Social security during COVID-19: the experiences of military veterans

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Military Veteran Students’ Pathways in Engineering Education (Year 1: Award# 1428646)Military veterans hold tremendous promise for expanding and diversifying the engineeringworkforce. Given the diverse backgrounds of veterans, their increasing numbers, and thegrowing national demand for engineering professionals, the timing is ideal to study theconditions under which student veterans pursue engineering education and the factors that offerthem the greatest support for success. Increasing the participation of veterans in engineeringoffers the possibility of enhancing engineering’s diversity in many needed dimensions since,compared to civilian students, veterans are more likely to be older, first-generation collegestudents, disabled, African American, or Latino. Yet, little is known regarding the educationalpathways and experiences of student veterans into engineering. This project therefore aims toaddress gaps in the literature on student veterans in engineering through a comparative casestudy across four institutions: University of San Diego, North Carolina State University, PurdueUniversity, and Clemson University. The following research questions are addressed:1. Why do veterans pursue a Bachelor’s degree in engineering?2. How do military experiences shape student veterans’ educational experiences?3. What are the experiences of student veterans in engineering education?4. How do institutions support veterans in engineering education?The research plan incorporates content analysis of academic policies that student veteransencounter, interviews with key informants on each campus, focus group interviews with studentveterans, and in-depth student interviews to elicit rich narratives. The theoretical frameworkbuilds on Tinto’s student integration model and Schlossberg’s adult transition theory. Data willbe analyzed with the lens of intersectionality to elucidate differences stemming from theintersection of military status with race, gender, ability, sexual orientation, and socioeconomicstatus. Findings will provide context and information for various applications, such as:development of new strategies to support student veterans' success, identification of overlookedareas to promote student veterans' participation in engineering, and generation of criticalinformation for development of larger-scale studies for investigating student veterans inengineering. Thus, this study has potential for broad systemic impact by diversifying pathways toand through engineering programs, and in capitalizing on the informal and real-worldexperiences of engineering student veterans.

Higher education and the military have been linked throughout history in the United States. Now, with the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq the higher education community is beginning to realize again the importance of understanding student veterans‘ transition experiences into college and providing appropriate support programs. However, the experiences of war veterans making the transition from servicemember to college student are not clearly understood. Consequently, community colleges and other institutions of higher education may not possess the information necessary to assist these students effectively. The purpose of this phenomenological, qualitative research study was to explore the nature of the transition experiences of student war veterans who had re-enrolled in a community college following military deployments. Using Schlossberg‘s Theory of Transition (Goodman, Schlossberg, & Anderson, 2006) as the theoretical framework and a three-interview series (Seidman, 2006) as the primary method of data collection, four themes characterized participants‘ transition experiences: (a) negotiating the transition, (b) interactions and connections with others, (c) increased maturity and changes in perspective, and (d) re-situating and negotiating identities. These findings could be used to help community colleges and other institutions of higher education to understand more clearly the experiences of student veterans. They could also help to inform student affairs professionals, administrators, and faculty as they make policy and programming decisions related to student veteran populations.

The value of adherence to basic liberal democratic approaches to market self-regulation of the economy is emphasised. At the same time, given the particularly difficult conditions that the Ukrainian people are going through, which has given rise to a separate priority public interest not only for Ukrainian society, the author considers the concept that not only socially vulnerable/unable to protect themselves, but also, first and foremost, citizens who perform extremely important duties to the State and their people deserve special recognition and provision of special social security, and improvement of conditions for the exercise of labour and other rights of war veterans. This idea is substantiated in accordance with the provisions of the main section of the Constitution of Ukraine, Ukrainian legislation, and the principles of labour and social security legislation. The author distinguishes approaches of the state social security policy to different categories of citizens, in particular, two main ones: 1) when a certain regulation is established for subjects unconditionally, i.e. without any requirements regarding the corresponding obligations of such persons towards the state; 2) when the state policy with appropriate legal regulation of social protection and support is introduced for persons who have undertaken to perform particularly important priority functions for the state, to protect the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of the internationally recognised borders of Ukraine. In the latter case, it is emphasised that such regulation is conditional, since the priority is the fulfilment of a citizen's primary duty to the state, which gives rise to the right to social security for combatants, other war veterans and members of their families. It is logically suggested that in such a 'conditional' legal regulation of social security, the distinction between 'basic' and 'extended' social security would be consistent with the principles of social justice. At the same time, 'basic' social security is designed for all those who have performed a relevant duty towards the state, and 'extended' social security is created for volunteers, based on the criterion of forced (mobilised) or independent, voluntary performance of military duty (volunteers). Such a state policy would not only recognise the special role of war veterans, but would also be logically justified by the fact that volunteers have greatly simplified the already complex process of mobilising those liable for military service, thus saving the state some resources.

ABSTRACTThe majority of research concerning student veterans has been conducted at the university level, with minimum analysis performed at the level where the vast majority of returning veterans attend school: the community college. While some research has discussed what services colleges and universities should offer returning veterans, little research has been conducted on understanding the actual experiences of veterans making the transition from service member to college student. A group of varied gender and racial backgrounds took part in an effort to describe the lived experiences of combat veterans making the transition into community college after active military service. Findings include the inadequacy of current models for use in understanding student-veteran transition experiences, particularly at the community college, and the discovery that the majority of student veterans involved in this study do not take part in on-campus programs specifically designed for them. The experiences of military veterans who enroll in community colleges subsequent to deployment in a combat environment since 11 September 2001 have not been adequately researched and remain misunderstood (Ewing, 2011; Gomez, 2011; Karni, 2011; Wood, 2011). Existing models of student transition used to describe the student-veteran experience are largely inadequate and framed around traditional 4-year colleges and universities. As a result, higher education stakeholders may not have the necessary information to effectively assist this growing student demographic. Further research will increase the body of knowledge in this important area and, it is hoped, lead to more effective educational policies regarding student veterans.

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article LettersFull AccessFraudulent Claims of Combat Status in the VA?John M. McGrath, Capt., USN (Ret.), and B. Christopher Frueh, Ph.D.John M. McGrathSearch for more papers by this author, Capt., USN (Ret.), and B. Christopher FruehSearch for more papers by this author, Ph.D.Published Online:1 Mar 2002https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.53.3.345AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail To the Editor: In the Veterans Affairs system, there is a growing awareness of the potential problem of fraudulent self-reports of combat experience, which has an impact on the provision of both medical services and benefits. The experiences of veterans' service organizations, such as NAM-POWS, Inc., provide ample anecdotal evidence that some persons fabricate stories of combat heroics and wartime captivity. This problem has also been documented in the mainstream literature, where Burkett and Whitley (1) have described Vietnam veteran imposters and fraudulent claims of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the VA system. There is also empirical evidence that veterans are prone over time to inflate their reports of combat exposure (2). Veterans evaluated for PTSD in the VA system consistently score at extreme levels of psychopathology across different domains of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2), and they obtain extreme elevations on validity scales for this instrument, suggesting exaggerated reports of symptoms and malingering (3).Many people who suffer from severe mental illness experience genuine occupational impairment and related financial hardship (4). However, the substantial medical services and benefits offered by the VA may serve as incentives for fraud and abuse. In 1996 total compensation and pension expenditures for the VA were estimated to be more than $18 billion; 2.2 million of the surviving 25.4 million veterans (8.9 percent) received some level of service-connected disability benefits (5). When claims are denied, veterans may appeal the decision an indefinite number of times. Such repeat claims outnumber original claims almost three to one and dominate the VA adjudication system (5). Furthermore, in a previous study our group found that 69 percent of veterans who seek treatment for PTSD in the VA system apply for psychiatric disability (3). These "compensation-seeking" veterans obtained much higher elevations on MMPI-2 validity scales associated with symptom malingering than did the "non-compensation-seeking" veterans in the study.Fraudulent self-reports of combat experience and fraudulent claims constitute a clear problem, which the VA system has not been responsive to. For example, procedures for checking the veracity of combat reports, prisoner of war (POW) status, or even veteran status are often inadequate or not implemented; disability evaluations for PTSD typically do not include state-of-the-art assessment procedures; and attempts by veterans' service organizations to report POW or combat veteran imposters are often ignored or discouraged. This system failure not only costs the VA large sums in terms of medical care and benefits for fraudulent claims, but it also does a great disservice to the legitimate veterans who need and deserve VA care and benefits.There are relatively painless ways to improve the system. The VA could easily conduct better background checks by using computerized database searches and the Freedom of Information Act. Disability evaluations for PTSD should include appropriate structured interviews and the MMPI-2 validity scales to identify potential malingering. Suspected malingerers should be given a psychophysiological assessment. Although these procedures would increase costs, they should quickly produce much larger savings by reducing fraud and abuse within the system. A major barrier to reducing fraud is the "neither confirm nor deny" attitude of the VA bureaucracy. As long as the VA continues to ignore the problem, fraud and abuse will be perpetuated within the system.Capt. McGrath is president of NAM-POWS, Inc., in Monument, Colorado. Dr. Frueh is associate professor at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

Research published prior to Covid-19 has illustrated some of the difficulties that veterans can experience within the benefits. Drawing upon unique insights from the UK’s first substantive qualitative research focusing on veterans within the benefits system, this chapter revisits pre-Covid concerns around mental health, benefits processes and support networks to explore the impact of the pandemic. Drawing on the accounts of a cohort of veterans who have complex needs, we provide important insights for policy and practice in relation to the need for careful consideration of when, how (or indeed whether) we return to ‘business as usual’ within the benefits system. Second, drawing on the accounts of our cohort of veterans provides an important contribution from those whose families are ‘fractured’ or where ‘family’, in the traditional sense, is absent. As such, we highlight the importance of taking a wider perspective on the nature of family, and particularly the importance and function of peer networks when considering how people experience, and are supported through, periods of crisis.

Afghanistan and Iraq veterans experienced traumas during deployment, and disrupted connections with friends and family. In this context, it is critical to understand the nature of veterans’ transition to civilian life, the challenges navigated, and approaches to reconnection. We investigated these issues in a qualitative study, framed by homecoming theory, that comprised in-depth interviews with 24 veterans. Using an inductive thematic analysis approach, we developed three overarching themes. Military as family explored how many veterans experienced the military environment as a “family” that took care of them and provided structure. Normal is alien encompassed many veterans experiences of disconnection from people at home, lack of support from institutions, lack of structure, and loss of purpose upon return to civilian life. Searching for a new normal included strategies and supports veterans found to reconnect in the face of these challenges. A veteran who had successfully transitioned and provided support and advice as a peer navigator was frequently discussed as a key resource. A minority of respondents—those who were mistreated by the military system, women veterans, and veterans recovering from substance abuse problems—were less able to access peer support. Other reconnection strategies included becoming an ambassador to the military experience, and knowing transition challenges would ease with time. Results were consistent with and are discussed in the context of homecoming theory and social climate theory. Social support is known to be protective for veterans, but our findings add the nuance of substantial obstacles veterans face in locating and accessing support, due to disconnection and unsupportive institutions. Larger scale work is needed to better understand how to foster peer connection, build reconnection with family, and engage the broader community to understand and support veterans; interventions to support reconnection for veterans should be developed.

ABSTRACTThis qualitative study illustrates how complex perceptions of identity influence the community college experience for student veterans who have been in combat, creating barriers to their overall persistence. The collective experiences of student combat veterans at two community colleges in northwestern Massachusetts are presented, and a Combat Veteran Conceptual Identity Model to illustrate the ongoing negotiation of identity combat veterans experience while in college is introduced. Notable implications for future research and practice in Student Affairs are discussed.

Introduction. Features of the financing of social protection and social security in conditions of large-scale war include increased spending on military needs, assistance to IDPs, reconstruction of damaged infrastructure facilities, and provision of medical assistance to the injured. On the other hand, martial law can lead to a reduction in spending on social programs due to the redistribution of budget funds to the country’s defense needs. The study of this topic will make it possible to understand how the military conflict affects the financial possibilities of providing social protection and social security for the population of Ukraine, to identify problematic aspects and to look for effective financing strategies in such conditions. The purpose of the article is to reveal the theoretical and practical foundations of the financing mechanism of social protection and social security in Ukraine, to identify possible strategies and prospects for optimizing this system in the face of new challenges. Results. The theoretical foundations of financing social protection and social security in Ukraine are highlighted. The dynamics of budgetary financing of social protection and social security and the structure and composition of expenditures of the State and local budgets for social security and social security are analyzed. The peculiarities of expenditures on social protection and social welfare in the conditions of a large-scale war are highlighted. The main problems were revealed and ways of improving the system of financing social protection and social security were formed. Conclusions. The beginning of a large-scale war on the territory of Ukraine significantly affected the social protection of the population. The hostilities caused an increase in expenses for social assistance, and in the future only an increase in this item of expenses is predicted. In the post-war years, spending on social protection and social security will only increase due to a significant increase in war veterans, persons with disabilities, IDPs affected by the military conflict, as well as citizens who will suffer from economic difficulties and social challenges caused by the war. Therefore, today, an important task for the state is to ensure social protection and social security during such a crisis situation as war, and in the future - comprehensive regulation of the social protection system of Ukraine.

When the Hurlyburly's Done / When the Battle's Lost and WonService, Suffering, and Survival of Civil War and Great War Veterans Ian Isherwood (bio) Marching in the Gettysburg Liberty Parade in May 1918 was a drum corps consisting entirely of Civil War veterans.1 As local citizens demonstrated their patriotism—notably with the Kaiser hanging in effigy—the old soldiers helped keep the pace for two thousand citizens who turned out to vigorously support the Great War. It was no doubt a moving moment, the nation's largest veteran demographic encouraging and supporting the next generation of soldiers to fight for cause and country in a very different war waged on a very different continent. Though fifty years separated the trenches of Petersburg from those of the western front, for one moment, the men who fought in the nation's bloodiest war marched alongside doughboys who were training, on a battlefield of that war, to fight in France.2 It is common to see the two conflicts as though existing in separate historical worlds. One is distinctly nineteenth century in its conduct and in its soldiers' experiences. The other is decidedly more modern; it was fought with bolt-action rifles, high explosives, and during it, new technologies like tanks, airplanes, and gas came into their own as weapons of war. To see the Civil War and Great War as similar invites obvious criticism. But soldiers who fought in each could identify common characteristics of their experiences. Soldiers of both wars knew the deep bonds of service forged through fire that carried over into the uncertain postwar world; both knew the burden of survival and living with mental or physical reminders of their service; and they both knew what it was like to survive, memorialize old comrades, and guard the memory of their war generation for decades afterward. When the doughboys came back from France, they shared spaces of memory—Memorial Day parades and Armistice Day observances—with veterans who understood what it was like to come home from a major war. [End Page 109] In both the United States and Great Britain scholars of the Civil War and the First World War have increased their attention to veterans' history, and, despite the major differences between the two conflicts, historians approach these subjects using similar language and methods.3 This essay considers comparatively this literature according to three tropes common in the historiography of both wars: service, suffering, and survival. First, scholars in each field have focused on how veterans created a sense of group identity—defined here as a war generation—based on the shared experience of military service.4 Veterans organized, lobbied, wrote, and sought care from one another and within their communities. Second, scholars are particularly interested in the concept of suffering, a subject that has grown in influence due to a wider discussion of veterans and mental health. Both war generations returned men and women who lived through traumatic events, and historians of the Civil War and the First World War have built a substantial literature around the psychology of traumatic experiences, one that has fostered significant debate. The last concept for analysis is the notion of survival. In both cases, by surviving and participating in memorialization, veterans were important to the legacy of their wars. Veterans served as agents of memory for decades; they reflected on and wrote about their experiences, erected monuments to lost comrades, and participated in social rituals acknowledging their status within society. Through their service, suffering, and survival, veterans became powerful reminders of their wars; they helped frame how later scholars interpreted both the Civil War and First World War as it was—and as it has been—experienced and remembered. Though there are general similarities in veteran experiences in the modern period, it is important to acknowledge that the concept of the "universal veteran" is inherently problematic.5 Each conflict is obviously distinct, and every society has its own culturally constructed ways of understanding war. Yet, the way historians write about veterans across the two fields reflects parallel themes, indicating researchers' practical impulse to use similar methodologies and tools to conceptualize veterans across time and space. While veterans' experiences...

sometimes find myself wondering, in a sudden panic, whether I'm not in the way of developing great numb patches in my sensibility of which I shall never be cured even if I do come through this war...I sometimes see myself in the future transformed into a sort of invalid who has suffered an amputation of all his delicate sentiments, like a man who has lost all his fingers and can only feel things with a couple of stumps. And there will be millions of us like that. -Jules Romains, Men of Good Will don't feel like me anymore. -Timmy, Born on the Fourth of July The theme of this paper is the returning war veteran. It began as a comparison of four films, The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler, 1946), The Men (Fred Zinnemann, 1950), Coming Home (Hal Ashby, 1978), and Born on the Fourth of July (Oliver Stone, 1989), each dealing with the experience of returning veterans from one of two conflicts, World War II or the Vietnam War. There was clearly what Dixon Wecter calls a repetition of pattern in those experiences, so that it became interesting to compare how far these patterns could be extended and what other mediums apart from film had been used to illustrate the veteran experience. It seemed that some kind of commonalty emerged from the accounts of veterans, their families and the wider society into which they returned, and that the difficulties and problems described in such accounts were universal. But popular culture, and perhaps popular myth also, leaves one with a sense that the experience for the Vietnam veteran was somehow different. Not only was this war more problematic for society but the position of its veterans was also more complicated. This paper seeks to question that sense of difference. Was the Vietnam veteran's experience much changed from that of other veterans and, if so, what reasons can be found for this difference? The paper will compare veteran experiences from a number of other conflicts and, while using the four films cited as a basis for discussion, it will also call upon evidence from literature and history. In his farsighted book, Veteran Comes Back, written in 1944 as America was considering the fate of the returning World War II veteran, Professor Willard Waller wrote extensively of the problems encountered by previous veteran groups. The issues he raises form a useful baseline for any consideration of the veteran experience. He writes most impressively about anger and isolation, the two traits which seem, at least initially, to define the veteran's state of mind. Waller describes his own encounters with veterans from World War I: The soldier is glad to be home, but he comes home angry... In the early months of 1919, the writer [Waller] talked with a great many other demobilized soldiers on Chicago streets. Although he had felt something of the service-man's rebellion, he was astonished as any civilian at the intensity of their fury. They were angry about something; it was not clear just what. The writer questioned many of them, but found not one who could put his grievances into understandable form. But there was never any mistaking their temper. They hated somebody for something. (95)2 This anger is most immediately expressed in the actions of soldiers still in the field. Dixon Wecter describes the feelings of the soldier at the end of the American Civil War: A freeborn American, he could not always comprehend why the red tape of demobilization held him back (135). Once the conflict ends, soldiers have time to brood over the conditions which, in wartime seemed necessary, but which are now vexing. Wecter records two comments from soldiers awaiting demobilization after World War I: sure am homesick since they quit wrote an Illinois private to his mother...While they were fighting, it never entered my mind. But now that is about all I have to think about. The second [comment] comes from a young schoolteacher draftee from Virginia: Nobody minded the lice very much until after the Armistice (272). …

Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Veterans report living with chronic pain at nearly double the rate of comparable Canadians. They have unique pain management needs, highlighting the need for further research. Aquatic exercise is one treatment option that may offer meaningful benefits. This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of CAF Veterans incorporating aquatic exercise as part of their pain management routines, offering insight into its potential role in managing chronic pain among military Veterans. Informed by interpretive phenomenological analysis, ten CAF Veterans with chronic pain and experience with aquatic exercise were interviewed. Three superordinate themes were constructed: Respite from the pain; reconstructing an identity as a physically capable individual; and reclaiming a sense of self and seeing a new path forward. Exercise has the potential to improve pain, function, and quality of life for individuals living with pain. Among CAF Veterans, aquatic exercise can further support personal growth, development, and recovery after release from the military. The findings provide insight for rehabilitation providers of the positive experiences and additional impacts of participating in aquatic exercise for CAF Veterans with chronic pain. Rehabilitation providers may consider incorporating aquatic exercise into physical activity-based rehabilitation programs for CAF Veterans living with musculoskeletal pain. The current investigation was approved by and followed the recommendations of the Health Sciences and Affiliated Teaching Hospitals Research Ethics Board at Queen's University (REH-797-21).

World War II veterans earn more than nonveterans in their cohort. We test whether the World War II veteran premium reflects nonrandom selection into the military of men with higher earnings potential. The estimation is based on the fact that from 1942 to 1947 priority for conscription was determined by date of birth. Information on individuals' dates of birth may therefore be used to construct instrumental variables for veteran status. Empirical results from the 1960, 1970, and l980 censuses, along with two other microdata sets support a conclusion that World War II veterans earn no more than comparable nonveterans and may well earn less. Copyright 1994 by University of Chicago Press.

Objective: One in 4 active-duty US military personnel report needing support for mental health issues. This proportion increases to 41% of all US military veterans, suggesting mental health status may worsen by the transition from active duty to civilian life. In this study, we explore the lived experiences of veterans in the South Carolina Lowcountry as they transition from active service to civilian life, with an emphasis on identifying services and support for this population. Methods: We used a qualitative design employing a grounded theory approach. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 veterans in the first year of reintegration to civilian life that examined the following areas: (1) social isolation; (2) physical isolation; and (3) self-reported levels of mental distress. Results: Thematic saturation was reached with the following emerging themes: (1) perceived mental distress due to social and physical isolation, (2) difficulty transitioning from the military “family” to one’s actual family, (3) confusion regarding identity and place in society, and an expressed (4) need for services to support this critical period in a veteran’s life. Conclusions: Our interview data provide insight about the experiences of military veterans as they return to civilian life and offer evidence for the need for better integration into the social and physical fabric of the population using both existing and enhanced community-based support programs