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Originally posted by KSigkid
There's part of me that thinks that this woman knew what she was getting into when she entered the armed forces, and that she should have planned ahead for when she came home (or had something set up so that her children would be well taken care of).
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If I recall correctly, single parents who enlist are supposed to have someone take over power of attorney of their child(ren) during their deployment, up to 6 months after their arrival to prevent this exact thing from happening. I had a WTF?! moment when I read the story. There's probably more that they're not saying.
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I think veterans are entitled to some extra benefits, don't get me wrong. I think there should be mechanisms in place for them to get acclimated back into society, and support as they get back into the workplace and the community as a whole.
I just don't know how far it should go. I've never been in the armed forces, so I can't understand what it feels like to come back from war/service and go back to square one. Most of what I know is information I've heard from my dad; he's a veteran of Vietnam, and he's told me how there was some help in place, but basically he got back from Vietnam, had a week to gather himself, and started work almost right away. I'm wondering how many people now are planning for that reality, and how many don't even think about that when they go overseas.
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Today's veterans are not coming out as prepared for the real world as WWII and Vietnam era veterans were. No, I don't have any evidence other than antecdotal to support that, but this is an all-volunteer armed forces filled with young kids who didn't really understand what they were getting into. Since so much of the enlisted force came in before 9/11, all they had ever known was a peacetime army. I don't think that men going to Vietnam 40 years ago had any illusions in their head. They knew that war was going to be hell. Their fathers experienced it in WWII or Korea, and their grandfathers in WWI. These kids now don't have the experience of growing up around a ton of veterans willing to share their experiences.
VA benefits are pretty decent, but not if it's your only means of support. My father is a Vietnam-era veteran who has a serious Agent Orange-related illness. The VA hospital is great with free prescriptions and general check-ups, but he still has to use his private insurance to see specialists related to this condition; fortunately his employer held his position and paid his regular salary while he was recovering. Some vets don't have those safety nets in place, and that's where they start suffering. At the very very least, the VA should provide for complete care of service-related injuries.
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