tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/memorial-day-2017-38791/articlesMemorial day 2017 – The Conversation2017-05-26T19:24:56Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/775392017-05-26T19:24:56Z2017-05-26T19:24:56ZHomeless vets with families: An untold part of veterans’ struggles<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170849/original/file-20170524-31366-1kovn4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A homeless Vietnam vet begs for money on a Boston street in 2012. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/boston-june-05-vietnam-war-veteran-133682258?src=jobJzjkYJVoo3h29VDXNJA-1-8">Joseph Sohm/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 2010, the Obama administration announced the ambitious goal of ending homelessness among veterans. Over the last year, the number of veterans who are homeless dropped 30 percent in <a href="https://documents.lahsa.org/Planning/homelesscount/2016/factsheet/2016-HC-Results.pdf">Los Angeles County</a>. Nationwide, veteran homelessness fell by <a href="https://www.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/2016-AHAR-Part-1.pdf">almost 50 percent since 2009</a>.</p>
<p>Yet statistics are only part of the story. What is missing from federal and state statistics, the media and the minds of many Americans, is the story of homeless veteran families. </p>
<p>Through my work as a researcher and physician caring for women and homeless veterans, I see these families. I hear about their struggles to find housing in safe neighborhoods instead of Skid Row, where their children are exposed to violence and drug use. </p>
<h1>Overlooking veterans with families</h1>
<p>Families are often missed when volunteers head out to count homeless individuals. Veterans with families often stay with friends, known as “doubling up.” Or, forced to fragment, parents send kids to stay with family while they go to a shelter. </p>
<p>Plus, some females who are homeless and the head of their household don’t identify as veterans. They may not be eligible for Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits, or are unclear about available services. Some may not seek care at the VA due to mistrust, harassment or past military sexual trauma. </p>
<p>Providers, policymakers and the public need to understand that homelessness among the families of men and women who have served our nation may be invisible. But it is significant. </p>
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<p>Limited studies point to higher rates of veteran family homelessness than expected from the counts. Nineteen percent of families served by <a href="https://www.va.gov/HOMELESS/ssvf/docs/SSVF_Annual_Report_for_FY_2015.pdf">Supportive Services for Veteran Families</a>in the FY 2015 had at least one child. A <a href="http://ps.psychiatryonline.org/doi/abs/10.1176/appi.ps.201400300">study of veterans receiving VA homeless services</a> by Tsai and colleagues showed that nine percent of literally homeless male veterans – those living on the streets or uninhabitable locations – and 18 percent of unstably housed male veterans had children in their custody. A striking 30 percent of literally homeless female veterans, as well as 45 percent of unstably housed female veterans, had children in their custody. </p>
<h1>Causes of homelessness</h1>
<p>What contributes to homelessness among veteran families?</p>
<p>First, homelessness among women veterans is rising. <a href="https://www.va.gov/VETDATA/docs/SpecialReports/Final_Womens_Report_3_2_12_v_7.pdf">Eleven percent</a> of military personnel who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) were women, the largest number involved in combat operations in U.S. history. </p>
<p>Women veterans are more likely to be <a href="https://www.va.gov/VETDATA/docs/SpecialReports/Final_Womens_Report_3_2_12_v_7.pdf">mothers and mothers at a younger age than civilians</a>, and more likely to receive <a href="https://www.dol.gov/asp/evaluation/completed-studies/WomenVeteranEconomicandEmploymentCharacteristics.pdf">lower income</a> than male veterans.</p>
<p>They face high rates of trauma, especially military sexual trauma, <a href="http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/article-abstract/2515956">a known risk for homelessness</a>.</p>
<p>And, strikingly, women veterans are up to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1447922/">four times more likely</a> to be homeless than civilian women. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170841/original/file-20170524-31317-1nt9flk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170841/original/file-20170524-31317-1nt9flk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170841/original/file-20170524-31317-1nt9flk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170841/original/file-20170524-31317-1nt9flk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170841/original/file-20170524-31317-1nt9flk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170841/original/file-20170524-31317-1nt9flk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170841/original/file-20170524-31317-1nt9flk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A homeless family living in a shelter on Skid Row decides where to go for dinner.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Jae C. Hong</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Male veterans returning from OIF/OEF tend to be younger and may have young families. As of 2010, 49 percent of deployed service members <a href="https://www.nap.edu/catalog/13499/returning-home-from-iraq-and-afghanistan-assessment-of-readjustment-needs">had children</a>. They also have a higher prevalence of PTSD, compared to veterans of other wars. This is thought to be associated with an <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3969134/">increased risk for homelessness</a>. </p>
<p>To make matters worse, our country is in the grips of an <a href="http://nlihc.org/research/gap-report">affordable housing crisis</a>. In California, we have only 21 homes available for every 100 extremely low-income households. And every day, families face discrimination searching for housing due to their race or ethnicity, being a veteran or using a voucher.</p>
<h1>What homeless veteran families need</h1>
<p>These families are at high risk. Decades of research show that children in homeless families are at risk for physical and <a href="http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.84.2.260">mental health problems, academic delay</a> and of becoming homeless themselves as adults – creating a second generation of homelessness. Many homeless veteran families are resilient, but face additional stressors of reintegrating into civilian society and coping with parents who may have PTSD and traumatic brain injuries. </p>
<p>Our team has been conducting interviews to understand the needs of veteran families who are homeless. We also formed a work group of recently homeless veteran parents.</p>
<p>We are finding that, although veterans are often satisfied with their own health and mental health services at the VA, many parents feel alone when it comes to their family. </p>
<p>Many veterans are overwhelmed by PTSD and depression, as well as the search to find housing and a job. They worry about the toll on their family. Yet they find few resources for their family within the VA, such as family therapy, and need help finding needed health and mental health care for their spouse and children in the community.</p>
<p>Parents need more help connecting to resources for their families in the community, clearer information about the social services available to veteran families and more emotional support as parents.</p>
<h1>Moving forward</h1>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170836/original/file-20170524-31366-9zmeh5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170836/original/file-20170524-31366-9zmeh5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170836/original/file-20170524-31366-9zmeh5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170836/original/file-20170524-31366-9zmeh5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170836/original/file-20170524-31366-9zmeh5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170836/original/file-20170524-31366-9zmeh5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170836/original/file-20170524-31366-9zmeh5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This U.S. Navy veteran poses for a picture in the home of a relative his family has been living with since being evicted from their own home.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Steven Senne</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>We need to change the conversation when we talk about homeless veterans. We need to talk about homeless veteran families. </p>
<p>These families are in our communities, the children are attending public schools, their parents are trying to work multiple jobs or attend college and many receive care in our VA and community clinics. </p>
<p>Within the VA, we need to consider the whole family and provide more connection to the community to help families succeed. At the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System West Los Angeles Medical Center, a new family wellness center will open as a collaborative effort between UCLA and the VA. The center will serve as a hub to strengthen veteran families, through services such as family and couple resilience programs, parenting skills workshops and connection to community services. More efforts are needed to engage families who may need it most. </p>
<p>Beyond the VA, we need enhanced understanding and empathy for veteran families with homelessness within the community. This involves greater understanding of the needs of these children in schools. We should also find ways to help veteran families dealing with PTSD integrate into the community after being homeless. </p>
<p>And most of all, we need to increase access to affordable housing in safe neighborhoods for these families. </p>
<p>The recent wars may seem over for many Americans, but they are far from over for our homeless veteran families. We owe it to them to do better.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77539/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roya Ijadi-Maghsoodi receives funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the Nations Institutes of Health under the AACAP NIDA K12 Program, Grant # K12DA000357.
</span></em></p>Homelessness among veterans overall is on the decline. But researchers see an increasing number of homeless vets who are single mothers or supporting young families.Roya Ijadi-Maghsoodi, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences/Investigator at the VA Greater Los Angeles HSR&D Center for the Study of Healthcare Innovation, Implementation & Policy, University of California, Los AngelesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/782412017-05-25T11:03:48Z2017-05-25T11:03:48ZIraq and Afghanistan: The US$6 trillion bill for America’s longest war is unpaid<p>On Memorial Day, we pay respects to the fallen from past wars – including the more than <a href="https://www.va.gov/opa/publications/factsheets/fs_americas_wars.pdf">one million American soldiers killed</a> in the Civil War, World Wars I and II, Korea and Vietnam.</p>
<p>Yet the nation’s longest and most expensive war is the one that is still going on. In addition to nearly 7,000 troops killed, the 16-year conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan will cost <a href="http://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/files/cow/imce/papers/2016/Costs%20of%20War%20through%202016%20FINAL%20final%20v2.pdf">an estimated US$6 trillion</a> due to its prolonged length, rapidly increasing veterans health care and disability costs and interest on war borrowing. On this Memorial Day, we should begin to confront the staggering cost and the challenge of paying for this war.</p>
<p><a href="https://research.hks.harvard.edu/publications/workingpapers/citation.aspx?PubId=8956">The enormous figure reflects</a> not just the cost of fighting – like guns, trucks and fuel – but also the long-term cost of providing medical care and disability compensation for decades beyond the end of the conflict. Consider the fact that benefits for World War I veterans didn’t peak until 1969. For World War II veterans, the peak came in 1986. Payments for Vietnam-era vets are still climbing. </p>
<p>The high rates of injuries and increased survival rates in Iraq and Afghanistan mean that over half the 2.5 million who served there suffered some degree of disability. Their health care and disability benefits alone will easily cost <a href="http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/lbilmes/files/the_financial_legacy_of_afghanistan.pdf">$1 trillion in coming decades</a>.</p>
<p>But instead of facing up to these huge costs, we have charged them to the national credit card. This means that our children will be forced to pay the bill for the wars started by our generation. Unless we set aside money today, it is likely that young people now fighting in Afghanistan will be shortchanged in the future just when they most need medical care and benefits.</p>
<h2>A forgotten war</h2>
<p>While most Americans are keen to “support our troops,” we aren’t currently shouldering the financial or the physical burden of our nation’s warfare. Except for a short period between the two world wars, the percentage of the general population now serving in the U.S. armed forces is at <a href="https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/censusatlas/pdf/12_Military-Service.pdf">its lowest level ever</a>. </p>
<p>What’s more, the war in Afghanistan barely features on our front pages. During the past two years it has not even made it into <a href="http://tyndallreport.com/yearinreview2016/">the top 10 news stories</a>.</p>
<p>There is not much pain in our pocketbooks either. In past wars, taxpayers were forced to cover some of the extra spending. During Vietnam, marginal <a href="http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/statistics/historical-highest-marginal-income-tax-rates">tax rates</a> for the top 1 percent of earners were hiked to 77 percent. President Harry Truman raised <a href="http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/statistics/historical-highest-marginal-income-tax-rates">tax rates</a> as high as 92 percent during the Korean War, <a href="https://www.trumanlibrary.org/publicpapers/viewpapers.php?pid=823">telling the country</a> that “this is a contribution to our national security that every one of us should stand ready to make.” In fact, taxes were raised during every American conflict since the Revolutionary War, especially for the wealthy. </p>
<p>This time around we have borrowed the money instead. Thanks to the Bush-era tax cuts of 2001 and 2003, nearly all Americans now pay <a href="http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/statistics/historical-highest-marginal-income-tax-rates">lower taxes</a> than before the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. And unlike previous wars, Congress has paid for the post 9/11 conflicts using so-called “emergency” and “overseas contingency operations” spending bills, which bypass Congress’ own budget caps. This has allowed the government to avoid any uncomfortable national discussion on how to balance war spending against other domestic priorities.</p>
<h2>A bipartisan effort</h2>
<p>We cannot simply undo the trillions of dollars that have already been added to the national debt as a result of these wars, but there is an important step we can take to commemorate those who have given their lives or their health to this 16-year-long quagmire. We owe it to them to ensure that there is sufficient money set aside to pay for the benefits we have promised to them and their families.</p>
<p>The solution is to set up a Veterans Trust Fund. Trust funds are an established mechanism for the federal government to fund long-term commitments. We already have more than <a href="http://www.mcs.anl.gov/%7Eanitescu/EXTRAS/READING/GAO-FTF.pdf">200 of them</a>, including the best-known, Social Security. While trust funds do not force the government to set aside money, the federal government would be required to prepare an accounting of how much money is owed to veterans’ and take steps to provide funding to pay claims as they come due. </p>
<p>This process has already been adopted for the Military Retirement Trust Fund, which pays pensions to career service members who retire after 20 years’ service. Since Congress established the fund in 1984, it has been amortizing the retirement benefits that are already due and transferring an annual amount into the fund to cover them. We need to adopt a similar approach for today’s all-volunteer veterans – who fight multiple, lengthy tours of duty but usually leave the military before <a href="http://www.defenseone.com/business/2013/12/heres-why-proposed-military-retiree-benefit-cuts-are-no-big-deal/75587/">20 years are up</a>.</p>
<p>Four members of Congress, Beto O’Rourke (D-TX), Seth Moulton (D-MA), Don Young (R-AK) and Walter Jones (R-NC), recently introduced a bipartisan <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1790/text">Veterans Health Care Trust Fund Act</a>. This proposal would establish a fund for veterans’ benefits, paid for in part by a small income tax surcharge. Those serving in the military and their families would be exempt from paying.</p>
<p>Such a fund cannot solve all the problems of today’s veterans. But on this Memorial Day, let’s not forget to provide for the men and women who have borne the brunt of the nation’s longest and most expensive war.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78241/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Linda J. Bilmes is a board member of the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University.
</span></em></p>In past wars, taxes were increased to cover some of the extra spending. That’s not the case for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the costs are adding up fast.Linda J. Bilmes, Daniel Patrick Moynihan Senior Lecturer in Public Policy and Public Finance, Harvard Kennedy SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/777582017-05-25T03:31:44Z2017-05-25T03:31:44ZWhat veterans’ poems can teach us about healing on Memorial Day<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170872/original/file-20170524-31366-1wzk00u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A visitor pauses at the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/J. David Ake, File</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Memorial Day, a national holiday to honor the <a href="http://www.va.gov/opa/publications/factsheets/fs_americas_wars.pdf">1.17 million men and women who have died</a> to create and maintain the freedoms outlined in our Constitution, is not the only Memorial Day.</p>
<p>The holiday <a href="http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674008199">emerged from the Civil War</a> as a celebration almost exclusively for veterans of the Union Army to remember those who had died. Veterans and their families from Confederate states held their own celebrations. Thus, it remains fraught with conflict and ambiguity.</p>
<p>In 2017, <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2017-04-24/what-to-know-about-confederate-memorial-day">seven states</a> – Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia – chose to also celebrate some form of Confederate Memorial Day. It’s usually celebrated on April 26 – the day associated with the surrender of <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780759116320/Memory-in-Black-and-White-Race-Commemoration-and-the-Post-Bellum-Landscape">General Joe Johnston</a>, nine days after General Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox at the end of the Civil War.</p>
<p>How can we overcome these deep divides? </p>
<p>Having served 28 years in the U.S. Army and as a teacher and <a href="http://veteransinsociety.wordpress.com">researcher who studies the roles veterans and their family play in society</a>, I believe poems written by veterans that focus on honoring those who have died may give us a clue.</p>
<h2>Bridging divisions</h2>
<p>Tension between North and South remains. We see it not only on days dedicated to remembrance. It surfaces daily as communities such as <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/robert-e-lee-statue-removed-new-orleans/">New Orleans</a> wrestle with whether or not to keep memorial statues honoring Confederate leaders like Robert E. Lee.</p>
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<span class="caption">Seaman Daniel Odoi of the Navy Operational Support Center of New York City presents the American flag on Memorial Day 2013.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/John Minchillo</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One poet who does not ignore these divides is <a href="https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/yusef-komunyakaa">Yusef Komunyakaa</a>, an Army veteran who served in Vietnam from 1969 to 1970 and earned a Bronze Star. He is now a professor at New York University.</p>
<p>In “<a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/resources/learning/core-poems/detail/47867">Facing It</a>,” a poem about visiting the Vietnam War Memorial, Komunyakaa, an African-American, confronts the wall and issues linked to war and race. He writes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“My black face fades / hiding inside the black granite.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But he is also a veteran honoring those who died; he is balancing the pain of loss with the guilt of not being a name on the wall: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I go down the 58,022 names, / half-expecting to find / my own in letters like smoke. / I touch the name Andrew Johnson; / I see the booby trap’s white flash.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The poem ends with two powerful images that offer a glimmer of hope: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“A white vet’s image floats / closer to me, then his pale eyes / look through mine. I’m a window. / He’s lost his right arm / inside the stone. In the black mirror / a woman’s trying to erase names: / No, she’s brushing a boy’s hair.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The image of the speaker becoming a “window” addresses how two vets, one white and one black, bridge the racial divide and become linked through shared acts of sacrifice and remembrance. Yet even with such a positive affirming metaphor, the speaker’s mind and heart are not fully at ease.</p>
<p>The next image creates dissonance and worry: Will the names be erased? The concluding line relieves that worry – the names are not being erased. More importantly, the final image of a simple act of caring calls to mind the sacrifices made to protect women and children by those whose names are on the wall. As a result, their image in the stone becomes a living memorial.</p>
<h2>Memory and reflection</h2>
<p>We can also learn from Brock Jones, an Army veteran who served three tours of duty in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. He named his award-winning book “<a href="http://www.uapress.com/dd-product/cenotaph/">Cenotaph</a>,” the name for a tomb to honor those whose graves lie elsewhere. By using the name of a monument for those not present, a monument with historical ties to ancient Greece and Egypt as well as our own culture, Brock highlights how honoring the dead goes beyond culture and country. </p>
<p>Jones’ poems do not focus outward toward social strife, but inward. They address language’s inability to capture or express loss linked to memories of war. They also point to how those remaining alive, particularly those who have not served, might come to understand the depth of the sacrifice expressed by memorials and, by extension, Memorial Day.</p>
<p>In “Arkansas,” a poem that takes place at the Arkansas pillar, one of 56 pillars at the <a href="http://www.wwiimemorial.com/">National WWII Memorial</a> in Washington, D.C., the speaker remembers a journey with his grandfather:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“dead eight years ago this summer / to the Atlantic pavilion engraved / with foreign names he never forgot. / Bastogne. / Yeah, we was there. / St. Marie Eglise. / We was near there.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The poem ends with the grandfather described as “a hunched figure, in front of ARKANSAS. Still, in front of ARKANSAS.” The grandfather is burdened by memories he carries, memories that render him “still” (motionless), memories that will remain with him “still.”</p>
<p>“Memorial from a Park Bench” offers a broader perspective, one that any visitor sitting on a bench in front of a memorial might experience. For the visitor, the memorial becomes “an opened book,” a place where “A word loses its ability to conjure / trapped inside a black mirror.” </p>
<p>The words are “names,” which “could be lines / of poems or a grocery list. / They could be just lines.” But they are not “just lines.”</p>
<p>At poem’s end, when all is contemplated, “Here are names and black stone / and your only reflection.”</p>
<p>Jones shifts the emotional and intellectual burden from the person on the bench to the poem’s readers, and thus to broader society. These words cannot be just lines or lists; they become, by being memorialized in a black stone, a “mirror,” the reader’s and thus society’s “reflection.” All on the bench are implicated; the names died for us, and, as a result, are us. </p>
<h2>Memorial Day and mindfulness</h2>
<p>Memorial Day may have “official” roots honoring Union dead, but veteran poets of recent wars serving a United States have found ways to honor all those who have died in battle.</p>
<p>Our country may be divided, but by taking a moment to pause and reflect on names etched on monument walls or gravestones, everyone on benches may see their own reflections, and in so doing further the task President Abraham Lincoln outlined in his 1865 <a href="http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres32.html">Second Inaugural Address</a> “to bind up the nation’s wounds…to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”</p>
<p>By being mindful, we might understand what Robert Dana, a WWII vet wrote in “At the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C.”: that “These lives once theirs / are now ours.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77758/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Dubinsky received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities to put on a three-week Summer Institute for faculty on Veterans in Society. He is affiliated with Virginia Tech Veterans Caucus. </span></em></p>An Army veteran and professor of rhetoric explores poetry written by veterans about a divisive holiday born of the Civil War.James Dubinsky, Associate Professor of English, Virginia TechLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/780702017-05-23T22:18:15Z2017-05-23T22:18:15ZHelping military service members complete college<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170642/original/file-20170523-5743-1k570k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/542047942?src=AszG7LJhDC6AxrYoyzWJ6Q-1-10&size=huge_jpg">Africa Studio/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every year, over half a million military service members and veterans <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2011/2011163.pdf">enroll in undergraduate institutions</a>. Only about half <a href="https://studentveterans.org/images/Reingold_Materials/mrp/download-materials/mrp_Full_report.pdf">leave with a certificate or degree</a>.</p>
<p>Getting a college degree can help graduates get <a href="http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/671809">jobs and earn higher wages</a>, but veterans and active military service members may face obstacles on their way to degree completion. Along with their studies, they often commit time to family, work and military service. </p>
<p>As a scholar who works with the College Board and studies barriers and solutions to college completion, I have seen at least one promising way to get military personnel across the college finish line – a short exam that offers college credits towards a degree.</p>
<h2>Additional challenges for service members</h2>
<p>Students of all backgrounds face uncertainty in whether they will complete college, but military personnel and veterans can face additional challenges.</p>
<p><a href="https://studentveterans.org/images/Reingold_Materials/mrp/download-materials/mrp_Full_report.pdf">The Millions Records Project</a> tracked the enrollment patterns of nearly one million active military personnel and veterans who used <a href="http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/montgomery_bill.asp">Montgomery</a> and <a href="http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/post911_gibill.asp">Post-9/11 GI Bill</a> benefits between 2002 and 2010. These service members do not fit the “traditional” – and perhaps old-fashioned – profile of a college student. Relative to nonmilitary students, service members and veterans are on average older, more likely to work and support families, and can have delayed or interrupted enrollment due to service obligations.</p>
<p>On top of all of that, many veterans have <a href="https://studentveterans.org/images/Reingold_Materials/mrp/download-materials/mrp_Full_report.pdf#page=13">service-related disabilities</a> that can make college completion difficult.</p>
<p>These challenges, in addition to <a href="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8971.html">those faced by many students in higher education</a>, contribute to veteran and active military students leaving college with no degree.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170645/original/file-20170523-5786-1g9kwzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170645/original/file-20170523-5786-1g9kwzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170645/original/file-20170523-5786-1g9kwzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170645/original/file-20170523-5786-1g9kwzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170645/original/file-20170523-5786-1g9kwzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170645/original/file-20170523-5786-1g9kwzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170645/original/file-20170523-5786-1g9kwzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A U.S. army sergeant takes a class in preparation for civilian life.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Credit for prior learning</h2>
<p>Along with my colleagues who study economics and higher education, I recently completed <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2933695">a study</a> looking at the effectiveness of one particular tool that may help military students complete their college degrees.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://clep.collegeboard.org/">College Level Examination Program</a> (CLEP) is a 90- to 120-minute exam administered by the College Board that offers credits in lieu of completing college coursework. Nearly 3,000 colleges offer credit for <a href="https://clep.collegeboard.org/exams">33 different CLEP exams</a> in topics including literature, mathematics, world languages, social and hard sciences and business. </p>
<p>Students can take a CLEP exam whenever they choose – before enrolling in college or as they near graduation. Depending on the college campus and CLEP exam, students with high enough scores (typically a 50 on a scale of 20 to 80) are eligible for college credit. </p>
<p>The Department of Defense has an agency dedicated to improving the educational experiences and outcomes for veteran and active military students: <a href="http://www.dantes.doded.mil/#sthash.XXx7BV0s.dpbs">Defense Activity for Non Traditional Education Support</a> (DANTES). DANTES pays the US$80 CLEP exam fee for active duty military and offers the exams on some military bases.</p>
<p>Eighty dollars and travel to a testing center may not seem like something to stand in the way of enrolling in or graduating from college. But these types of small barriers prevent students’ success in other contexts, like <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/app.20140062">taking the SAT or ACT and enrolling in college</a>. For active military, at least, DANTES has removed some of these obstacles.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170643/original/file-20170523-5757-1lkb7vz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170643/original/file-20170523-5757-1lkb7vz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170643/original/file-20170523-5757-1lkb7vz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170643/original/file-20170523-5757-1lkb7vz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170643/original/file-20170523-5757-1lkb7vz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170643/original/file-20170523-5757-1lkb7vz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170643/original/file-20170523-5757-1lkb7vz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In some cases, taking an exam may be a quicker – and more affordable – way to get college credit.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/writing-hands-students-course-151419089?src=pbiKoqGDtctSAQqzMkGBDQ-1-27">Lucky Business/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>CLEP success</h2>
<p>Why might CLEP help military servicemen and servicewomen complete college?</p>
<p>For one, getting credit for introductory and lower-level courses improves college completion, as seen with <a href="http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/687568">Advanced Placement courses and exams</a>. Additionally, these credits can allow students to bypass some lower-level courses that might have content or less academically prepared classmates that <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/508222">discourage students</a> from continuing with their education.</p>
<p>Using approximately 200,000 military-affiliated CLEP examinees, we found that those who start at two-year colleges and receive college credit for CLEP exam scores are <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2933695">18 percent more likely</a> to attain an associate’s degree than those who did not receive such credits. Similarly, military personnel who start at four-year colleges and earn credit through CLEP are 11 percent more likely to attain a bachelor’s degree. </p>
<p>With this evidence, we can think about what might happen if we got more military personnel to pass CLEP exams – either through increased participation or improved scores.</p>
<p>In a world of countless college completion efforts and policies, an 18 or even 11 percent increase is noteworthy. More successful interventions are rare and can be <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2571456">costly</a>.</p>
<p>Colleges, policymakers and researchers should continue trying new paths to get military members college degrees, but my research suggests that CLEP is a viable one. Earning college credit through exams is a cheap and unusually effective way to improve the completion rates for any student, but perhaps especially so for military personnel who face challenges and outside commitments. Not to mention, the exam is fully subsidized.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78070/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Smith consults for the College Board, who owns CLEP. The research underlying this article was conducted jointly with Angela Boatman of Vanderbilt University, Michael Hurwitz of the College Board, and Jason Lee of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.
</span></em></p>Every year, thousands of active military and veterans enroll as undergrads, but only half leave with a degree. What cheap and effective strategies could help our military complete college?Jonathan Smith, Assistant Professor of Economics, Georgia State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/779212017-05-23T03:47:29Z2017-05-23T03:47:29ZWant to support veterans? 4 tips for finding good charities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170424/original/file-20170522-7358-lkxsci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Finding a well-run veterans' charity isn't hard with some due dilligence.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/181635383?src=dIU3LaMOXxVqgiFeWWRf8w-1-17&size=huge_jpg">www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many Americans donate to charities that help military veterans as a way to honor them for their service to the country. It can, however, be daunting to choose from the more than <a href="http://www.guidestar.org/downloadable-files/us-veterans-organizations.pdf">8,000 such groups</a> operating nationwide.</p>
<p>Donor trepidation is magnified by the <a href="https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-xavier-becerra-sues-charities-falsely-claiming-help-veterans">scandals</a> that have embroiled vets’ groups. In fact, more than 10 percent of the charities tagged as “<a href="http://www.tampabay.com/americas-worst-charities/">America’s Worst Charities</a>” by the Tampa Bay Times and the Center for Investigative Reporting in 2013 focus on veterans.</p>
<p>As a professor who researches nonprofit organizations and teaches about their finances, I have observed that while some veterans’ charities do squander donors’ dollars, others make the most of donations in meeting their mission. Fortunately, a little research goes a long way toward spotting the difference between a good cause and a lost cause. </p>
<p>The following four tips will help you vet these charities.</p>
<h2>1. Learn what exactly the charities do</h2>
<p>Be wary of vague statements about a group’s activities. While language indicating that a charity “supports” or “honors” veterans does not always signal a problem, it does mean you should seek more specific information. Many of the <a href="http://www.wrdw.com/content/news/ConsumerReports-Best-and-worst-charities-to-donate-to-402992406.html">veterans’ charities</a> that have <a href="https://www.publicintegrity.org/2013/09/06/13330/some-charities-claiming-support-veterans-spend-heavily-overhead-instead">faced criticism</a>, such as <a href="https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=4295">Paralyzed Veterans of America</a> and <a href="https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=7591">National Veterans Services Fund</a>, have had vague mandates to <a href="http://www.tampabay.com/americas-worst-charities/charities/national-veterans-service-fund-inc">educate the public</a> about what veterans need.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191890/original/file-20171025-25518-tw8tmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191890/original/file-20171025-25518-tw8tmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191890/original/file-20171025-25518-tw8tmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191890/original/file-20171025-25518-tw8tmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191890/original/file-20171025-25518-tw8tmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191890/original/file-20171025-25518-tw8tmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191890/original/file-20171025-25518-tw8tmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191890/original/file-20171025-25518-tw8tmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’s hard but not impossible to decide which veterans’ charities deserve a thumbs-up – and your donation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Kevin Lamarque</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A detailed description of a group’s mission and activities can instill confidence that veterans truly benefit from its work. An exemplary charity is the <a href="https://www.honorflight.org/">Honor Flight Network</a>, which flies veterans to Washington, D.C. to visit military monuments and honor fallen colleagues. The benefits are self-evident, as I’ve seen firsthand as a flight volunteer. <a href="https://www.fisherhouse.org/about/">Fisher House Foundation</a>, which provides temporary housing to families of veterans receiving treatment at VA facilities, is another good example. There are many ways that organizations can and do directly serve veterans. To find them, look for clear-cut programs you find meaningful and significant.</p>
<h2>2. Find out what share of the money raised for organizations actually supports them</h2>
<p>Another common pitfall: for-hire fundraisers that siphon too much of the donated funds. </p>
<p>Michigan’s attorney general determined that only 39 percent of <a href="http://www.michigan.gov/documents/ag/2016_CFS_Final_Report_557262_7.pdf">funds raised by professional solicitors</a> for charity in the state in 2016 actually supported those groups. The fundraising contractors kept the rest of the money. The picture is even more lopsided for veterans’ charities in the state, with only <a href="http://www.michigan.gov/documents/ag/2016_CFS_Final_Report_557262_7.pdf">23 percent of donations</a> making it into their coffers. The track record in Michigan is no anomaly – <a href="https://www.charitiesnys.com/pdfs/Pennies_Report_122216.pdf">New York</a>, <a href="http://www.mass.gov/ago/docs/nonprofit/professional-solicitations-reports/pro-solicit-report-2015.pdf">Massachusetts</a> and other states have found similar patterns. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170419/original/file-20170522-7329-1w409kw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170419/original/file-20170522-7329-1w409kw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170419/original/file-20170522-7329-1w409kw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170419/original/file-20170522-7329-1w409kw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170419/original/file-20170522-7329-1w409kw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170419/original/file-20170522-7329-1w409kw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170419/original/file-20170522-7329-1w409kw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170419/original/file-20170522-7329-1w409kw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Operation Homefront, which Consumer Reports has named as one of the best veterans’ charities, clearly states on its website how much it spends supporting its mission.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://operationhomefront.wordpress.com/tag/jim-knotts/">Operation Homefront</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Professional solicitation is not inherently problematic – but outsourced fundraisers keeping most of the money raised for a charity is a real concern. The federal government does not track this information but most offices of state attorneys general maintain databases that indicate how the organizations raising funds in their states stack up.</p>
<p>Since national campaigns also show up in these databases, even if your own state doesn’t make all the details easily accessible, you can use the online tools other states offer to evaluate different charities. <a href="https://www.charitiesnys.com/pfcmap/">New York’s</a> database is especially user-friendly.</p>
<h2>3. Check out IRS 990 forms</h2>
<p>OK. I know perusing IRS forms is not everyone’s favorite activity. But it’s the best way to discover how donor dollars are actually spent. Finding a charity’s tax form is easy, even if groups don’t post them on their own websites, thanks to databases like Propublica’s <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/">Nonprofit Explorer</a> and the Foundation Center’s <a href="http://990finder.foundationcenter.org/">990 Finder</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170398/original/file-20170522-7337-vk6jrz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170398/original/file-20170522-7337-vk6jrz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170398/original/file-20170522-7337-vk6jrz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=698&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170398/original/file-20170522-7337-vk6jrz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=698&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170398/original/file-20170522-7337-vk6jrz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=698&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170398/original/file-20170522-7337-vk6jrz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=877&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170398/original/file-20170522-7337-vk6jrz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=877&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170398/original/file-20170522-7337-vk6jrz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=877&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Semper Fi Fund 990 form from its 2016 fiscal year suggests that the group does not spend an excessive amount of money on fundraising and administration.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://semperfifund.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FY-2016-Form-990-Public-Inspection-Copy.pdf">Semper Fi Fund</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If you do check out a 990 form, be sure to go to page 10. That’s where nonprofits classify their <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f990.pdf">expenses</a>, both by function and type. There, you can see where donated money primarily goes. If the organization has a stated focus on providing financial assistance to veterans, for example, you should see lots of grants to individuals on line 2, and not so much in the way of advertising, travel and postage listed on the other lines. </p>
<p>Consider how the <a href="https://semperfifund.org/about-us/financials/">Semper Fi Fund</a>, a group that provides financial and other aid to injured and ill post-9/11 veterans and their families, stated its functional expenses for its 2016 fiscal year. The numbers indicate that the group spends over 90 percent of its funds on its mission. Three-fourths of that mission spending is direct grants to individuals – a good sign.</p>
<h2>4. Inquire about donor privacy policies</h2>
<p>When you make charitable donations, you give away both money and personal information. What charities do with your personal data is part of the picture and how they handle this information varies widely.</p>
<p>Consider how the <a href="https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org">Wounded Warrior Project</a>, among the nation’s most visible veterans’ organizations, has handled donor data. The group came under fire in 2015 and 2016 for alleged <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-investigates-wounded-warrior-project-spending/">waste</a>, as well as routinely selling <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/06/08/vet-charity-s-new-fight-to-waste-your-cash">personal information culled from its donors to other nonprofits</a> and defending this practice. The controversy resulted in a <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/wounded-warrior-project-michael-linnington-ceo-cbs-news-investigation-inspires-reforms/">shakeup at the top</a>.</p>
<p>Other groups do a better job of protecting donor privacy. <a href="https://www.fisherhouse.org/about/faqs/">Fisher House Foundation</a>, which clearly states a policy of not sharing or selling donor lists, offers a good example of how to do this. If an organization doesn’t state its privacy policy on its website, take the time to ask.</p>
<p>When it comes to vetting charities, a little work goes a long way. These four steps should help you find veterans’ charities with goals that match your own and that you can trust to make the most of the money you give away.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77921/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brian Mittendorf has no formal affiliation with any charities mentioned in this article but he has served as a volunteer guardian for Honor Flight Network.</span></em></p>Some veterans’ charities make the most of their donors’ dollars, while others squander that money. Vetting these groups will help ensure your money is well-spent.Brian Mittendorf, Fisher Designated Professor of Accounting, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/780782017-05-22T02:07:27Z2017-05-22T02:07:27ZUS civil service’s preference for hiring military vets comes at a hidden cost<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170238/original/file-20170521-12260-1rk6mru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The federal government has long shown a hiring preference for veterans to help them find jobs following their service.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sara D. Davis/AP Images for U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>An important way the U.S. shows its gratitude to veterans who have fought America’s wars is by giving them a leg up in getting a job with the federal government.</p>
<p>The policy, known as “<a href="http://www.military.com/benefits/veteran-benefits/veterans-employment-preference-points.html">veterans’ preference</a>,” became law after the Civil War, was strengthened following World War I and grew even more entrenched after World War II and in the wake of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.</p>
<p>While it’s good that the nation thanks its troops, the strong preference for veterans has had some negative effects as well, particularly in terms of lessening the civil service’s diversity, as <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jpart/article/23/2/247/1000440/The-Impact-of-Veterans-Preference-on-the">my research</a> into this policy shows. </p>
<h2>How veterans’ preference works</h2>
<p>Congress gave disabled veterans preference in hiring for some federal jobs after the Civil War.</p>
<p>Lawmakers greatly expanded it after World War I, allowing able-bodied, honorably discharged veterans to receive a hiring preference in most civilian federal jobs, as well as widows of deceased veterans and wives of severely disabled ones. More recently, the Obama administration strengthened veterans’ preference by directing agencies to establish hiring goals and making <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/25/AR2010122502099.html">other changes</a>. </p>
<p>As a result, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/11/14/veterans-continue-to-get-jobs-in-the-federal-government/?utm_term=.b7671d575797">one-third of new federal hires are veterans</a>.</p>
<p>Here’s how it worked up to 2010. The civil service rated job applicants for almost all nonpolitical jobs on a 100-point scale, typically by having them take a test or evaluating their education and experience. Disabled veterans got an extra 10 points added to that score, while other former soldiers received 5 points. </p>
<p>The federal personnel agency ranked applicants based on this score and, when the final score was a tie, placed veterans ahead of nonveterans. Thus, disabled veterans with scores of 90 and other veterans with scores of 95 ranked higher than nonveterans with scores of 100. In addition, veterans with more serious service-related disabilities “floated” to the top of the list as long as they scored above a passing grade of 70.</p>
<p>Typically, hiring officials had to choose <a href="https://chiefhro.com/2014/10/15/was-the-rule-of-three-as-bad-as-we-thought/">one of the three candidates with the top scores</a>. If the final three included both veterans and nonveterans, the hiring official needed written permission from the federal personnel agency to “pass over” a veteran to hire a nonveteran lower on the list.</p>
<p>That’s how the vast majority of current federal employees were hired. Since 2010, hiring officials set bars in advance to divide qualified applicants into two or more levels. They can consider anyone in the most-qualified category. </p>
<p>Veterans no longer get extra points, but they do get placed at the top of whichever category they qualify for, and veterans with compensable disabilities go to the very top if they meet minimum qualifications. Hiring officials cannot pass over veterans in the top category to hire more qualified nonveterans. </p>
<p>The evidence is not all in, but the new system probably strengthens veterans’ preference.</p>
<h2>The policy’s impact</h2>
<p>This preference dramatically increases one’s chances of getting a federal job. Even though veterans have decreased as a share of the federal workforce – as World War II and Vietnam War veterans have retired – their odds of getting government jobs have actually increased.</p>
<p>In 1980, <a href="USA.ipums.org">census data show</a> that veterans were about twice as likely as nonveterans to hold federal jobs (9 percent of veterans were federal employees, compared with 4 percent of Americans without military service). By 2015, the share of veterans working for the feds soared to 18 percent, while less than 3 percent of nonveterans held federal jobs – mostly thanks to the changes initiated during the Obama years. (The percentages are estimates based on a sampling of data from census years.)</p>
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<p>The pattern is especially strong among younger veterans, those born since 1980, who are about 15 times as likely as nonveterans of the same age to hold federal jobs. Nearly 10 percent of veterans born from 1920 to 1950 held federal jobs when they appeared in the census data. That rose to about 15 percent for those born in the 1950s and 1960s. Veterans born since 1970 are even more likely to be federal employees, and nearly half of those born in 1990 had a federal job by 2015.</p>
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<p>Every state also gives veterans some hiring preference for government jobs. Four – Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and South Dakota – even provide “absolute” preference, that is they hire veterans with a passing score ahead of all nonveterans. These programs <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0160323X14537835">have had much less impact on state government workforces</a>, however, perhaps because veterans have less desire for state than for federal jobs.</p>
<h2>How this affects diversity</h2>
<p>This very strong preference for veterans ends up hurting groups that are less likely to have military service. </p>
<p>Strongly preferring a group that is so male necessarily disadvantages women. Even today, 89 percent of veterans are men, yet only 53 percent of nonvets in the work force are. White men make up 69 percent of vets but only 37 percent of nonveterans. And most minority groups apart from black men are underpresented among veterans, particularly women. White women, for instance, make up only 7 percent of veterans, even though they make up 32 percent of the rest of the workforce.</p>
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<p><a href="https://academic.oup.com/jpart/article/23/2/247/1000440/The-Impact-of-Veterans-Preference-on-the">My research</a> finds that the civil service would be more diverse in the absence of veterans’ preference, in which case the male-female split in the federal service would be 50-50 rather than its current 57-43 breakdown. And the employment of Latinos, Asians and gay men would probably all increase by 20 percent.</p>
<h2>The costs of preferring vets</h2>
<p>Clearly veterans’ preference has had a powerful and growing impact on who gets federal jobs.</p>
<p>Although it only directly benefited about one-tenth of veterans in the past, nearly one-third of recent veterans have federal jobs, many more than would have them in the absence of preferential hiring. This makes it an effective policy to express the nation’s thanks for veterans’ sacrifices.</p>
<p>Yet all policies come with costs. Applicants without military service pay some of them by having a lower chance to get these jobs, and nonveterans are concentrated among women and, to a lesser extent, Hispanic, Asian and gay men.</p>
<p>The nation loses, in my opinion, from a less diverse federal service.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78078/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gregory B. Lewis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The US government has long shown a hiring preference for veterans. But because of the demographics of the US military, this has limited the federal workforce’s diversity.Gregory B. Lewis, Professor of Public Management and Policy, Georgia State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/769652017-05-22T02:07:22Z2017-05-22T02:07:22ZBreaking down their own stereotypes to give veterans more career opportunities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170173/original/file-20170519-12231-kr4o4u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Veterans and service members on the job hunt.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://quigley.house.gov/issues/veterans">Office of Congressman Mike Quigley</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/vet.a.htm">Military veterans have a higher unemployment rate</a> than nonveterans, according to federal statistics. One reason may be that when veterans seek civilian jobs, they often <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2014.06.003">face stereotypes from hiring managers</a>. But another set of stereotypes may come into play as well: Veterans fall prey to their own preconceptions about certain types of jobs, and miss out on promising opportunities.</p>
<p>Research I conducted with <a href="http://omba.wsu.edu/kdjoshi/">K.D. Joshi</a> from Washington State University found that <a href="http://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2015/SocTech/GeneralPresentations/9/">many veterans are well-qualified</a> for work in the information technology sector – a wide and diverse range of computer- and communications-related jobs. But large numbers of veterans hold stereotypes that discourage them from seeking IT employment, depriving companies of skilled employees and veterans of meaningful and rewarding work.</p>
<p>Fortunately, this problem can be corrected, and relatively easily, if veterans and those who serve them work together.</p>
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<h2>Veterans have the skills</h2>
<p>We wanted to understand what influenced the decisions of military veterans with various types of disabilities about whether to pursue IT careers in civilian life after their time in uniform. To begin, with the help of retired Marine lieutenant colonel <a href="https://www.curriculumandtrainingsolutions.com/kim-graham.html">Kimberly Graham</a>, now a job-training consultant, and veterans affairs offices at four universities, we asked 297 military service members and veterans, all with disabilities, a series of open-ended questions about post-military careers. Some of them were searching for work, while others were either still in the service or in college – but would be looking for jobs upon completion.</p>
<p>Our questions included whether they had ever considered a career in information technology, and their thoughts about how their disabilities affect their interest in pursuing an IT career. We also asked them how they thought their military training and experiences might help or hinder their success if they did get an IT-related job.</p>
<p>We learned that these veterans had many skills and abilities that would serve them well in various IT fields. The military is good at teaching people about leadership, management, problem solving, teamwork and handling stressful situations.</p>
<h2>Some positive views</h2>
<p>But we also found that they had stereotypes about what kinds of jobs were available. Some of the respondents were interested in IT work, either since their youth or as a result of their military experience. For example, one told us, “I am currently working in military intelligence. I plan to work in cyber intelligence after leaving the military.”</p>
<p>Still others had begun to consider a career in IT as a result of their disabilities, telling us, “It is a good field for people with hearing disability,” “I suffer from generalized anxiety disorder with panic. It is easier to interact with a computer than with people,” and “It is less strenuous than [my former job of] being a construction electrician.”</p>
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<h2>Many negative views</h2>
<p>Many of the people we questioned revealed stereotypes about IT work. “I would rather work with people,” one respondent told us. This reflects the misconception that IT professionals sit in front of computer screens all day and do not interact with people. That is true of some jobs, but not all of them. </p>
<p>Many IT workers interact with customers to understand their needs, help people with research questions and technology malfunctions, or design systems to enhance user experiences.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170166/original/file-20170519-12254-ch50q8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170166/original/file-20170519-12254-ch50q8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170166/original/file-20170519-12254-ch50q8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170166/original/file-20170519-12254-ch50q8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170166/original/file-20170519-12254-ch50q8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170166/original/file-20170519-12254-ch50q8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170166/original/file-20170519-12254-ch50q8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170166/original/file-20170519-12254-ch50q8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Is this your idea of an IT professional?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/weird-computer-geek-keyboard-360228971">conrado via shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another respondent told us, “It is not something I consider myself gifted enough at to pursue.” This represents a common theme running through <a href="http://www.nacme.org/underrepresented-minorities">research about groups of people who are underrepresented in IT fields</a>, like <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/2980783.2980785">women</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/2890602.2890617">African-Americans</a> and <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bsl.510">people with disabilities</a>. Many people told us they thought they needed to have a lot of formal education or be a technical whiz or possess some other sort of superstar qualities to work in IT. That simply isn’t true. The <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/home.htm">wide variety of IT jobs</a> means there’s work for people of <a href="http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/rankings/best-technology-jobs">almost any interest and ability</a>.</p>
<p>Others told us they thought IT work required long hours or skills with complex computer-programming languages – or even that they worried IT jobs would be outsourced or sent overseas, putting American workers back on the job search. Those are real concerns, but neither <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2014/12/11/outsourcing-to-china-cost-us-32-million-jobs-since-2001">exclusive to IT work</a> nor applicable to all jobs in the field.</p>
<h2>Other misconceptions</h2>
<p>Several respondents didn’t know they could have IT careers in the business world. One told us, for example, “I worked in supply chain for 10 years and have business courses; I would have to get a different education to enter the IT field.” </p>
<p>My own university, Penn State, among many others, offers courses in <a href="https://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/degrees-and-certificates/project-management-masters/overview">project management</a> and <a href="https://ea.ist.psu.edu/">enterprise architecture</a>. Those are IT-related subjects that respondents didn’t identify with IT work. Many American business schools, again including Penn State’s, have information systems departments that teach <a href="https://www.smeal.psu.edu/scis">supply chain management</a>.</p>
<p>Beyond their stereotypes and misconceptions, some of the people we interviewed did not recognize that much of their knowledge and experience from military service would transfer well to IT. “I would enjoy an IT career but I have too much experience in leadership and management to switch a career to IT,” one person told us, apparently not realizing almost every field needs people who can lead and manage others.</p>
<h2>What to do now?</h2>
<p>For more than 30 years, I’ve been studying what effects technological advances have on the skills and knowledge needed by IT workers. It pains me to see stereotypes standing in the way of rewarding careers in IT. Fortunately, this problem is relatively easy to address, if different units in a university work together.</p>
<p>Veterans and disabilities offices need to make sure that military service members and veterans with disabilities are aware of the range of career opportunities available to them, including in IT. University career counselors need to help these students identify their transferable skills. Of course, that assumes the advisers and counselors know enough about the IT field themselves.</p>
<p>That is where academics come in. Information technology professors need to educate their students, but also their colleagues across their universities. In particular, faculty need to share their knowledge of marketable skills and career opportunities as widely as they can. Through a coordinated effort, we can break down barriers to IT careers one stereotype at a time.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/76965/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eileen Trauth received funding from the National Science Foundation, grant #1245124</span></em></p>Large numbers of veterans hold misconceptions about IT work that discourage them from pursuing careers in the field.Eileen Trauth, Professor of Information Sciences & Technology, and Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/776692017-05-22T02:05:55Z2017-05-22T02:05:55ZWhat is moral injury in veterans?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169615/original/file-20170516-11959-3hycnv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What is moral injury?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/truthout/5098046422/in/photolist-8LuPA7-7jR8fh-8sDT28-7kgfkL-DDoLBW">Truthout.org</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>On Nov. 11 each year, Americans honor military veterans who have transitioned to civilian status from active duty. </p>
<p>The cultural transition back to civilian life goes smoothly for some, but for others it is a challenging and sometimes lengthy process. Those who have deployed overseas or spent a substantial amount of time in the military may even deal with <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738399114001323">“reverse culture shock”</a> – that is, upon return, their home culture can feel distant and disorienting.</p>
<p>Along with the cultural transition, veterans may be coping with <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2891773/">post-traumatic stress disorder</a>. More recently, clinicians who work with veterans have identified <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1534765610395615">an additional cluster of symptoms</a> that are related to military deployment but do not fit the criteria for PTSD. </p>
<p>These symptoms fit with what has been called “<a href="http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Achilles-in-Vietnam/Jonathan-Shay/9780684813219">moral injury</a>.” </p>
<h2>What is moral injury?</h2>
<p>Moral injury can occur when a personal moral code – one’s understanding of “what’s right” – <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/492650/summary">is violated</a>. Most individuals develop this code in childhood based on instructions from parents, teachers and religious leaders. </p>
<p>This sense of morality can incorporate fundamental values of religious and legal doctrines such as <a href="http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/command.htm">“Thou shalt not kill</a>” and “<a href="http://www.iep.utm.edu/goldrule/">Do unto others as you would have them do unto you</a>.” Most of us occasionally stray from what our code says is right, but military service – especially in combat zones – can expose people to situations in which every available choice has morally fraught results. </p>
<p>One combat veteran who served in Afghanistan, for example, told my psychology of war class that he had shot and killed a child soldier who was about to fire on his men. He knew he had made the “right” choice, but the responsibility for a child’s death was still a heavy moral burden. </p>
<p>The moral conflict created by the violations of “what’s right” generates moral injury when the inability to reconcile wartime actions with a personal moral code creates lasting psychological consequences. </p>
<p>Psychiatrist <a href="http://www.helleniccomserve.com/bioshayjonathan.html">Jonathan Shay</a>, in his work with Vietnam veterans, defined moral injury as the psychological, social and physiological results of a <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/492650/summary">betrayal of “what’s right”</a> by an authority in a high-stakes situation. In <a href="http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Achilles-in-Vietnam/Jonathan-Shay/9780684813219">“Achilles In Vietnam</a>,” a book that examines the psychological devastation of war, a Vietnam veteran described a situation in which his commanding officers used tear gas on a village after his unit had their gas masks rendered ineffective due to water damage. The veteran stated, “They gassed us almost to death.” This type of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/oct/22/american-troops-friendly-fire-iraq">“friendly fire”</a> incident is morally wounding in a way that attacks by an enemy are not. </p>
<p>Psychologist <a href="https://www.bu.edu/psych/faculty/litzb/">Brett Litz</a> and his colleagues expanded this to include self-betrayal and <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272735809000920">identified</a> “perpetrating, failing to prevent, bearing witness to, or learning about acts that transgress deeply held moral beliefs and expectations” as the cause of moral injury. </p>
<h2>Guilt and moral injury</h2>
<p>A research study published in 1991 identified <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/21138169_Suicide_and_guilt_as_manifestations_of_PTSD_in_Vietnam_war_veterans">combat-related guilt</a> as the best predictor of suicide attempts among a sample of Vietnam veterans with PTSD. Details of the veterans’ experiences connected that guilt to morally injurious events. As the authors noted,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“One man, for example, shot and killed a woman who was advancing toward his patrol and did not heed his order to stop. She turned out to be wired with explosives, but the veteran ruminated about whether he could have stopped her by firing a warning shot or wounding her in the legs.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A more recent study of active duty service members found that the connection between guilt and suicidal thoughts was strongest <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2012.11.044">among those with combat exposure</a>. Another review of research concluded that service members who committed acts that violated accepted bounds of behavior were more prone to <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sheila_Frankfurt/publication/303502453_A_Review_of_Research_on_Moral_Injury_in_Combat_Veterans/links/5769ade608ae2d7145ba85a0.pdf">substance abuse and suicidal behavior</a>.</p>
<h2>Can moral injury be healed?</h2>
<p>The truth is that military engagement will always involve morally problematic actions. However, healing from moral injury is possible. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169618/original/file-20170516-11956-1bnbg59.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169618/original/file-20170516-11956-1bnbg59.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169618/original/file-20170516-11956-1bnbg59.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169618/original/file-20170516-11956-1bnbg59.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169618/original/file-20170516-11956-1bnbg59.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169618/original/file-20170516-11956-1bnbg59.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169618/original/file-20170516-11956-1bnbg59.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Veterans and volunteers participate in Dancing Well, an evening of community dance designed for veterans and families affected by PTSD.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/ David Stephenson</span></span>
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<p>Mental health treatment can help. Preliminary evidence suggests that <a href="https://psychcentral.com/lib/in-depth-cognitive-behavioral-therapy/">cognitive-behavioral therapy</a> <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0005789411001298">modified to treat issues related to moral injury</a> can reduce depression as well as guilt- and shame-related thoughts. Treatment can come in other forms as well. Psychotherapist <a href="http://questbooks.com/index.php?route=product/author&author_id=1118">Edward Tick</a>, for example, organizes trips to Vietnam for U.S. veterans to meet their Vietnamese counterparts, for the healing of decades-long wounds.</p>
<p>However, we don’t need to be trained therapists to make a difference. Everyday social connections can also help the morally injured heal. For his <a href="https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/handle/1794/22670">dissertation</a>, an author of this article (William M. Schumacher), conducted a series of interviews with veterans exposed to potentially morally injurious events and found consistent differences between those with higher levels of depression and suicidal thoughts and those with fewer symptoms. Veterans who weren’t doing so well felt isolated and lacked support by friends, family and peers. Veterans with few symptoms felt supported by family, friends, peers and by their community. That’s the rest of us. </p>
<p>When we discover that someone has a military background, replacing the perfunctory “Thank you for your service” – which rarely leads to a meaningful exchange – with questions that start a conversation can create a new connection. The hopes, dreams, insecurities and mistakes of those who have served may be somewhat different based on their military background; many won’t be different at all. </p>
<p>More positive social connections aren’t just psychologically healthy for veterans and their families. They are good for all of us, on Veterans Day and every other day of the year. </p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of a piece published on May 21, 2017.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77669/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The inability to reconcile wartime actions with a personal moral code can create lasting psychological consequences for veterans.Holly Arrow, Director, Groups and War Lab, University of OregonWilliam M. Schumacher, PTSD Postdoctoral Fellow, New Mexico VA HCS, University of OregonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.