Veterans First

VETERANS ARE THE PRIORITY
We should pay particular attention to our Veterans. These are people who volunteered to serve our country in time of need. Our time of need is here and they are serving valiantly. How we treat our Veterans and future Veterans is going to affect our country economically, politically and socially for as long as our nation is in existence.
Veterans will be returning home eventually. They need to have a place to prosper when they return to civilian life. We saw from previous conflicts what can happen if we do not find a way to merge them back into society.
Veterans will be facing several issues when they return. We need to be prepared to provide services to meet their needs and help them deal with these issues. Three major areas to concentrate on will be mental health, physical health and employment. We do have programs in place to address these issues but we need to be prepared for the influx of Veterans needing these services.
When it comes to the Veteran’s mental health the major concern of course is post traumatic stress disorder. This is a real diagnosis and it can affect many of our veterans returning from overseas. It can cause veterans to actually end up behind bars and in our prison systems or mental health facilities at the tax payer’s expense if not treated properly. Hopefully, we are ahead of this and are planning accordingly.
We also have the physical health issue. Many of our Veterans are returning from overseas after being wounded in action. The Veterans Administration (VA) has provides rehabilitation services and financial aid for disabled Veterans. The VA also provides prosthetic services to better help our Veterans function in society. We need to make sure that the VA has everything they need to provide proper treatment and aid for the increased number of wounded Veterans.
Finally we have employment. It is in society’s best interest to return the Veteran to the work force. It shows that we have respect for our Veterans. It shows future generations that military service is something you can be proud of. It re-introduces a tax paying member of society back into the economy. Our choice is either support the veteran in becoming a productive member of society or a dependant member of society. As a Veteran I much prefer being a productive member of society and I am sure my peers would as well.