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Ashley Pollard
Carlin Mills
ENGL 1101
8 October 2015

Better Treatment of Our American Veterans

War, it is something we hear about yet somehow fail to comprehend. It is a violent
practice that is won not only with weapons, but with soldiers. Among the many great wars
conquered or lost in our American History, these loyal, hardworking, and aging soldiers have
come to be known as veterans. Veterans face many challenges when discharged from the military
which taught them the values they forever hold. We as proud Americans should stand up and
defend our veterans as they have defended us and better treat these heroes.
These brave men and women have a difficult time finding suitable employment. Veterans
continue to struggle to gain employment because of culture gaps between civilian society and
their military pasts. This is mainly because employers have trouble understanding how military
experience is relevant to the civilian job force. Being able to accurately fire a weapon may not be
relevant to potential employers, however, the values and work ethic that are distilled into every
soldier will be essential to any business or company. Most veterans, including myself, joined
when they were only 18 years of age. When they are discharged they are classified with no
civilian job experience. The fighting they have done for their entire adulthood suddenly becomes
unrecognized. The challenge is to show employers that general skills and discipline acquired in
the military can sometimes overlook that requirement. Its time to help open and secure job
opportunities for our Veterans!

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In addition to the challenge of finding an entry level position in todays workforce,

Veterans do not have a fair advantage for medical benefits, even if it was a military related
injury. Many veterans were effected by trauma during their time of service. An astounding 20
percent of all active duty soldiers in the U.S. Army are on at least their third tour of duty in a
combat zone. During this time, they experienced hunger, loss, pain and desperations all for the
sacrifice of their country. In addition to living under dreadful weather conditions, constant mortar
attacks to their home base prevents a good nights sleep often leads to PTSD. These lucky
soldiers still find a way to strive with little or no help from their local VA. Post-traumatic stress
disorder is commonly found among combat veterans and occurs in 1 out of every 5 soldiers. It's
no surprise, once you understand the distress that soldiers experience during war, they find it
hard to be the same emotionally ever again. The tours are so long that the life style sticks with
them. After being able to come back home most soldiers wish they could go back. Some may say
that their inability to form close bonds with loved ones is due to near death experiences and the
fear that they will leave someone behind. The emotional effects of war on soldiers very often
hinders their future. Veterans of war who experience PTSD without adequate counseling and care
often do not marry or have children; it may be because they have had near death experiences and
have severe difficulty letting go of the idea that they may die any day. War can be and has been
proven to be a deeply scarring experience for many soldiers. Of course, nothing can prepare
them for warfare, seeing close friends die and narrowly escape death themselves. Some veterans
of past wars have recovered from their traumatic experience with the right care, but what we
need to ask ourselves is how we can protect them from mental trauma before they are even sent
to fight, as opposed to treating their symptoms once the deep psychological damage has already

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been done. There are many different ways to help soldiers while they are down range, as soon as
symptoms occur, yet why hasnt any of these ideas been put into place?
You may be surprised to find out how many homeless veterans we have on our American
streets. About 26.4 million civilians consist of veterans of the armed forces. Unfortunately, 1 out
of 4 homeless Americans are Veterans. On any given night, nearly 196,000 veterans sleep on the
street, in a shelter, or in transitional housing. This happens mainly because when a soldier exits
the military they have no sense of direction and no one to help guide them into adjusting to this
new life. Although many Vets succeed in making the change from uniform to civilian, the
process is hardly ever a smooth and seamless one. So how can we help our men and women in
uniform have a less problematic integration into the work environment of civilian society?
Guidance counseling, group meetings, or job fairs could simply help theses soldiers before they
enter that stage.
Due to injuries homelessness can also occur. Injured veterans are authorized to receive
medical benefits that are in relation to their injuries; today it takes military vets an average of
seven months to get an appointment at a VA facility. Those who receive compensation for
injuries occurred while on duty or in a war zone The Veterans Administration holds up their
benefit checks for years on end. This brings injured veterans into bankruptcy were they lose their
homes. Its a little known fact that 600,000 are currently waiting for their disability
determinations, never less a check. Our veterans have risked their lives for existing and future
generations of Americans. The last thing they need is an environment of fear and distrust back home.
As a proud American, I volunteered to go to war and fight for our freedom. As I crossed the Iraqi
border I thought of the thousands of people murdered by terrorists. Never in my dreams would I or any of
my battle buddies have thought to experience such struggle in the civilian world. Stand up for our
veterans as they stood up for America. There is no doubt that after knowing what these once normal

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people have done to protect us all, they deserve better treatment, and a better chance in our world. Lets
help them!