Veteran Programs 2 of 2
The third month of Veteran Studies highlights one state (happens to be ours), that really does a lot right for Veterans and those on the #TransitionRoad, but even they have issues.
Sarah N. Crain, May 2019
FROM SOLDIER TO CIVILIAN: A REVIEW OF TEXAS VETERAN REINTEGRATION PROGRAMS FOR FACTORS THAT AID OR INHIBIT THE SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION OF NEWLY-DISCHARGED MILITARY
Tarleton State University, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2019. 13814401, https://search.proquest.com/openview/0cd74078e17d4cd4d83a86886f29378a/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y
ABSTRACT
The U.S. Census (2017) estimates that there are 1.6 million veterans in Texas. There are a significant number of government and nonprofit organizations that help veterans reintegrate into society. Asking professionals at these veteran nonprofit organizations who specialize in serving this population will determine what factors attribute to successes and failures in making the change from soldier to civilian. Surveying organizations allows for research beyond the literature for critical variables that assist veteran reintegration into civilian life. This study does not attempt to be an extensive list of all programs offered through nonprofits, but instead it seeks to determine key strengths by interviewing professionals that serve thousands of veterans throughout the State of Texas and asking those professionals what services, personal characteristics or other assets they have found to be beneficial for their clients during reintegration. A content analysis of these interviews suggests a consensus among the respondents about what assets can be focused upon to increase the likelihood of successful reintegration for the future. Respondents believed that there are client and program factors that limit success. The most common program limitations are lack of funding, a veteran mindset warrior ethos, and lack of marketing while the most common veteran limitations are veterans’ attitudes and veterans’ support systems. The literature on this subject goes back about thirteen years and this study confirms that veterans are still facing the same issues.
MaxTalk:
From this link you will only get the overview, but it is worth seeking out from your library or through ProQuest. What I would like to highlight this month is that there are some great programs that are nation wide down to locality based; within in some states (Texas in particular) there is a great focus and effort to get at Veteran support and specifically to the period of transition from Service to Civilian life (again). Even with all the focus, effort, staffing, and money, there are still huge gaps and seams that exist. This study highlights that still, for over a decade the same issues exist. We must take a different approach to transition; first from within the DoD by building a grassroots leadership effort that starts at enlistment and continues from the Military Education System; from the States, they need to look across their States (and across the nation) for successful programs and leverage them whether they are non-profits (like the USO Pathfinder program) or local government based (like Bexar County, Veteran and Military support offices).
Saint Maximus leverages the Veteran Support Programs it supports or partners with to bring those best practices into industry. We further support and are engaged in lobbying efforts to Congress and the Executive Branch to bring some change beyond the recent changes to law and the NDA!