PRESIDENT Barack Obama on Tuesday August 26 2014, promised that his administration would move swiftly to fix significant problems in the Veterans Administration and to both assist veterans and active military personnel.
Speaking at the 96th National Convention of the American Legion, President Obama, was at pains to try and rebound from a high profile Veterans Affairs scandal that recently rocked the nation.
The United States has a Department of Veterans Affairs, which was formed in July 1930. In 2013 the VA’s annual budget was US$78 billion.
The VA is a government run military veteran benefit system with cabinet level status. It is responsible for hundreds of medical facilities, clinics, and benefits offices which administer programmes of veterans including benefits to veterans’ families.
The VA’s primary function is to support veterans in their time after service by providing benefits and support.
A current initiative in the department is to prevent and end veterans’ homelessness. Some of the services and benefits provided by the VA include: disability, pension, education, home loans, life insurance, vocational rehabilitation, health care and survivors’ benefits.
The VA is also responsible with providing burial and memorial benefits, as well as maintenance of VA cemeteries.
Military veterans refer to persons who have served or are serving in the armed forces.
Those veterans that have had direct exposure to acts of military conflict may also be referred to as war veterans.
In America a veteran is one who served in the armed forces.
It is especially applied to those who served for an entire career, usually of 20 years or more, but may be applied for someone who has only served one tour of duty.
Women have served in America’s military for over two hundred years. Some female veterans acknowledge that they are discriminated against by their male counterparts and as such, women who have served in the armed forces have sometimes been known as “the invisible veterans”.
Prior to the Second World War, women were not eligible to VA benefits, despite having been in the thick of armed conflicts.
African-Americans have participated in every war fought by and within the United States.
Black veterans from the First World War experienced racial persecution on returning to the US from overseas, particularly in Southern cities.
Black veterans from the Second World War continued to be denied equality. They went on to play central role in the Civil Rights movements.
Coming back to President Obama, and his address and promises to America’s veterans at the American legion Convention; Obama announced that his administration has constituted 19 separate moves to boost access to mental health care, help reduce military homelessness, improve electronic record keeping of veterans’ health records and improve both detection of post traumatic stress and suicide prevention.
The Obama administration has also engaged banks and mortgage lending firms, including Wells Fargo Bank which has agreed to “make it easier than ever for active duty service members to obtain mortgage interest rate reductions and reduce their monthly payment”.
Several other Executive Actions were announced which included; a new recruitment campaign to fill shortages of doctors and nurses at VA hospitals.
The move by President Obama and his administration should be viewed in relation to several factors concerning America’s conflicts across the globe. Presently the Pentagon is presenting him with options to combat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
America has thousands and thousands of “veterans” from her recent wars and military excursions in the Middle East, many who have come back home wounded with no hope of returning to their normal lives, many who came back home to a country under recession and lost whatever little they had.
As America’s war machine has to be constantly fed, the only way to ensure willingly soldiers to fight America’s wars and also to calm the restless veterans is to ensure that their welfare is well catered for.
The American Legion was chartered and incorporated by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans organisation devoted to mutual helpfulness.
It is America’s largest veterans’ service organisation, committed to mentoring youth and sponsorship of community programmes.
It advocates patriotism and honour while promoting strong national security and continued devotion to service members and veterans.
The preamble of the Legion’s constitution reads “For God and country we associate ourselves together for the following purposes: ‘to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America; to maintain law and order; to foster and perpetuate a 100 Percent Americanism; to preserve the memories and incidents of our association in the Great War; to inculcate a sense of individual obligation to the community, state and nation; to combat the autocracy of both the classes and masses; to make right the master of might; to promote peace..”
Among its programmes is a Heroes to Hometowns programme which connects local AL members or legionnaires with recoveringwoundedsoldiersandtheirfamilies. The legionnaires provided them with a variety of support services depending on need. The Legion raises millions of dollars each year in donations to help veterans and their families.
While the Legion is a non partisan organisation, it has massive political influence perpetuated by its grass-roots involvement in the legislative process from the bottom (legislative districts) right to the top (Capitol Hill). In fact politicians from both the Republican and Democratic parties compete for the favour of the Legion’s massive and active membership. If there is anything to be admired about America’s veterans it is that they have managed to do what most veterans in Africa are failing to do, which is to turn themselves into a strong actor in the politics of their countries.
In fact the typical veteran in Africa is depicted as an out of touch, outlandish character that is best ignored and brought out to entertain the folks once in a while.
American veterans right from the onset organised themselves and made sure that their struggles and sacrifices fighting America’s wars are not only recognised but are even the America’s education curriculum wards them sufficient space and time in order for future generations to appreciate what it means to be “American”.
Even the most controversial of America’s wars and wartime crimes have been coloured in rose and have been taught in her schools to create a sense of pride and promote the notion that the country’s service men and women are beyond reproach for whatever they do, good or bad, is for the benefit of America.
It is regrettable we do not hold the same view towards our own war veterans who fought to bring about the freedom that some of us take for granted.