Very well said.Originally Posted by Schmedlap
Most of the programs out there are desigend to help veterans "overcome" rather than "transition" and I worry that we put too much emphasis on tossing out the baby with the bathwater.
Case in point here: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?a...52§ion=104
I've kinda wondered about that myself
I remember about a month or so ago a story about a returned soldier and his family who's kid( who was sleeping in a tent on a campground where they were staying while he looked for a job) had to go to the hospital after getting run over by the vehicle which ran over the tent when he went to start it up in the morning. Last thing I saw was him telling the news that he hoped to get a place for them to stay as soon as he could.
Question that ran through my mind was. how recently did he get back and was anyone in his former chain even aware of the circumstances his family was in to at least have helped find alternative options let alone job placement assistance?
Any man can destroy that which is around him, The rare man is he who can find beauty even in the darkest hours
Cogitationis poenam nemo patitur
I have some questions.
What does his 'former chain' have to do with the case as you relay it? What kind of alternatives could they have offered? What job placement assistance could they have offered. Do they have an obligation to do any of those things? Either way, should they have such an obligation?
Simplest answer to that is nothing, in so far as responsibility
I guess the crux of my ponderings was more in the arena has this guy even tried to get in contact with anyone from the mil side to seek assistance in finding answers to those questions they might be able to answer.
Perhaps I have misunderstood its purpose but I coulda sworn thats what some of the push over the last few years has been in regards to making help available even if it's just some general direction assistance. (and whether it would be sought by those who need it).
Military One source
VA
about a hundred large scale vet support groups both private and publicly funded
just my .00000000035676555432 cents but
Mental health ain't the only arena in which many for any number of reasons don't seek the assistance they should.
Any man can destroy that which is around him, The rare man is he who can find beauty even in the darkest hours
Cogitationis poenam nemo patitur
In or Out...
Once you're discharged, the Services can't do much for you -- that's what the VA is for. As I read your post, it appeared the guy was no longer in the service. If he got back from a deployment one day and was discharged the next, his former unit (not the people in it, they can do pretty much what they wish to support a former member but the legal entity that is the unit) has no relationship with him. Nor IMO, should it.That's true but there are two categories; those still in uniform that the unit does have a responsibility for -- and units exercise that responsibility on a scale of from bad to great, just like they do on everything else. However, once one is discharged, if they need help there are plenty of places that provide it -- the VA, State Veteran Assistance offices and many private organizationsPerhaps I have misunderstood its purpose but I coulda sworn thats what some of the push over the last few years has been in regards to making help available even if it's just some general direction assistance. (and whether it would be sought by those who need it).True. In or out, Been in or never been in. Some ask for help, some won't take it, some will give help, some won't. Military or civilian, people are people.just my .00000000035676555432 cents but Mental health ain't the only arena in which many for any number of reasons don't seek the assistance they should.
I can't speak to the mental health issues, insofar as PTSD and the like are concerned. I do know that a lot of guys have trouble reintegrating into civilian society when they leave the military. My wife used to work at TRICARE and saw lots of retirees and I have known quite a few myself. The military is a fairly unique organization and many members have little to no contact with civilians other than spouses and family. They don't know how civilians think, how they act, how they interact with one another, how they work, etc. It is as foreign a culture to them as the military culture would be to the average civilian. I have known more than one DA civilian who first had a civilian job but couldn't stand working with civilians and spent all of their time trying to find a DOD job that allowed to work in a military environment again. I have also heard that it is not uncommon for senior career military members with 30+ years of active service to die not long after retirement. Apparently after that many years of service the change of lifestyle is depressing, sometimes very much so.
The other thing that seems to happen is that a lot of guys get out, either retire or ETS, without a plan. Many of these guys find that their military experience does not open as many employment doors as they believed. My wife saw a lot of these in TRICARE.
SFC W
Tell me about it.
Hung up my war suit with 27 years, worked for a civilian outfit for a while -- they were pretty good, as one of the Senior engineers told me "We're Hughes Aircraft, we can put a Cow on the Moon and tell you how we got it there." Probably true -- but they had just as many dummies in high places as did the Army. Probably more. I know they did equally dumb things and were as bureaucratic...
Left that for less pay and went the DAC route; neat, just like being in unigram except no one is too sure how to treat civilians so you can do pretty much what you want to get a job done.
Now been retired from even that for going on fifteen years. Still do not mesh well with the civilian society in which I live. Nor do I want to. Good news is I'm making a mockery of the old war horses die young bit.
Well, as of today, anyway...
I'm living it right now. On my last job, during the interview, the interviewer stated that the job could be stressful and asked me how I would cope. How do you answer that without coming off as cocky or condescending? I still don't know, so I opted for cocky.
I got the job and stuck with it through the initial term, but just didn't like working in an office, didn't like working with civilians, and politely declined to remain after the initial term. My impression is that I wouldn't like civilian work outside of an office either. With a bunch of deployments under my belt (and the gobs of money that I had no choice but to save) I figure that I don't need to work, so I don't. Finish school, go back in the Army. That's the plan. Hopefully the cash doesn't run out before then because I really hate working civilian jobs.
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