Repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell: Was it really a step in the right direction?

     In 2011, the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy was repealed, and most people saw it as a victory for the LGBT community. The policy, which allowed for closeted soldiers to join but prevented those who were openly homosexual, was first put in place during the Clinton administration in 1993. By the beginning of President Obama's first term as President, many people saw DADT as an outdated system that needed to be changed. What they didn't seem to consider was the effect it could have on the current war.
     Specialist Micah Merrill is a soldier in the army who identifies as homosexual. When Merrill heard that the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy was on its way to being repealed, he enlisted in the army in the Summer of 2011. Upon joining, he went through the same procedures as all other soldiers, until he was asked a series of questions by officers with his new platoon at Fort Hood. Some of those questions included "How many guys have you f****d?", "Have you seen Brokeback Mountain?", and "Why did you choose to be homosexual?" (The Wire).
     In December 2010, Marine Corps Gen. James Amos suggested that "assimilating openly homosexual Marines into the tightly woven fabric of our combat units has strong potential for disruption." Army Gen. George Casey Jr. made similar arguments, referring to a Pentagon survey that stated "over 40 percent of our combat arms soldiers believe a gay soldier in their ranks would hurt effectiveness, trust, and morale" (The Wire). Although the removal of DADT seemed positive to the majority of civilians, those actually involved in the military understood what it could entail. Unfortunately, there are still many old-school personnel who do not accept gays. Merrill dealt with harassment from his fellow soldiers and even his superiors, and was told by a platoon leader that as a gay person, he was "a disgrace to the uniform."
     Although Merrill and other gay soldiers face discrimination daily, they also believe that things will get better over time, slowly but surely. There is also legislation supported by the American Bar Association that would allow soldiers discharged under DADT due to their sexual orientation to request a change in military records (ABA). Although these changes won't happen overnight and there will always be some discrimination against the gay community, it seems as though things are moving in the right direction.

Military Nurses & Medics

     When thinking about the military and it's service members, people don't always consider the medics and nurses that save lives everyday. Even less often do they think about what happens to them after they are finished serving. Not only are they pressed to find jobs like other veterans, they have experienced horrific injuries which sometimes trigger post-traumatic stress disorder.

      Luckily for some, the University of South Florida is trying to help. According to the Tampa Tribune, there were around 20,000 former medics and navy corpsman unemployed "because many didn’t think they had the access or ability to pursue a bachelor’s degree." USF's new program, called V-Care, is designed specifically for veterans and allows them to receive a bachelors degree in nursing after just 4 semesters. 

     Many, if not all, veteran medics have enough experience to be a civilian nurse, so they need to be taught under professors who understand what they have been through. If able to work past PTSD, these nurses and medics can become serious assets to civilian society.

Homeless Veterans

     One thing I've never understood about veterans is how they become homeless. While working in Philadelphia for two summers, I saw many homeless people, and at least 25% of them claimed to be veterans. Some of them had missing limbs or were otherwise disabled, and it was amazing to me that someone who risked their life for our country could be left on the street to suffer.
     Transitioning from active combat to normal civilian life can be extremely difficult, especially for those who suffer from PTSD or physical disabilities. Although some veterans are able to find jobs without much trouble, others are left searching. Some choose to pursue careers like Firefighting and Law Enforcement, which have similar ranks and training systems to the military, but others have limited education and are unable to find work.
    According to an article on Military.com, one of the biggest factors that causes veterans to become homeless is their inability to responsibly handle finances. According to the article, veterans are "less familiar with household budgets, more likely to be targets for predatory lenders and “may not have the opportunity to learn the skills necessary for being financially independent and managing money." According to a statistic from Veterans, Inc., approximately 33% of homeless males are veterans. Although there are other factors, educating veterans and other military personnel about financial responsibility would be a fairly easy and inexpensive way to address and help reduce the amount of homeless or otherwise financially unstable veterans.
     The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hopes to end veteran homelessness by 2015, saying that "no one who has served our country should ever go without a safe, stable place to call home" (VA). Although some may see this as improbable, everyone can agree that no veteran should be left on the streets, ignored by most. With help from government funding, donations, and volunteers, perhaps eventually homeless veterans will become a thing of the past.

Sexual Assault: The Victims and the court system

     While working on the "Problem" project where Kristen Wolfe and I focused on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in returning veterans, we made some interesting discoveries. One of the soldiers we talked to, Major Jon Black, told us that since he has retired from active duty, one of his new responsibilities involves dealing with sexual assault in the military. According to Black, it is much more prevalent in the military than one would expect. He says it happens in many different forms (male assaulting female, male assaulting male, female assaulting male, female assaulting female), and male victims often have the hardest time talking about their experiences.
     According to The Daily Beast, 26,000 military personnel reported being victims of sexual assault in 2012. This information was obtained using an anonymous survey, and greatly differs from information provided by the Pentagon, which only accounts for 3,374 cases in 2012. Some say this is due to the military withholding information, but the problem goes deeper than that.
     When it comes to sexual assault, military commanders have the power to decide which cases get investigated and go to trial, and which ones do not. Therefore, if a military commander is a perpetrator of sexual assault or wants to protect someone who is, they can choose not to send the case to trial. The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate Armed Services Committee are working to pass new bills that could change sexual assault in the military forever. These bills would "strip commanders of their ability to overturn jury convictions, install civilian review of decisions to not prosecute cases, mandate dishonorable discharge or dismissal for anyone convicted of sexual assault, make it a crime to retaliate against victims who report a sexual assault, require commanders to include sexual harassment in performance evaluations to track and prevent further misconduct, eliminate the statute of limitations in these cases, and many others" (USA Today). However, some are fighting these new bills, saying that stripping the commanders of their power over these cases would "risk decreasing the level of accountability in the process."
     Luckily for victims, the government shutdown has not impacted their ability to get help with these issues. The Pentagon, home to the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO), has determined that those who work with sexual assault victims are essential to the military's efforts. According to ThinkProgress, Victim services available through the DoD Safe Helpline are uninterrupted at SafeHelpline.org

Blog Post 1: Finding the Story

For our first project, Kristen Wolfe and I decided to do a story on post dramatic stress disorder, or PTSD with veteran soldiers. What we didn't realize was how difficult it could be to get someone to agree to interview with us on camera. Plenty of veteran soldiers have been diagnosed with PTSD, but for most of them it is a touchy subject that they'd rather only discuss with those they know and trust. Last week we went to the Irish Penny and the bartender there gave us the name of a retired soldier who would be more than happy to talk to us. She wasn't sure if he had PTSD but she gave us his name and we were able to find and message him via Facebook. He still has not responded. However, yesterday we finally made some progress. We went to the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) and met 2 veterans who said they'd be willing to talk to us on camera. The one (Danny Stinson) seemed to be the more promising interview. We set up a meeting with him for later this week. He also told us that tonight there would be a troop of soldiers coming back to the Salisbury armory from Iraq. We went there yesterday in the afternoon and talked to Rob Clayton, John Black, and Major Keen who gave us permission to film the event. Rob Clayton and John Black also turned out to be diagnosed with PTSD and said they wouldn't mind doing on camera interviews with us later this week. We are also planning to meet with some counselors and nurses who deal with soldiers diagnosed with PTSD, and I will post more on the topic once those interviews have been completed.