft remarks quoted in the briefing document. “We have a fundamental obligation to anyone who has shed or risked blood for this country.”
[...]
“Veterans have cutting-edge training and exceptional leadership skills,” the briefing document said. The new program, it said, will “help transfer military training to California’s labor force.”
Read the full article here.
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