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Jonathan Martinez

Massey-Jimenez

ENC1101 9 AM

7, December 2017

Life of Veterans at Home: The War Continues

Guns blazing, civilians screaming, explosions heard in the distance, these are just a few

of the terrors war brings on a daily basis upon the thousands of men and women that endure it.

Another nightmare also awaits them beyond the battlefield, the return home to the United States.

Veterans are constantly being overlooked and underappreciated in todays society after return

from service. Their transition back to civilian life is made difficult by a plethora of factors

including post-traumatic stress disorder and stressors outside of the battlefield. This is a cause for

change amongst our society that must begin by bringing awareness to the topic. Many programs

including The Wounded Warrior Project allow for this change to occur.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) affects nearly all veterans and is a large

contributor to the difficulty in the transition back to a normal and healthy lifestyle. PTSD is

found among a large portion of people that return from military service. This is due to the fact

that serious injuries and exposure to emotionally traumatic events are relatively common in the

military (Morin 4). These serious injuries and traumatic events are the main sources of

development of PTSD. The development of this mental disorder within veterans can cause them

to experience flashbacks, emotional outbursts, or fall into relapse. The vivid pictures and

memories of the horrors that took place on and off the battlefield significantly affects the ability

for these men and women to transition to an ordinary civilian lifestyle. According to a recent

survey of 1,853 veterans done by the Pew Research Center, veterans who experienced
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emotional or physical trauma while serving are at the greatest risk of having difficulties

readjusting to civilian life (Morin 1). An example of one of the common complications that

PTSD brings upon many veterans is the random emotional outbursts that could potentially lead

to violent actions. Shevory states that the FBI is called in to about 20 hostage situations

involving veterans each year, and police report many more dangerous confrontations (Shevory

2). All of these cases involved a veteran who had experienced some form of mental health

problems after return from service. Often times, these people are found trying to cope or live

with these disorders on their own. People with mental health issues should be taken care of upon

return to reduce or potentially eliminate the symptoms from growing stronger with time. In order

to help veterans overcome PTSD and other related mental disorders, veterans must be first

clinically diagnosed so that they can be treated with the use of medications

Although majority of veterans that struggle to transition have seen the battlefield, many

service members also have difficulties readjusting after living the stressful life of a non-deployed

soldier. The life of non-deployed soldiers involves many of the same experiences as those that

are deployed abroad. These experiences include schedules that reduce or inhibit time with

family, trauma experienced throughout rigorous training, and stressors outside of the occupation.

Time away from family is one of the biggest obstacles that must be overcome by United States

service members. These long periods of time away from each other often causes marriages and

other relationships to end. About six in ten (61%) of post 9/11veterans who experienced marital

problems also had major difficulties when it came to re-entry to normal civilian life. Although

serving in a combat zone reduces the chances that a veteran will have an easier time readjusting

to civilian life (Morin 5), there is still an extremely large percentage of veterans that have

difficulty that never saw the battlefield. These percentages are also high for because many non-
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deployed military service members reported high levels of nonmilitary stressors (Kaiser 1) at

some point after their service.

Nonmilitary stressors could comprise of familial issues, personal habits (alcoholism, drug

addiction, gambling, etc.), or guilt of not being present on the battlefield. People that joined the

military that struggled with personal habits like alcoholism and drug addiction usually referred

back to these habits as a form of a coping mechanism. Gambling disorder frequently presents

with several co-occurring psychiatric disorders. Depression (50% 75%) and substance abuse

(25%63%) may be the most common psychiatric conditions associated with gambling disorder.

Generalized anxiety disorder and antisocial personality are also observed in association with

gambling disorder, and gambling disorder may predict the onset of post-traumatic stress disorder

(PTSD) and substance dependence (Whiting 213-220). Whiting describes the other factors that

can transpire from gambling as a disorder. Veterans often do this with little to no control, leaving

them with poor financial situations. Guilt of not being on the battlefield is also a thought that

passes through the mind of every military service member at one point in their career. Since the

very first day of training until the very end of service, members of the United States military

share a bond with those standing alongside them on and off a combat zone. Many cases of people

found with non-combat PTSD showed signs of anger since they were not able to be deployed but

their friends or family were. Deep depression and other unhealthy emotional states can be found

in veteran that experienced this intense feeling of guilt. They have to live with the idea that they

are in an area that is safe as compared to the information, stories and images brought home from

a combat zone that is difficult and dangerous to live through. The United States military does an

exceptional job in training these young men and women for life within the military; however,

they must improve the training for individuals once their service is over for post military life.
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In order to change the way government and society view and impact the lives of veterans,

we must be made of aware of the different ways we can provide aid through programs that are

already established in order to help these heroes. There are many existing organizations and

programs that can facilitate the transition back to normal civilian life. The Wounded Warrior

Project provides free programs and services to address the needs of wounded warriors and fill

gaps in government care (WWP) and is one of many available for veterans to access. The

programs provided by The Wounded Warrior Project target rehabilitation and treatment of

physical and mental injuries that an individual might have suffered throughout their time in

service. This organization is unique in their treatment since they bring together the warrior,

family or caregiver, treatment team, and community support professionals to establish goals and

a personalized plan (WWP). With this put into place, treatment is less expensive, more

successful, and delivers a faster recovery process for the veterans and their families. The

Wounded Warrior Project also helps veterans navigate the complex systems of the Department

of Veteran Affairs (VA) and Department of Defense (DOD) to provide benefits.

On June 20, 2008, in Afghanistans Helmand Province, Anthony Villarreals life changed

in an instant when a roadside bomb blew up the truck he was driving, also setting off a secondary

explosion from his vehicles ammunition. More than 30% of his body surface was badly burned.

He survived after being in a coma for three months and proceeded onto the long road of recovery

and rehabilitation. Anthonys journey back to life started with two grueling years at Brooke
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Army Medical Center and more than

70 surgeries. He attended a great

number of doctors and other medical

professionals but none could truly

help his mental process like The

Wounded Warrior Project could. He

expressed this by saying Before I

discovered Wounded Warrior

Figure 1 Project, I was shy and timid about

my looks and appearance. I withdrew from people and was always cautious about my

surroundings, never doing much. Now, its like Im carefree. Im more outspoken and outgoing

than ever before. Figure 1 shows Anthony after numerous surgeries wearing a Wounded

Warrior Project shirt (WWP). Anthony credits this organization for the help he needed to

reestablish the strong connection he once had with his family (WWP). He and his wife continue

to receive support by attending Wounded Warrior Project events and being active in a

community that they can relate to.

In 2010, Lisa Hopkins received a call that her son Josh Summers, had nearly been killed

by a grenade while stationed in Afghanistan. She left her manufacturing job in Ohio to visit her

son by his bedside. With the help of the Fisher House Foundation, Lisa stayed in Tampa the

entire eight months Josh was in a coma. She visited with him at the hospital from 7 am until

bedtime every day. When Josh was taken off his feeding tube, Lisa wheeled him to the zoo in his

comatose state to try to stimulate his brain. She took him to the aquarium and pointed out the fish

and whales hoping for a response. Josh miraculously woke up in March of 2011 and the course
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of recovery began. The family found some aspect of normality when Lisa learned about

Wounded Warrior Project. Eager to meet people who could relate, they traveled to Chicago in

August 2012 for the Air and Water Show. Josh said it was the first time he found veterans who

understood his struggles and could share stories of recovery. He also became very involved with

the sporting events organized by The Wounded Warrior Project that aided him in staying fit in

ways he never thought were possible. Josh stated Its amazing that they give soldiers like me an

opportunity to do things that we would have never been able to do, disabled or not.

These stories along thousands of others from across the United States is proof that The

Wounded Warrior Project and other similar programs and organizations can be extremely

effective in the motivation of veteran individuals that need mental help, are unhappy with their

physical appearance, or need to establish their life with family once again. It is of utmost

importance that these programs remain available for all veterans and open doors to other

opportunities as well.

Overall, veterans at one point in their life risked their lives and sacrificed a great amount

for the well-being of our country. This is something that should be a constant reminder as to why

society should change the ways they are overlooked and underappreciated. More help can be

brought to these heroes via awareness of the topic, implementation of more programs, and

increased funds in VA budgets. Addressing the unique health concerns of both deployed and

non-deployed veterans is important and continued observation of all veterans is recommended.

(Kheirbek 1). We must recognize what veterans have done in order to honor or be thankful for

their service. This could help rebuild the life of someone that has given it all in order to ensure

the safety and consistent protection of the United States of America.

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Works Cited

Kaiser, Anica Pless, et al. Consistency of Reporting for Stressful Life Events Among Nondeployed

Soldiers. Journal of Clinical Psychology, vol. 72, no. 10, Aug. 2016, pp. 10881098.,

doi:10.1002/jclp.22311.

Kheirbek, Raya Elfadel, et al. Characteristics and Incidence of Chronic Illness in Community-Dwelling

Predominantly Male U.S. Veteran Centenarians. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society,

vol. 65, no. 9, 2017, pp. 21002106., doi:10.1111/jgs.14900.

Morin, R. (2011). The Difficult Transition from Military to Civilian Life. Pew Research Centers

Social & Demographic Trends Project. http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2011/12/08/the-difficult-

transition-from-military-to-civilian-life/.

Shevory, Kristina. How Do We Keep Veterans with PTSD Out of Jail? Pacific Standard, 18 Mar. 2013,

psmag.com/social-justice/saving-sergeant-nickel-53346.

Whiting, Seth W., et al. Investigating Veterans' Pre-, Peri-, and Post-Deployment Experiences as

Potential Risk Factors for Problem Gambling. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, vol. 5, no. 2,

2016, pp. 213220., doi:10.1556/2006.5.2016.027.

Wounded Warrior Project. Wounded Warrior Project, Inc., 2017, www.woundedwarriorproject.org,

November 8, 2017.