America’s longest war is over. At least on paper. As of August 30th, 2021, U.S. troops were pulled out of Afghanistan, per the orders of President Joe Biden. This was just days before the 20th anniversary of 9/11 — the cataclysmic terrorist attack on America that prompted the country’s military invasion more than 6,500 miles away. But for the thousands of U.S. soldiers who have served in Afghanistan, many of whom have returned home in recent months, a different conflict is very much alive. From hunger to homelessles, the battle for survival is real for America’s vets. Today’s Daily Dose peels away those layers of neglect to look at the challenges faced by the country’s bravest, the unlikely fixes that could help them, the soldiers fighting for change and how vets around the world fare. Because America owes its vets more than platitudes.
— with reporting by Andrew Hirschfield
The Battle Back Home
Going Hungry
Here’s some food for thought: 27% of veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are food insecure. That’s more than double the rate of food insecurity in the general U.S. population. And while soldiers of recent wars are the most likely to struggle to put food on the table, their plight is only a magnification of what vets in general face. Overall, between 6% and 24% — the numbers vary across different studies — of U.S. vets combat food insecurity. A part of the problem is the way eligibility is designed for food stamps under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), according to MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, a national nonprofit fighting to end hunger. Service members get what’s called a basic allowance for housing. But that allowance — which must go toward housing — is considered income for determining SNAP eligibility. That prevents many military families from accessing this “critically important — and often life-saving — federal benefit,” the organization says.
Sleeping on the Streets
Not that the housing allowance is enough to avoid homelessness either. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, more than 40,000 veterans were living on the streets in 2021. And the eviction moratorium that expired in July of last year didn’t help. To make matters worse, we may not know how many vets are homeless later this year. That’s when HUD is slated to take their next survey on homelessness in America. Fortunately the VA is stepping up its efforts. The agency awarded roughly $418 million in grants to help curb the problem in July of last year. Even more grants are on the way for veterans in 2022.
Claims Denied
But the VA itself is part of a problem. Last year, the VA reportedly denied more than 70% of claims related to respiratory and other health problems related to toxin exposure at burn pits (the military often disposes waste through large fires). That may change thanks to a piece of legislation called The True Cost of War Recognition Act, championed by Montana Senator Jon Tester. If it becomes law, this bill could provide nearly 3.5 million vets exposed to burn pits with lifelong coverage. However, after a year since it has been introduced, nothing has been done with it.
Paying Their Debt
For many, the struggles over housing, hunger and health care are accompanied by a basic challenge: debt. According to a study from Pew Research, a third of all veterans struggle to pay the bills. Also, according to the FINRA Foundation, veterans are 33% more likely to take part in the gig economy than their civilian counterparts. And things are getting worse. FINRA found that between 2015 and 2018, the fraction of veterans likely to report with poor credit habits had risen by 11% (pdf). According to a 2020 report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, recent vets are also 10 times more likely to have delinquency or credit defaults than before they entered the service.
Good Guys to Bad?
Between financial, food, health and home insecurity, it’s little surprise that many vets would take to crime. What might surprise you is just how bad things are. Vets of America’s post-9/11 wars have cost the country $26.4 billion through violent crimes, according to a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research. That’s five times the budget of the New York Police Department, the nation’s best-funded crime fighting force.
Innovative Fixes
Tiny Homes
Post-traumatic stress makes it hard for many of America’s homeless veterans to adjust to living with civilians in traditional shelters. Now “villages” of tiny furnished homes, each measuring 240 square feet, are emerging as transitional housing solutions for former soldiers. The veterans are guaranteed a roof over their head, basic social services, training to rebuild a professional career outside the military and most importantly, a sense of community with other veterans they can relate to.
Texas Treats PTSD With Psychedelics
In June of last year, Texas passed new legislation that will fund research into using psychedelic drugs like MDMA, Ketamine and Psilocybin to address mental health issues including post-traumatic stress disorder. The bipartisan legislation includes more than $1 million in funding to study the effects of psychedelics over a two-year period. The law is backed by groups that work on the mental health of former soldiers, who believe it could help cut suicide rates among vets.
All You Need Is Love
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco studied the effects of oxytocin, otherwise known as the “love hormone” and its impact on active soldiers with PTSD. OZY reported on the study first in 2017, and on completion in 2019, it showed promising results, suggesting that oxytocin could suppress the urge to turn to drugs and alcohol. Now a similar study with a larger sample size is actively recruiting with an estimated completion date slated for 2025. Perhaps love — or at least a dose of the love hormone — is what vets really need.
Warriors for Change
It’s Not Just a Game
Video games can be a great distraction from the pressures of society. For vets, there are quite a few. However for the wounded vet who may have lost a hand, using a controller may not be so easy. Maryland based mechanical engineer Ken Jones figured out another way. He’s using his skills to adapt controllers so that wounded vets can use them. That’s not all. He’s also designing parts that allow vets to configure their own controllers, based on their injuries.
Ending Hunger
Abby Leibman is on a mission to convince Congress to step up and change policies — including to bring more vets under the umbrella of SNAP — so that members of the military no longer need to worry about hunger. The president and CEO of MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger has been at it for a decade. The former civil rights attorney recently testified on Capitol Hill about the issue and is cautiously optimistic. “I think the pandemic may have changed things for a lot of people — not only individuals who are struggling … but also for policy makers who saw things that were revealing to them,” Leibman tells OZY. “All the words in the world won’t necessarily persuade policy makers until they see it for themselves.”
The Realities of War
Two veterans, Donny O’Malley, and Nick Betts created a docu-series called “Let’s Talk About The War” that chronicles soldiers during and after their service. The issue most veterans face is turning off their old thought process and becoming more human. On a recent episode of The Carlos Watson Show, the two vets discuss their lives post deployment and how their have to remember what empathy is. In addition, they preview their series. Watch the episode now.
Subsidized Colonialism
Chinese and European fishing vessels might be plundering fish off the coast of West Africa, but they’re not going to go unchallenged. Nigerian researcher Rashid Sumaila, a professor at the University of British Columbia who focuses on fisheries, is also investigating the state subsidies that allow foreign vessels to cut local African fisherfolk out from their own waters.
Watch VET TV's Donny O'Malley and Nick Betts
The Realities of War on The Carlos Watson Show
A Global Concern
All In the Same Boat
Thanks to compulsory military service almost every adult in Israel is either a serving soldier or a vet. That means that unlike in the U.S. and many other nations, isolationism is much less of a problem in Israel for former soldiers — so much so that several American vets make the trip to the Jewish nation in search of an experience they know they won’t find at home. But the country’s bureaucratic handling of veterans’ needs has drawn a raging backlash in recent months after a former soldier suffering from PTSD immolated himself in protest last year. Some soldiers have reported having to battle for years to convince the country’s officials that they suffer from PTSD and need help. Israel’s cabinet approved a $92 million plan to upgrade support facilities for vets last year.
Startup Soldier
But where America is struggling with its veterans, China is trying to help its 57 million ex-soldiers adapt to life outside the military by helping them start small businesses. Through a new law that came into effect at the start of 2021, China has introduced subsidized interest rates on loans taken by veterans to start businesses. The Chinese government will also provide tax breaks for businesses that opt to employ ex-soldiers.
Swedish Draft
After more than a century of mandatory military service, Sweden made joining the armed forces voluntary in 2010. But the shift quickly backfired: In a nation where benefits accorded to vets in other nations are available to all Swedes thanks to a robust social security system, the number of youth volunteering to join the military plummeted. So amid rising tensions with Russia, Sweden reintroduced mandatory conscription in 2017. Only a few want to stay in the military in the long run. But at least they don’t need to worry about surviving outside the armed forces once they quit.
