Veterans

/ Matthew Clemente / Leave a comment

Feel Good Friday: 8-year-old paying it forward

This edition of Feel Good Friday brings a bittersweet story of an 8-year-old boy, a fallen soldier and a random  act of  kindness.

Here is how the CBS News story (from Steve Hartman) began:

At the Ohio Air National Guard base near Toledo, Lt. Col. Frank Dailey still can’t believe the honor recently bestowed upon him. . . .

It happened at a Cracker Barrel, of all places. As the security camera shows, Dailey entered the restaurant on Feb. 7 for an early lunch. At about the same time, 8-year-old Myles Eckert came in with his family.

Myles was very excited. He’d just found a $20 bill in the parking lot. . . . “I kind of wanted to get a video game, but then I decided not to,” Myles says.He changed his mind when he saw the guy in uniform.

“Because he was a soldier, and soldiers remind me of my dad,” Myles explains.

And so, with his dad in mind, Myles wrapped the $20 in a note that read, “Dear Soldier — my dad was a soldier. He’s in heaven now. I found this 20 dollars in the parking lot when we got here. We like to pay it forward in my family. It’s your lucky day! Thank you for your service. Myles Eckert, a gold star kid.”

“The Morality of Remembrance”

/ Matthew Clemente / Leave a comment

“The Morality of Remembrance”

Happy Veterans Day to all those of who have served.  In commemoration of the occasion here is an episode of the BBC’s Moral Maze podcast elegantly entitled “The Morality of Remembrance.”  In England, their version of Veterans Day is Remembrance Day.  Where we have the yellow ribbon, they adorn the poppy flower.  

Although the debate is an English take on the holiday, many of the issues discussed apply in the American context.  For instance, what is patriotism? What should we honoring? How should we be honoring? It is interesting that in the United States the holiday is marked by a status, whether or not one is a veteran; while in England, it is about an act, remembering past wars and warriors.  In a sense, Veterans Day is simpler in the US, we know who and what to honor.  In the United Kingdom, the issue is more contested.  When the holiday is framed in terms of remembrance, the question becomes what should we be remembering? 

“The Morality of Remembrance”

/ Matthew Clemente / Leave a comment

“The Morality of Remembrance”

Happy Veterans Day to all those of who have served.  In commemoration of the occasion here is an episode of the BBC’s Moral Maze podcast elegantly entitled “The Morality of Remembrance.”  In England, their version of Veterans Day is Remembrance Day.  Where we have the yellow ribbon, they adorn the poppy flower.  

Although the debate is an English take on the holiday, many of the issues discussed apply in the American context.  For instance, what is patriotism? What should we honoring? How should we be honoring? It is interesting that in the United States the holiday is marked by a status, whether or not one is a veteran; while in England, it is about an act, remembering past wars and warriors.  In a sense, Veterans Day is simpler in the US, we know who and what to honor.  In the United Kingdom, the issue is more contested.  When the holiday is framed in terms of remembrance, the question becomes what should we be remembering? 

Vocational Rehabilitation: Debunking Some of the Myths

/ Jason Niemetz / Leave a comment

The Department of Veteran’s Affairs does many things well, but disseminating information is not one of them.  Information pertaining to education benefits, other than the G.I. Bill, is very hard to come by and always surrounded in lore.  This became very apparent when I applied for vocational rehabilitation.

As a law school student, I am always looking for ways out of paying for my education.  As a veteran, I have grown accustom to having my education paid in full with a little extra to live on.  This was an excellent setup until I exhausted my Post 9/11 G.I. Bill benefits at the end of last semester.  You never realize how much you appreciate something until it is gone.  It was hard breakup, but we had a good run.  I used the Montgomery G.I. Bill to fund part of community college when out of the Marines in 2006.  I say part, because the Montgomery G.I. Bill would not cover my $2,400 annual tuition.  I graduated to the Post 9/11 when I enrolled at a four year school, which was more than adequate. It even took me through the first year of law school.  Those were good times.

In anticipation of exhausting the G.I. Bill, I called the VA to see if there were any other programs that I may qualify for.  They told me that if I have a service connected disability, I may qualify for vocational rehabilitation.  I am rated at 10%, so I figured I would give it a shot.  As I tried to research the specifics of “voc rehab” I found very little information on the VA website.  After a few phone calls to the VA, which provided even less information than the website, I turned to the internet for answers.  Among the many veteran’s chat rooms and discussion boards I found many answers, ranging from the greatly exaggerated to the obviously wrong.

With virtually no idea if I qualified for the program or what kind of benefits it offers, I decided to apply for vocational rehabilitation in he hopes that the Federal Government would pay for the rest of law school (or at least some of it).  After eventually finding and filling out the correct form on the VA’s website, I pressed submit and waited.  Roughly four short months later, I received a letter which told me to report to the vocational rehabilitation office for orientation. 

After watching a 15 minute video and shuffling the stack of pamphlets and papers that were handed out, I was scheduled to come back the next week to meet with a counselor who would determine my fate.  My original meeting was postponed due to the government shutdown, but few weeks later I found myself sitting in an office while a counselor looked through my transcripts, aptitude/vocational preference test results, and medical paperwork.

After a thorough examination of my qualifications, the counselor explained the purpose of the vocational rehabilitation program is to assist disabled veterans with finding a career that would suit them based on their aptitude, interest, and (most importantly) their medical limitations.   He also explained that although technically veterans with a 10% disability rating can apply for the program, 20% is usually the minimum rating needed to actually qualify for the program.  In addition, the VA looks for evidence, specifically work history, that shows a veteran’s disabilities have made it difficult to maintain employment.  Once they find a veteran who meets these criteria the VA will assist the veteran with pursuing the proper training to pursue a career that suits their needs and abilities.  This assistance can range from paying for college or graduate school to paying for a professional license and training.

Although I am slightly disappointed that I did not qualify for the program, I was more disappointed with the VA’s inability to provide veterans with basic information.  I understand that eligibility for programs like vocational rehabilitation are highly specific to the person applying, but it would have saved everyone time and money had someone told me what the scope of the program is and what the qualification are.  Instead, it took months for me to find this information through a counselor.  Had I known that this program was not designed for a person in my situation, I would not have applied.

Despite the frustration with the VA keeping tight lipped about their policies, it is good to know that this program exists and it is being reserved for those who are truly deserving.  Fortunately this experience was not a total loss; the counselor told me that he had heard a rumor that the VA will, on occasion, extend a veteran’s G.I. Bill benefits from 36 months to 42 or 48 months.  Hopefully I will be able to find out the truth before I graduate from law school.

Veterans Issues: A Brief Overview

/ Christopher Moritt / Leave a comment

As a veteran of the Marine Corps, I have had the opportunity to do many interesting things that many people do not get to do. I have been to the island of Iwo Jima, the DMZ in Korea, and of course I was also deployed to Iraq to participate in combat operations. After all, that is what Marines do. However, once one chooses to end their active duty service a variety of issues become a factor when trying to make your way in civilian life. This Blog is intended to highlight those issues and discuss current developments as it relates to veterans. Many of those who haven’t served only really see a handful of issue that get highlighted in the media such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), unemployment, and traumatic brain injury (TBI). But with two wars winding down in Iraq and Afghanistan and the older vets of WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, getting older the number of people relying on services and support has grown larger. Additionally, the type of issues that affects veterans has become more complex.
One question that comes to my mind is what do we do with everyone? Here are some interesting statics from the Veterans Administration website:

• In fiscal year 2011, 476,515 Veterans with primary or secondary diagnosis of PTSD received treatment at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers and clinics.
• Since the Post-9/11 GI Bill was implemented on Aug. 1, 2009, VA has provided educational benefits to 773,000 Veterans and their family members, amounting to more than $20 billion in benefits.
• Every year since 2009, VA has completed a record breaking 1 million claims representing over $59 billion in payments to Veterans and their families. VA is building a strong foundation for a paperless, digital disability claims system
• The 2012 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress, prepared by HUD, estimates there were 62,619 homeless Veterans on a single night in January in the United States, a 7.2 percent decline since 2011 and a 17.2 percent decline since 2009.

These statics are interesting because of the sheer volume of veterans the VA is processing for its various benefits programs. Also, the money involved is a big issue, between education and disability alone there is nearly 80 billion dollars in spending. These issues will be explored further in later posts but in general it is worth noting what kind of numbers we will be talking about. As a veteran I am of the opinion this is money well spent and it has helped me out a lot in achieving my educational goals. But I also know several veterans that start school on the VA’s dime and never finish or do anything productive. Is this a waste of taxpayer money? A question we will take up in a future entry.
Another issue to think about is the transition from active duty military to regular civilian is difficult even for those who do not have disabilities or PTSD. The military is a very close-knit society that has its own rules and regulations, many of which are markedly different than that of the civilian world. From my own experience I can say it took me years to be able to walk and talk on a cellphone at the same time (its against Marine Corps Orders to do that). While that’s more of a humorous example, a more pointed one is that I was an Infantryman and as such did not work with females in any capacity. I have never had a female boss, nor have I ever had to work with a female on a work project or task. I mention this because the civilian world is very different; women are often in leadership roles, or work place equals and it can be an adjustment, particularly when its something you have never had to do. Granted, I adjusted just fine (or at least I think I did) but that isn’t always the case. What should be done about those that can’t?

Veterans Issues are plentiful and over the coming weeks and months I hope to establish a good foundation for people to understand the breadth and complexity of problems and adjustments that face today’s patriots that have sacrificed to serve our great country.