More than 12 years of war has certainly taken its toll on the military community, and a new report from the nonprofit group Child Trends reveals how significant an impact it has had on children of servicemembers. Researchers found the nearly 500,000 military kids experience significant mental and physical effects if one or both of their parents has been deployed.
The study revealed that children up to 6 years old are particularly susceptible to stress from having a parent deployed overseas. This risk is often inflated if their parent returns home with emotional wounds of their own. Experts say that young children often draw emotional cues from their parents, so if their mother or father is exhibiting combat-related stress, youngsters may also experience similar feelings.
"Young children in our military families face increased risks to their social, emotional and physical development," said Carol Emig, president of Child Trends. "If we can successfully address these risks, we will improve outcomes for these children, learn lessons that can be applied to other families encountering similar difficulties, and strengthen our military."
There are several ways to address the emotional needs of young military children, experts say. Specifically, they call for an expansion of high-quality child care for military families living off bases. Currently, many of the Department of Defense-offered services are available primarily to those on base.
The Department of Defense has had to make highly publicized budget cuts as a result of sequestration, and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel recently spoke at the annual Veterans of Foreign Wars conference about the challenges of operating under reduced spending. Specifically, he said the Pentagon will have to dramatically reshape the way it approaches its mission in the coming years, according to Military Times.
Although Hagel admitted the $37 billion reduction in the 2013 budget, along with the mandated $500 billion in cuts over the next 10 years, will pose challenges, he says that trimming spending is necessary. However, he said that the cuts need to be made wisely so as not to compromise American security. After the cuts are made, Hagel expects the military to be better for it because it will create a more efficient force.
"I expect these cuts to not only save us money, significant money, but also to result in organizations that are more effective and efficient, as well as more agile and versatile," he told the gathered crowd. "However, DoD will not be able to meet its budgetary savings requirements just through more efficient operations and headquarters reductions. It will require far more."
The smart cuts have recently been on display. Hagel's speech came days after the Air Force resumed training flights for about one-third of its planes, which had been grounded due to sequestration. However, after 'reprogramming' funds, the jets took to the sky once again, according to The Associated Press.
As the wildfires plaguing much of Arizona, Colorado and California proved, skilled firefighters are invaluable, and thanks to the recent progress of the 2014 Homeland Security spending bill, they will likely have the federal funding they require. The legislation includes approximately $675 million in funding for firefighters to ensure they have the proper training, equipment and vehicles to keep communities across the country safe.
Much of the money will be doled out through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, which was created by Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski 12 years ago. Additionally, about $337.5 million of the bill will go toward Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grants, which place an emphasis on recruiting new firefighters and retaining the experienced employees.
"The federal funding helps our firehouses hire and retain the first responders they need to keep our communities safe," Mikulski said. "Every day when our first responders report for duty, they don't know what they will face. This funding will provide our protectors with the equipment, training and resources they need to do their jobs."
Although the bill made it through the Senate Appropriations Committee, it still has a long road ahead. Now, the legislation heads to the Senate floor for a vote, but a date has yet to be scheduled.
Many veterans plan to head back to the classroom once they've separated from service, but sometimes there are obstacles in their way. Despite having the benefits afforded to them by the Post-9/11 GI Bill, sometimes it can be difficult for them to know exactly what they're entitled to. That may soon change, however, as a bipartisan measure known as the Veterans Education Transparency Act is making its way through Congress. The proposed bill would allow colleges to access what benefits each student is entitled to in the hopes that it can help institutions offer better counseling, according to Military Times.
Less confusion
One of the most important goals the bill's crafters hope to accomplish is removing any confusion associated with exactly what benefits veterans can have. This uncertainty can cause a number of issues, including forcing vets to pay unexpected tuition rates. Rep. Rick Larsen, of Washington, is the bill's chief sponsor, and he says providing schools access to this information is an easy fix to an often bothersome issue.
"Too often, veterans and colleges have incomplete information about their GI benefits, resulting in unexpected tuition bills for student veterans and their families," Larsen said. "The VET Act will fix this problem by letting colleges directly access information on veterans' GI benefits, letting them give the best educational guidance to their students."
Support from schools
Veterans are not the only ones who support the proposed law, some schools have also come out in favor of the legislation, including the University of Washington. Specifically, the school expects the changes will make it easier for its counselors to guide veterans through the complexities of their education. It can also better equip them to show veterans what kind of services are at their disposal, whether it be the benefits themselves or financial aid programs.
"The Veterans Education Transparency Act would improve this flow of information and help student veterans meet their educational goals," said Kay Lewis, the assistant vice president of student life and director of student financial aid and scholarships at the school.
Significant impact moving forward
If the VET Act is signed into law, it could have a substantial effect on veteran life in the near future. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, an estimated 300,000 troops will separate from service each year over the next several years.
When veterans develop post-traumatic stress disorder, one of the last things they want to do is think about the painful experience that affected them so greatly. However, processing traumatic memories on a repeated basis may be one way to help former servicemembers overcome PTSD, according to a new study.
Exposure therapy could ease the pain of PTSD
The study, which was conducted by researchers from the National Center for PTSD, VA Palo Alto Health Care System in California, found that prolonged exposure therapy may be a big help to veterans struggling with PTSD, Reuters reported. For those who have this mental condition, the idea of tackling their memories head on is far from desirable. However, this action could prove to these individuals that they still have control.
"One of the important factors in chronic PTSD is avoidance – avoiding thinking about the trauma and avoiding going to places that remind you of the trauma or are similar," Edna Foa, head of the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as a developer of prolonged exposure therapy, told the news source.
Essentially, in prolonged exposure therapy individuals with PTSD repeatedly process painful memories. At the same time, they approach situations that typically create feelings of anxiety in a safe way. All together, these techniques have the potential to reduce PTSD symptoms.
"They realize they can talk about this event, and they don't fall apart," Foa said. "It gives them a sense of control over the memory, rather than the memory controlling them."
A major problem
While prolonged exposure therapy may not work for every veteran, it does not hurt for members of this population to consider their options. PTSD has become a major problem in a time when so many American troops have been fighting overseas. Experts believe that this condition develops among 11 to 20 percent of veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
With so many American veterans returning home with PTSD, it is essential for these individuals to receive the care they deserve. Former servicemembers may be able to rely on their veterans insurance to help them cover the cost of treatments that can drastically improve their quality of life.
Having to pick up and move is a well-known part of life for servicemembers. Not only can this be a stressful endeavor, but as many veterans are finding out, it can be costly. A growing number of troops have encountered hefty tuition bills because their service took them out of their home state, and when they sought to return to school, they were charged out-of-state tuition rates. In many cases, this added up to thousands of dollars a year, McClatchy's Washington Bureau reports.
Rules vary considerably
The biggest issue is that states have significantly different rules on whether or not their public institutions can offer tuition waivers to out-of-state students. Currently, 13 states have legislation in the works to create some form of waiver, 14 have no waivers and the remaining states offer waivers to some veterans and not others. This was especially frustrating to Navy veteran Ted Spencer, who was stationed in California and was denied in-state tuition at North Carolina State University despite growing up there and paying income tax there while he serving.
"It's mind-blowing to me that North Carolina – a state that is known for being extremely military friendly and home to the largest military base in the United States – would be so difficult when it comes to military veterans who want to call this state home," he told the news source.
Proposed changes
This lack of consistency has not gone unnoticed by legislators in Washington. Earlier this year, lawmakers introduced H.R. 357, otherwise known as the G.I. Bill Tuition Fairness Act, which would require public in-state universities to offer veterans the in-state tuition or risk losing the federal funding they receive from the G.I. Bill. They would be required to do so by Aug. 1, 2014.
"The men and women who served this nation did not just defend the citizens of their home states, but the citizens of all 50 states," said Rep. Jeff Miller, the chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
A number of schools have expressed concern about the timeline associated with the bill. According to McClatchy, schools say they are bound by the state laws, which sometimes move very slowly. Additionally, others have raised issues about the impact it could have on their financial stability.
Soldiers face a number of obstacles upon returning home from the battlefield, and some of the most significant are behavioral health challenges. In an effort to help servicemembers overcomes these difficulties, the Army and Department of Veterans Affairs are teaming up, Army News Service reports.
Army officials have made sure that the branch's health centers place an added emphasis on behavioral well-being. This includes a number of different areas ranging from sleep and nutrition to brain health. As for the VA, officials are continuing to focus on transition assistance, especially as the war in Afghanistan draws to a close and thousands of troops separate from service. The VA has also been trying to facilitate cooperation between its operations and the Pentagon's.
"One of the areas we've been working very hard on is to make sure there is alignment between DOD programs and VA programs, so we can seamlessly move people across," John Medve, the executive director of the VA/DOD Collaboration Service, told the news source. "We have federal recovery coordinators who work to ensure families understand all the dynamics they need as they transition."
Veterans encounter a wide variety of mental health challenges, according to the VA. For instance, post-traumatic stress disorder affects an estimated 20 percent of post-9/11 veterans.
Military families often face greater financial challenges than their civilian counterparts, and those issues may be compounded when they encounter unscrupulous lenders looking to take advantage of their situations. In an effort to make sure servicemembers and their loved ones were protected, Congress passed the Military Lending Act six years ago, and this year communities around the country are recognizing the issue on July 17 as they mark Military Consumer Protection Day.
An on-going effort
While July 17 is designated as the specific day, organizers say it's part of a year-long campaign to raise awareness of the prevalence of con-artists and identity thieves. Young servicemembers are often prime targets for scammers because they may be unfamiliar with the ins and out of financial protection. Last year, the Federal Trade Commission says it received approximately 62,000 complaints from servicemembers ranging from identity theft and imposter scams to lottery and sweepstakes frauds.
"Military Consumer Protection Day gives us an opportunity to focus on the servicemembers, veterans, and families who sacrifice so much for our country," said Jessica Rich, FTC's bureau of consumer protection director. "They are targets for fraud because they relocate frequently, and many are living on their own and earning a steady paycheck for the first time."
Efforts paying off
Previous programs put in place have managed to crack down considerably on the number of servicemembers who are victims of fraud. According to the Consumer Federation of America, the Military Lending Act helped reduce the number of payday loan outlets near Camp Pendleton by as much as 70 percent five years after the law was implemented. While there has certainly been progress in recent years, there is still work to be done.
Recession effects linger
The recession impacted almost everyone, including military families, and they're still feeling the impact. According to the National Military Family Association, there are several areas in particular that servicemembers and their loved ones are still dealing with. Specifically, finding a job when a spouse has to change stations is a big issue, as is selling the house they previously lived in. Underwater mortgages – a house with a purchase loan with a higher balance than its free-market value – are also weighing heavily on the financial health of military families.
Upon separating from service, troops take a wide variety of paths, but many plan on making use of their education benefits and heading back to the classroom. While earning a degree is a popular activity for veterans, it is not without its fair share of challenges. Servicemembers often encounter problems assimilating into college life because their experiences separate them from younger, civilian students. However, many schools go to great lengths to make sure their unique needs are met, The Buffalo News reports.
Different priorities
One of the biggest issues veteran students encounter is the fact they have considerably different priorities than other students. Many veterans are at least several years older than others on campus, and some have families. Additionally, they want to get their degree as quickly as possible, which can make it hard to relate to others in the classroom. Additionally, veterans may also miss the strictly regimented routine offered by the military.
"The thing I struggled with for the longest time was, you no longer have your senior NCOs and stuff like that giving you orders," Matt Ziemendorf, a student at Niagara University, told the newspaper. "You're kind of figuring this out on your own."
Schools take action
With the influx of veterans separating from service as the U.S. winds down operations in the Middle East, many schools have been proactive in helping veteran students feel at ease. At Canisius College, where there are nearly 100 student veterans, there are services specifically designed to help former troops navigate many of the common challenges they face including registration issues and obtaining benefits from the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
Of course, western New York isn't the only region where veteran students are heading back to the classroom. In Vermont, for instance, schools have hired counselors who are veterans themselves in an effort to provide students who have been servicemembers with an outlet that understands where they are coming from, The Associated Press reports.
Increase expected
The number of veterans making use of their GI Bill benefits has increased in recent years. Statistics from the Veterans Affairs Department show an estimated 500,000 people used the benefits in 2012, which was up about 13 percent from 2011, according to Military Times.
The sequestration cuts had a significant impact on much of the military, and that included the Air Force, which was required to ground about one-third of its combat fleet. However, after three months of inactivity they will take to the skies once again after the branch received some additional funding, Military Times reports.
Air Combat Command was able to find the necessary $208 million thanks to a recent move by Congress approving a reprogramming of allocation. The change took effect immediately, with 16 fighter, bomber and Air Warfare Center's Weapons School squadrons resuming training missions and becoming combat ready on Monday. The Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team was also impacted by the additional funding. Officials applauded the move, but say there's still work to be done.
"Since April we've been in a precipitous decline with regard to combat readiness," ACC Commander Gen. Mike Hostage said in a release. "Returning to flying is an important first step, but what we have ahead of us is a measured climb to recovery."
Military officials expect the grounded squadrons will be combat ready by the end of this year, according to NBC News. However, the Thunderbirds likely won't be back at air shows until 2014.