San Francisco (Obama.net)- To be a member of the United States military has always been an honor. The men and women who join any of the branches of the American military have always been respected, looked up to, and admired by the citizens of the United States of America. However, there have been problems with how the men and women of the military have been treated after their time spent defending the country is over and they become veterans.
Many are aware of the lack of financial support given to the veterans of the United States military by the American government. However, not everyone realizes the amount of psychological issues that veterans go through, primarily post-traumatic stress as their memories of war haunt them on a daily basis.
Finally, the United States government, with the leadership of President Barack Obama, is planning on providing help for those veterans. Obama called the new move to help the men and women of the military get more federal benefits, “a long overdue step.”
Saturday, it was announced that Eric Shinseki, the Secretary of Veteran Affairs will hold a press conference to announce a new plan that will put into place for the United States government, “a solemn responsibility to provide our veterans and wounded warriors with the care and benefits they’ve earned when they come home,” as President Barack Obama put it on his radio address early this weekend.
President Obama is looking out for all veterans of the United States military and that is why the new policies will apply to all former members of the American military and not just future veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq.
The strictness of proving that illnesses were caused by time spent with the United States military will become lighter. In the words of President Barack Obama, “I don’t think our troops on the battlefield should have to take notes to keep for a claims applications. And I’ve met enough veterans to know that you don’t have to engage in a firefight to endure the trauma of war.”
This comes as a positive step due to the fact that it is not always easy to prove you were at a certain place, at a certain time during war and that you suffered from that experience. Also, this opens the door for women who aren’t allowed to fight on the front lines to benefit from the same aid and help that the men who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, which doesn’t always come from suffering from direct contact in wartime combat.
Obama is proud of the new policy and has expressed his honor to support the veterans of the United States of America. Obama said, “It’s a step that proves America will always be here for our veterans, just as they’ve been there for use. We won’t let them down. We take care of our own.”
This comes as a welcome measure by the troops of the United States military as an approximate 20 percent of veterans show signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, or signs of serious depression.
While most of these men and women do get their benefits and help, the process isn’t as quick and efficient as it could be. With the hard work of President Obama, the process will now be more swift in order to provide the veterans with the benefits they need before their problems become too serious for them to contain and eventually get over. As the following months come, the new measures will hopefully be put into effect and with the words of President Barack Obama, “we won’t let them down,” it is a safe bet that from this day forward, the veterans of the United States military will be taken care of properly.
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