Description of student veteran population The student veteran population can be described as an ethnically diverse group of men and women who have served time in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps or Coast Guard. After service, many veterans seek new careers through the college classroom in the effort to transition into a new phase in their life. Most student veterans are between the ages of 24-40 and are entering the classroom with varying experiences from other student veterans, and are in a different phase of life versus traditional incoming freshman. For many student veterans, they may be the first in their family going to college and may already have a family of their own. As compared to traditional freshman, student …show more content…
With the increase of student veterans entering college communities, the transition process may prove to be difficult. “Leaving the military and enrolling in college can certainly be considered a significant life transition, as veterans move from a highly structured military environment to contexts lacking clear rules or chains of command” (Gilbert & Griffin, 2015). During this time, student veterans are navigating through unfamiliar territory within a college campus, but while reassessing their identity. Student veterans may experience feeling disconnected to their college community. Beyond transitioning from the military into an environment that is unfamiliar, student veterans must cope with having to merge their past to their present. Furthermore, this is a trying time for many student veterans particular due to the rising issues of mental health issues and service-related physical disabilities.
Student veterans enter the classroom and the workforce with many concerns and needs but also many skills gained throughout their time in service. Skills in leadership, team work, organization, structured work habits and advance special training specific fields is a broad overview of skills gained. With their skill intact, student veterans must also handle the issues of mental health, disability financial aid, community engagement, and career are among the many needs to be sought after,
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Veterans may have an additional adjustment to make. The routines of military life are regimented, and veterans can become frustrated by the less structured academic life (Horne Whitley & Tschudi, 2014). While in the military, these veterans may have made life or death decisions and now their decisions are about keeping up with class assignments. Some veterans may feel their responsibilities as a student are less important or significant which may lead to a lack of effort or involvement (Horne Whitley & Tschudi,
Today’s veterans often come home to find that although they are willing to die for their country, they’re not sure how to live for it. It’s hard to know how to live for a country that regularity tears itself apart along every possible ethnic and demographic boundary… In combat, soldiers all but ignore differences of race, religion,and politics within their platoon. It’s no wonder they get so depressed when they come home. (Junger
The mission statement of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) is, “To fulfill President Lincoln's promise ‘To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan’ by serving and honoring the men and women who are America’s vete...
PBS’ Frontline film “The Wounded Platoon” reviews the effects the Iraq war has had on soldiers as they return home and transition back into civilian life, focusing particularly on the rise in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among American military members from Fort Carson Army base (Edge, 2010). Incidents of PTSD have risen dramatically in the military since the beginning of the Iraq war and military mental health policies and treatment procedures have adapted to manage this increase (Edge, 2010). In “The Wounded Platoon,” many military personnel discuss how PTSD, and other mental health struggles, have been inadequately treated (if at all) by military mental health services. Reasons and Perdue’s definition of a social problem allows us to see inadequate treatment of PTSD among returning United States military members as a social problem because it is a condition affecting a significant number of people in undesirable ways that can be remedied through collective action (Reasons & Perdue, 1981).
...s a lot of information out there on student veterans and the GI Bill, and it is hard to keep up on it all. Hopefully this research paper gave a brief introduction of its importance to society. It seems reasonable that all corners of higher education should do what they can to help our veterans. On campus, this translates to reasonable efforts to make small policy modifications that will increase the likelihood that this population of student will succeed. The enrollment of student veterans at colleges and universities will continue to increase into the future. The GI Bill itself will most likely have new additions and another evolution as well. Understanding that student veterans today need more than financial aid upon their entry into college and the more this message is relayed, the better colleges and universities can serve these students during their transition.
While soldiers are away from home, many things might change that they aren’t there for, for example, family problems and disasters. In addition, veterans might come home to a whole different world than when they left, and this already makes their lives more challenging to go with these changes. In addition, soldiers might also come back with physical injuries, like a lost limb, or loss of hearing. As a result, this makes everyday tasks much harder than they actually are. Veterans also might be mentally scarred from war. For example, a mental disorder called post traumatic stress disorder, makes life for the veteran and family much
...ilitary Service Members and Veterans: A Profile of Those Enrolled in Undergraduate and Graduate Education in 2007-2008. Stats in Brief. NCES 2011-163 [Abstract]. National Center for Education Statistics.
In seeking to determine whether the American Legion should open its doors to non-wartime veterans, we must begin with a look at the organization itself:
As men and women serve this country we often forget the importance of what they did and how we give back to them for what they have experienced. Through student surveys that have been gathered, it has been proven in the course of knowledge that 80% of all thirty students surveyed that say they know of someone who is or was a veteran and only 57% of those Veterans receive help. Richelle E. Goodrich stated, “Have you ever stopped to ponder the amount of blood spilt, the volume of tears shed, the degree of pain and anguish endured, the number of noble men a...
Following negative feelings from close individuals in a Veteran’s life, a person taking part in war can become detached.
This year, the United States is set to end over a decade of continuous combat operations in Afghanistan as well as reduce the size of the military in an effort to restrain the growing deficit of the federal government. While some welcome these actions, they will have a significant effect on the men and women of the armed forces. Since the military is now focused on returning to a peacetime posture and cutting personnel, more veterans will be entering the civilian market. These men and women, who come from all walks of American life, will have had vastly different experiences than their civilian counterparts. These veterans will have spent their formative years in a wartime military and while they have so much to offer society, often, their service and they as individuals are stereotyped with unflattering characteristics by civilian managers, which has a negative impact during their post-military search for employment. Some civilians see them as uneducated and suffering from a host of mental problems related to their service. This problem is not only relevant for recent veterans but for all of those who have volunteered to serve in the military. Veteran unemployment is a serious problem for the United States. Those who choose to serve in the military should not be negatively impacted in the civilian marketplace as a result of their sacrifice.
Veterans are viewed as the strongest people in the United States. They constantly deal with daily struggles such as disability and unemployment after their services. After serving in a branch of the United States military, many veterans have trouble finding work. While there are, at times, things that need to be overcome for veterans to be able to work, they are often skilled workers and deserve the opportunity to succeed in the civilian workplace.
A survey of OEF/OIF Veterans identified major rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, alcohol-related problems, social and family problems, and suicidal behavior. However the most alarming statistic is not about deployment rates or rates of diagnoses, the most alarming fact is that fewer than 10% of those diagnosed with PTSD or depression have received the recommended the mental health treatment upon re-integration into society. The dropout rate at the Veterans Association (VA) PTSD clinics is distressingly high as well when looking into VA records it was found that 68% of OEF/OIF Veterans dropped out of their prescribed counseling and programs prior to completion (Garcia et al., 2014). Because most of these men were deployed mul...
It is well known that veterans have the opportunity to pursue a college education after they have served. The problem is students do not know how to appropriately approach or interact with them. Society has even been led to fear them. Edward Palm, author of, “The Veterans are Coming! The Veterans are Coming!”
Veterans have struggles with their civilian life after separating from the U.S Armed Forces. Returning to the civilian life seem to be a big challenge for veterans who have no prior job’s skills for civilian life because they had been influenced from military’s training, have physical and psychological damage.
Each of the three students received the chance to talk about their experiences with military men and women or with veterans. One student in the group has veterans in her family, she shared that her grandfather and great-grandfather are both veterans and have shared stories with her. I shared with the students that my grandfather is a veteran, he served in the United States Marine Corps. Her experience plus mine, not only engaged her, but the other students in the group became more engaged in the text to learn about the veterans as well. After the students told their stories, we started to read the passage aloud together. When the students come to words they do not know how to read or the meaning they highlight the words. When the entire passage is finished being read, the students will say or point to the words they have problems with and everyone in the small group will help to figure the word out. The students helped each other to figure out all of the words except for a couple of the military branches. The students needed some assistance in figuring out what the Coastguard and National Guard are and how they do their