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Give Back To Vets

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By MIKE MULLEN Special to the Los Angeles Times

The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 27, 2008

During a recent visit to the veterans hospital in Los Angeles, I ran across a young man fresh out of the Army. He had fought in Afghanistan and was recovering from some of his wounds. He was also homeless and, quite frankly, a little frustrated by what he saw as cumbersome and inefficient layers of bureaucracy between the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.

It had taken weeks to finish his separation paperwork, months to get his disability rating (which determines his compensation), and it will likely take years before he can be completely self-sufficient. Simple things like holding down a job and owning a home seem anything but simple to him right now.

"I gave my country 100 percent," he said. "All I ask for is 100 percent in return."

It's not too much to ask that we bind the wounds of war. And we are. More than 35,000 troops have been injured in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, many of whom might have died had it not been for the excellent medical care they received at field and military and veterans hospitals all over the world.

But I worry a lot about the wounds we don't see, the ones we don't yet fully understand. Recent studies suggest that nearly 20 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have incurred traumatic brain injury, and a like number suffer from post-traumatic stress. Many have both. And it doesn't help that there is still a stigma attached to mental health problems.

And it's also not too much to ask that we look after the families of the fallen. Not everyone makes it home from war. For each of the more than 4,800 servicemen and women who have been killed since 9/11, there are mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives and children who suffer unspeakable loss. These families, too, have sacrificed so much - everything really - and we can't forget our obligation to stand by them for the rest of their lives.

During that same trip to Los Angeles, I spent some time at a facility called New Directions. The staff there offers a wide variety of services for homeless veterans, including job training and placement, parenting and money management classes, legal and financial assistance, counseling and remedial education.

Residents leave the program with a job, housing, a savings account, computer skills, renewed self-confidence and the support of mentors and peers.

The need is real. Some experts believe we are producing homeless vets faster than we ever have. Programs like those at New Directions are a good start for these men and women. But so much more needs to be done.

Mike Mullen is the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

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