One soldier’s Veteran’s Day thoughts
Veteran’s Day is tomorrow, November 11th. Veteran’s Day was originally held every November 11th, however, it was changed to fall on the weekday closest to the 11th. It was first incorporated by President Wilson as Armistice Day in 1919 to commemorate the armistice of WWI. In 1938 it became an official American Holiday, but after WWII, citizens felt that the day should honor all Veterans. In 1954 Congress changed the name from Armistice Day to Veteran’s Day and it celebrates the roughly 2.9 million Veterans in the U.S. today.
Many people know a Veteran, whether that be a friend or family member. It’s actually quite surprising considering that today our military constitutes less than five percent of the Unites States population. So few people who are able to accomplish so much. So few people who have sacrificed more than the other 95% can ever realize. Missed birthdays, Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year’s, Anniversaries, Births, Deaths, Weddings, Graduations, etc… and not just one year, but many miss these very common events which are a part of our everyday lives that are often taken for granted.
I once overheard an OSHA Safety Officer’s briefing regarding violence in the workplace. In this briefing it was stated that, along with other criteria, that the profile of someone who is more likely to commit murder in the workplace has “military background”. One employee spoke up to voice her malcontent with Veterans, saying that they always act like they’re owed something and have bad attitudes in general. Personally, I think she had some personal beef with Veterans or perhaps a particular Veteran. This isn’t the first time I’ve overheard conversation which led to an overall group bashing session against Veterans. People have complained about Veteran’s healthcare benefits, Montgomery G.I. Bill benefits for college, and retirement pay. What is truly sad is that I overheard today, the day before Veteran’s day.
I would like to look at some of the things that were covered and some of the griefs that were put forward by different people over the years that I’ve run into. I’d like to address them from a different point of view.
Veterans act like they’re owed something:
The bottom line is, they are. By law they are owed their jobs when they return from a deployment if they were forced to leave. By law they get preferential selection for job placement applications. The biggest thing of all they are owed is respect. Respect for doing something voluntarily that 95% of other people in the U.S. are too chicken to do. Respect for risking their lives, for bleeding in service to this nation and our allies, for losing limbs and getting scarred for life, both mentally and physically. Respect most of all for those who gave their lives.
Veteran’s Health Care Benefits:
Many Veterans have different needs than regular civilians. Many suffer from traumatic injuries, both mental and physical that they would not have otherwise suffered if it had not been for their service. It only makes sense to make their health care more readily available. Also, before you complain about it, you should serve and then try to get what you need from a Veteran’s Affairs Hospital. Sometimes you might as well not even bother going. Sometimes it takes months or even years to get the paperwork needed. Other times the quality of the health care itself is more than lacking.
Montgomery G.I. Bill Benefits:
It stands to argue that if you’re serving in the military odds are you don’t have much time for anything else. While some people do manage to take advantage of tuition reimbursement while in the service, many wait until they are out of the service to attend college. If you serve, for example, eight years in the military then that is eight years you are most likely not able to attend college even if you wanted to.
Compare a Veteran who serves for four years and is discharged from the military to someone who graduates from school and goes straight to college for four years and obtains a four year degree. The Veteran was unable to attend college and get a degree due to deployments and routine training. The civilian has an incredible head start on him/her. To then not provide some sort of educational benefit implies that the Veteran should instead be punished for serving and the civilian rewarded for not serving. Our nations borders are secure and people are able to go to college, not because of people going to college, but people who serve in the military or attend college and then go and serve. To complain about your benefits in this country at the cost of those who serve while wanting to deny them the same opportunity is not only hypocritical, it’s narrow minded and shows a lack of intellect.
Another aspect is that for many Veterans it can be difficult to transition from military life to the civilian one. A Veteran may have some job preference, but without a degree they are still not going to find a job where they can have a reasonable quality of life. The only answer for this is education. Of all people, who else deserves the right to the American Dream other than those who volunteered to fight for it?
Retirement Benefits:
It is true that you can serve 20 years in the military and retire. If in that time you are able to obtain the rank of a Senior NCO or Senior Officer, there is the possibility that you will have a decent monthly retirement check. If you sign up for the service at the age of 18, this means you could retire at the age of 38. I personally think that in many cases it is ignorance that causes people to speak against Veterans. The ignorance in this is the assumption that military retirement pay will sustain you. It won’t. Retirement from the military is not just a way to reward people for their service, it also encourages them to leave the service after 20 years. The human body can only take so much and the military can be very hard on it. After 20 years, depending upon your role within the military, it is possible that you can barely drag yourself out of bed in the morning without being in pain. Most people can not sustain a life in the military. It’s much like many pro athletes in which wear and tear on the body forces them to retire. 20 year retirement isn’t just a reward. In many cases, it’s needed as well as deserved even if they will more than likely still need to find a career to sustain any decent quality of life.
As Veteran’s Day approaches, let’s not bicker and nit-pick at Veterans but instead celebrate the courage and strength that it requires to do the job and pull it off. Not many civilians can say they watched their friend slowly die from a grievous gunshot wound or shrapnel wound. Not many can say they saw their buddy blown in half. Even fewer still will ever be able to say that they made a difference in the world, not just for the U.S. but even for people who have no hope and don’t understand us. Few will ever be able to comprehend the numerous sacrifices made, the life changing events, or the reasons so many Veterans feel both proud and anguished when they see Old Glory. Let’s not forget the lessons of the past, such as how Vietnam Veterans were treated when they returned. Let’s not stoop to ignorance and politics in a time when we should instead celebrate. The service isn’t for everyone and not serving may be your choice. If you would not wish to be persecuted for your desire not to serve, then you certainly shouldn’t persecute those who do because they took the Oath of Enlistment. If you choose not to serve then you have no right to meddle in things which do not concern you or affect you. If it’s a case of simple jealousy, then perhaps you should take the oath and earn those benefits as all those before you have. If not, I would like to refer you to the old saying, “Lead, follow, or get out of the way.”
Kevin
U.S. Army Veteran
In: Military, Society · Tagged with: Veteran's Day
on November 11, 2009 at 16:00
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I’d like to make a note on the health care benefits. I totally agree that they should be readily available to our soldiers. They are fighting everyday for all of us and deserve the best medical care there is. I wanted to also make mention that this company called Prescription Audio is offering their PTSD audio therapy download for free to all of our soldiers. It’s an amazing program and those serving or those that have served should really take advantage of it. http://www.prescriptionaudio.com/pages/ptsd
on November 11, 2009 at 17:03
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Thanks for the link, Kim.