Abstract
The aim of this survey is come up with data that will expound and provides facts about the care given to this group of people in the society. This paper is objective and seeks to address the needs that are in this community and how they are connected to military experiences. It further provides obligations for the veterans based on the bible. This section is faith based and provides extensive information on biblical mandates. On another note, this study shows different organizations within this community that work towards fulfilling these obligations. A survey is conducted and a few militants are contacted to substantiate the reports made by some of these organizations. Furthermore, this paper explores the different veterans affairs based services programs and provides a clear distinction between those that are faith based and those that are non-veteran affairs funded program. The survey sums up the paper with identified loopholes that the society hasn’t met. It then provides recommendations and pin points the areas that need amendment.
Introduction
Fayetteville, North Carolina is a city located in Cumberland County in the United States. It is well known because it harbors Elite U.S army and as a result this city has been awarded several accolades. It is a city of its kind and a pride for the community around. Its fame as a home for elite soldiers has enabled this particular city to connect with the rest of the world and network with civil rights activists from all over the nation. This particular city is our subject of concern due to its historic background. Therefore, a study is conducted on the military both the retired and those still serving the nation.
Needs represented in Fayetteville and experienced by Militants
Military is more of an occupation but has the aspects of an institution. Militants are people who have been entrusted with the lives of the nation and more often they are subjected to stress that come with call of duty (Richardson, C., & Waldrop, J. 2003). On the other hand, military society is a family which consists of the husband, wife and children. Stress comes thereby when one of the family members enlisted with the military abandons the family for a mission (Washington, D. L., Kleimann, S., Michelini, A. N., Kleimann, K. M., & Canning, M. 2007). Based on the survey conducted, wives to those husbands sent for mission for the first time rated the feeling of sadness. The need for family bondage and limited separation is a need within this society (Tanielian, T. L., & Jaycox, L. (Eds.). 2008). Other needs include emotional organization of the militants and the society. People within this society tend to lack sleep and most often get eating disorders to alienation (Washington, D. L., Kleimann, S., Michelini, A. N., Kleimann, K. M., & Canning, M. 2007). The process of recovery and stabilization takes quite a lot of time before the subject can cope up with the realization (Tanielian, T. L., & Jaycox, L. (Eds.). 2008). Results from the study imply that in most cases people in this society are angry and cannot live without shock. They need comfort and assurance that everything will be well in the long run (Richardson, C., & Waldrop, J. 2003). For the militants it is easier for them to get disorganized and shocked especially with emergency call ups. Another need that evident from the study is the presence of a lot of youth in the army. There is a need to have an equal representation of educated youth enlisted in the military. Currently, approximately 9 percent of the military forces are youth with college experience. Therefore, there is a need in the military to have more educated recruits who will hone their military experience thereafter. Another need is the adoption of different religions within the military academies. The minority in the society need to be included in the training too to ensure that military experience is diverse and accommodative regardless of ethnicity or race.
Biblical Mandates to Veterans
Based on the bible stories and examples, as a society we given a mandate to give hope those who are hopeless and cheer those who had accomplished missions (Kudler, H., Straits-Troster, K., & Brancu, M. 2011). Right from the book of Psalms to Ephesians, the bible talks about the importance of believing in love for others and giving oneself as a sacrifice. Moreover, psalmist narrates the need to hold onto God for refuge and strength since he is there in times of trouble. Beating this argument with the case study, as a society we are required to cherish the life of our veterans. They are men who fought for us and sacrificed their happiness and families for our safety. We are supposed to take care of such great men in times when age has caught up with them. We need to remind them of their heroics and enjoy helping them as well as notice their good deeds. Thus, it is the duty of the society to offer services that pertain to the well-being of such men due to their art of good faith and believing in such a course (Goldberg, K. C. 2008). Based on the study, the society offers voluntary opportunities to young and old people to help veterans. The services range from home cleaning to psychological support. This is an act of passion and it shows how much people cherish their veterans. Furthermore, this is the little the community can do to show appreciations to the veterans.
Agencies/Organizations supporting Veterans
VA based Organizations
Fayetteville is well endowed with various organizations that seek to help veterans. These organizations vary from veteran affairs based organization to faith based organization and in some cases non-veteran affairs based organizations (Center, J. D. L. B. Arkansas, 2008). To name a few of the veteran affairs based organization; Airman and Family readiness center, association of special operations professionals, 82nd airborne division, wounded warrior committee, Cumberland county veterans services and Cumberland county chapter 46. All these organizations offer services with military in mind. For instance, they assist is food provisions, relocation assistance, family life education because such people might have complications when bonding with their families. On the other hand, organizations such as Cumberland county veterans services is specialized in submitting claims for benefits to the departments of veterans and ensuring that they are treated fairly (Goldberg, K. C. 2008). More so, they help in perpetuating the memories of deceased veterans and recognizing outstanding achievements.
Non-VA and Faith Based funded Organizations
Services offered to the veterans by these organizations range from housing, guiding and counseling, employment support and spiritual support. The government and other stakeholders are offering free houses for the veterans and employment especially light tasks. Other organizations within Fayetteville plan events and community programs to help veterans adjust to the surrounding. The following is a breakdown of how different organizations are satisfying the above needs. Hounds4heroes is an organization that provides pets to veterans. Though it is not so much involved in veterans’ affairs, it appreciates them and limits distress. Faith based organizations include hope center, operation blessing of Fayetteville, Fayetteville youth for Christ and Sherri Arnold Graham foundation among others. These programs donate time and money to veterans. The aim is to lead veterans through a transition from military to civilian life (Center, J. D. L. B. Arkansas, 2008). Some of the services offered include clothing, health screening and educational opportunities. Faith based organization give comfort to veterans when the society turns their back on them. One of the respondents argued that, the government is bureaucratic and its processes take very long time meanwhile they are suffering (House, U. S. 2008). They argued that, it is even worse when the community you are living in believes that the government owes you. It becomes hard to get any form of help from individuals and this undermines the self-esteem of veterans (Farrow, S. C., Kaluzny, A. D., & Ricketts, T. 2011). Transitioning to normal life becomes hard due to stigmatization and devaluation by the society. It is good news that such organizations have been there for them even when the government forsakes them. They believe that, these organizations give them hope to cherish better days ahead as retirees.
Gaps existing in the community
Life changes once one is recruited in the army. There is so much transformation that an individual undergoes which changes them completely. In most cases, militants have invisible wounds. These are wounds which we cannot see but they are felt by the subject. Unlike the common wounds which are physical in nature, these particular wounds affect moods, thoughts and behaviors (Burnam, M. A., Meredith, L. S., Tanielian, T., & Jaycox, L. H. 2009). The life of veteran becomes the direct opposite of a normal human being and not even our families, society and service members can understand us. This is the gap that exists and due to its complexity we poorly understand it. How then can we address a situation that we cannot even understand? A survey conducted recently indicates that at least 20 percent of the veterans experience post traumatic disorders (Hoffmann, D. F. 2015). None of these organizations has been able to fill this gap despite the fact that post traumatic disorder (PSTD) is a major threat to veterans’ health (Burnam, M. A., Meredith, L. S., Tanielian, T., & Jaycox, L. H. 2009). Well, programs have been established but still the care systems do not fill the gaps. Another gap that exists is the lack of accommodation of this population in the society (House, U. S. 2008). For some reason, some societies do not mind about the well-being of veterans and they are not viewed as heroes. It is hard for some veterans to adapt in such societies and thus end up living in solace. Solitude is another factor that leads to post traumatic disorders (PSTD) (Vega, W. A., Kolody, B., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., & Catalano, R. 2009). According to Hoffmann, D. F. 2015, at least 1.8 percent of the veterans considered to commit suicide. The reasons given were affiliated to Military Sexual Trauma (MST). Some of them had experienced sexual harassment and assault that keep on haunting them. A study conduct shows that about 1 in 5 women and 1 in 100 men confirmed sexual harassment and assault (Burnam, M. A., Meredith, L. S., Tanielian, T., & Jaycox, L. H. 2009). This is just a representation of the many cases that happen and go unreported. Veterans reported depressions, disturbing nightmares, forgetfulness and problems with alcohol (Vega, W. A., Kolody, B., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., & Catalano, R. 2009).
Recommendation
In order to minimize and to alleviate this gap, these recommendations will improve the knowledge and treatment of post traumatic disorders and depressions.
Non-governmental and governmental organizations should increase capacity of mental health care and improve the health care system to augment deliverance of evidence-based care. Thus, providers of such services should undergo a special training to understand depression and post traumatic disorders (Hoffmann, D. F. 2015). Moreover, more programs should be started to enhance this course. Moreover, Privatizing VA services enable veterans to access health care within their communities. However, this should only be allowed where there is an evidence based problem.
On another note, policies should be adjusted to encourage more veterans to seek further medical care. It is notably true to say that most veterans are reluctant to seek the required health care for some reasons. Therefore, physician-patient speech acts should play part in ensuring that information shared between veterans and physician is protected.
Providers of this service should be urged to provide evidence based care. Thus, the government needs to come up with structures that will ensure that there is coordination and quality care across all settings.
Finally, the stakeholders should invest in research and plan effectively to close these gaps. A deeper understanding is required to identify the conditions that keep on evolving over time. Thus, an aggressive research agenda needs to be placed on the table and debated across all medical service sectors specifically for this population.
Conclusion
It should be noted that meeting the needs of veterans is a challenging tasks. Cases of depression and post traumatic disorders are high and are projected to grow in number due to the constant wars in countries such as Afghanistan. If the government won’t scamper into immediate action, these conditions may carry long term effects and negative consequences (Farrow, S. C., Kaluzny, A. D., & Ricketts, T. 2011). It is an issue that not only the government is required to participate but also to work with society at large. For instance, veterans would prefer to seek private health plans due to the quality of service provided. Thus, the government needs to adapt to the needs of this population if at all the U.S.A ought to meet military obligations. It is such a high time too for the government to minimize exposure of militants to international conflicts. Instead, the government should develop frameworks that will protect servicemen and veterans from war-related effects. It is a long process that might take very long time to mature the end results are worthy it.
Reference
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