Women’s History Month: Encouraging More Women to Answer the Call of Service

Jessica Evans

Women’s History Month: Encouraging More Women to Answer the Call of Service

By Chris Meek

Women’s History Month provides an opportunity to reflect on the vast and varied achievements and contributions of American women throughout history, particularly military history where women warriors have played crucial roles in carrying out military operations dating back to the Revolutionary War.

Lifting up the stories and experiences of the fearless women who have and continue to serve our country throughout the month provides a platform to encourage more women to ultimately serve.

Discussion and education surrounding women’s history, and in particular women’s military history and issues, should not remain in a vacuum amongst women. In order for there to be broader understanding and continued progress in maximizing the efforts and experiences of women warriors by military institutions and the general public, all Americans must actively seek out, listen to others and participate in those discussions.

Today the United States military counts the highest number of women among its ranks in its history. Though this is a testament to the progress that military institutions have made in previous decades, and in particular the last few years, when put into perspective women make up only 16-percent of the total force.

So how can we encourage more women to answer the call of service? And what role can both women and men alike play in fostering an environment in which females feel empowered to serve?

1. We must better identify barriers that have the potential to prevent women from joining the military and subsequently develop and implement effective measures to reduce the impact of such barriers. For example, many women have signaled that the difficulty of having a family while in service has discouraged them from enlisting. In response, offering and highlighting more resources that are family-centric may deter women from walking away from service.

For instance, this month a group of bipartisan congressional lawmakers called for changes and an expansion to a law that allows for female veterans with service-connected injuries that have left them infertile greater access to life-changing fertility options and the removal of barriers to obtaining these benefits. Though this piece of legislation is geared towards female veterans and not active duty servicewomen, positive military-related, family-oriented legislation such as this may remain encouraging to females considering service and also has the ability to better highlight family-friendly elements of military service and services carried out by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

2. Beginning at a young age, women should be encouraged to serve. According to a 2017 military study, only 11-percent of young individuals indicate a strong interest in joining the military. We must foster an environment where more young girls and boys alike see military service as a viable option for their future and have greater access to educational resources and materials that could ultimately help them someday make the decision to serve. Parents, teachers, policy makers, the media and other key players should actively and ardently support and encourage young girls who express interest in service.

Another important piece of encouraging service for those who express interest at a young age is preparing children, particularly teenagers, for service expectations and requirements. This includes placing a value on health and fitness from a young age so that children are prepared to someday meet military fitness standards, as well as placing an emphasis on completing high school or receiving a GED in order to meet military education standards.

3. There are far too few portrayals of women warriors and their specific experiences in Hollywood media. In a society where citizens often use movies and television shows as a way to connect with and find inspiration in the different lived experiences of others, it’s damaging that the media rarely offers opportunities for individuals, especially young girls, to connect with and learn more about women who serve. If the industry continually creates products that largely pretend that women warriors don’t exist, it will not only miss out on the opportunity to promote positive aspects of female service and highlight the tremendous military contributions of women but cheat young girls out of opportunities to feel inspired and empowered to serve.

As a society we must collectively amplify the voices and experiences of female service members by ensuring that there are platforms for women to share their stories and encouraging others to seek them out. Along with ensuring space for this dialogue, it’s important that we are actively listening to the voices of women warriors and using what they share to maximize their service experience and ultimately continue to benefit all Americans for decades to come.

This Women’s History Month, I implore all Americans to contribute to a society where women feel inspired to serve more than ever before. Thank you to all women warriors for your service, your tenacity and valor is an example for all.

Re-evaluating the Role of Mental Health in the Military Discharge Process

Re-evaluating the Role of Mental Health in the Military Discharge Process

By Chris Meek

In recent years the topic of military discharge has entered the public spotlight with the role of post-traumatic stress at the core of the discussion.

Though mental health is required for consideration during the discharge process, recent media accounts criticize the extent to which mental health considerations are actually weighed. Research indicating that post-combat mental health issues can be a significant factor in bad conduct that leads to discharge has underscored the importance of mental health within the discharge process.

Mental health issues that develop as a result of war, such as post-traumatic stress (PTS), depression, anxiety or a combination of these issues, culminate in a number of behaviors that can lead to destructive conduct if gone unchecked. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, symptoms of PTS that are often precursors to or agents of reckless actions can include irritability, aggression and impaired rationality. As many are aware, mental health struggles may also lead individuals to self-medicate with drugs or alcohol which present their own additional set of behaviors and challenges.

Marine Chief Warrant Officer Cooper Williams has made headlines lately for his fight to stay in the Corps following a potential discharge related to several DUIs. Williams, who struggles with PTS and a traumatic brain injury after surviving an explosion, used alcohol as a means to cope with war-related PTS that emerged on top of his parents’ murder-suicide.

BMC Psychiatry conducted a five-year study of Marines that found those with PTS or other psychiatric conditions were more likely to have a drug-related discharge compared to service members who did not experience similar mental health setbacks.

Alcoholism and drug addiction obviously play a significant role in determining the quality of an individual’s overall mental health and as such, should be taken into consideration as valid setbacks when members are evaluated for discharge. These types of diseases should not simply be considered untoward or irresponsible behaviors, but instead should be seen in the bigger picture of other mental health struggles, like PTS, and subsequently be met with treatment instead of discharge.

Though the addition of a mental health evaluation in the discharge process in 2014 is certainly a necessary and positive step toward reaching an accurate and appropriate conclusion concerning an individual’s discharge classification, it currently benefits veterans in their attempts to change their discharge status after they have left the service. Unfortunately, it does little for active duty members, like Williams, as they wade through the process of attempting to remain on active duty.

In light of this, mental health conditions, including alcohol and drug addiction, that emerge and sometimes go undiagnosed during an individual’s military service should be considered before they are discharged and not after. It’s not only physical wounds of war that must be taken into account during the discharge classification process, but invisible wounds too, which can be long lasting and debilitating in their own right.

When we don’t acknowledge the invisible wounds of our nation’s heroes in the way we conduct our discharge system, we not only cheat them out of benefits, including healthcare, pensions and higher education, but also cheat them out of respect, validation and for many, seeking out the help they may need to lead them on a path of recovery. We may also cheat our nation out of quality active duty personnel who simply need and deserve more comprehensive mental health treatment.

Continuing Education After Service in the Military

Military Teachers

Continuing Education After Service in the Military

By Chris Meek

In 2020 most Americans understand the potential benefits of pursuing a higher education – everything from earning a larger salary, to higher potential for employment, a tendency for deeper involvement in civic activities and better overall health in part due to financial security. The list goes on and on and has continually been imprinted in our minds by politicians, primary education instructors, media outlets and the like. With it, higher education brings some appealing opportunities for young adults. Though higher education may not be for everyone, it certainly provides its own set of additional opportunities for veterans as they return home from service and begin to transition – and ultimately adjust – to civilian life.

It’s not just veterans that benefit from the institutions in which they enroll. Veterans serve as assets to the schools they attend, bringing with them myriad unparalleled experiences and unique leadership characteristics from their time in service. Though negative myths have continually been perpetuated casting veterans as underwhelming academic performers in comparison to their civilian peers, it is no surprise that an abundance of research indicates what many members of the military community have figured all along – veterans excel in higher education classrooms and thrive in making the transition from the role of active duty service member to student. In fact, I would argue that pursuing an education can play a large role in a comfortable transition back into the civilian world.

The success and track record of student veterans underlines the need and importance of the $5 billion dollars in education benefits attributed to student veterans annually through the Department of Veterans Affairs’ G.I. Bill. Particularly in 2020, a year made tumultuous by the onset of the coronavirus pandemic which has affected our country’s higher education students in general, let alone the additional effects it has had on our student veterans.

In response to the extra difficulties placed on student veterans at this time, Congress extended a number of financial protections earlier this month that ensures the extension of work-study programs and leaves housing stipends unchanged. These are important steps in helping student veterans navigate these trying times. But even with these extensions, the G.I. Bill, which has benefitted nearly one million veterans in the past year, has historically not always relieved all of the costs associated with obtaining a degree. Textbooks, classroom fees, transportation, technology, tutoring and a number of other additional expenses come with higher education and are often not considered upfront when developing a general financial plan. This reality is only made more difficult for the many veterans who also work full or part-time to support their families and other financial obligations that are not typical of the average college student.

In response to these often difficult realities, a plethora of scholarship programs on both the local and national levels have formed to reduce the financial burdens that come with obtaining an education and make the transition into higher education easier for veterans. SoldierStrong, the nonprofit that I co-founded and serve as executive director for, is one such organization that provides scholarships through our SoldierScholar initiative. We assist veterans in taking an academic step into their future by filling in gaps left by the G.I. Bill. so that veterans can finish their college education in order to continue public service careers upon the conclusion of their military service. We are proud of the over $500,000 in scholarships we have been able to provide student veterans at Georgetown University, Old Dominion University and Syracuse University. We look forward to awarding more SoldierScholar scholarships this year to benefit veterans as they complete their academic journey.

U.S. Army veteran Edrena Roberts, a 2019 SoldierScholar recipient at Georgetown University, told me that receiving a SoldierScholar scholarship has given her “incredible peace of mind” and that it has helped make her “success a reality.” Roberts is currently receiving her Master of Professional Studies in Applied Intelligence and hopes to use her degree to someday work for the FBI as an analyst. It’s veterans like Roberts that prove why it is so important that organizations continue to provide access to higher education so that veterans can apply the leadership and problem-solving skills they developed in the military to their future careers, thus finding new ways to serve their communities and country.

To learn more about SoldierScholar, please visit us on the web: https://www.soldierstrong.org/scholarship/

Suicide Awareness Month: What We Can All Do To Make A Difference

Suicide Awareness Month: What We Can All Do To Make  A Difference

By Chris Meek

As the stigma surrounding mental health continues to lessen, more of an emphasis has been placed on suicide prevention and as a result a number of programs have emerged to varying degrees of success. But the fact remains that even with a wider array of prevention programs coupled with the allocation of $222 million by Congress to the VA to prevent suicide in the past decade, there are still 20 veteran suicides each day.

In my opinion, no program has been as far-reaching or all-encompassing as the recent President’s Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End a National Tragedy of Suicide (PREVENTS)  task force in the effort to prevent suicide, of which I serve as an advisor for alongside a number of esteemed peers. The PREVENTS task force established a definitive roadmap which specifically outlines a multitude of unambiguous steps that all Americans can take to prevent suicide. Suicide is a national public health problem that in turn requires a national approach to combatting.

The recommendations put forth by the PREVENTS task force cover a variety of topics and a lot of ground but in particular, I want to focus on what an approach looks like from the local level so that everyday Americans understand how they can participate and contribute to the prevention of suicide.

There are a number of states that have suicide prevention councils but a similar structure can be used to create councils that are specific to your community and the needs of your community’s citizens and veterans. Towns and cities across the country have put such councils in place composed of veterans, health care professionals, and faith and political leaders. This is a great resource to train the broader community about suicide and mental health, as well as coordinate outreach events, awareness campaigns and develop partnerships with local businesses and residents.

Having suicide prevention councils and other community specific organizations in place serve as sources for veterans to build a connection with their community which is paramount to maintaining good mental health. According to research conducted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, if individuals feel comfortable with their surroundings and feel a sense of belonging they are more likely to place a greater emphasis on maintaining overall health.

Suicide prevention councils can coordinate with local businesses and area employers about best practices for all employees, but particularly veterans, when it comes to preventing suicide. It is so much more than posting a suicide prevention poster in a shop window or making sure that employees have access to a suicide prevention hotline should they need it. Employers should be educated on the signs and symptoms of suicide and – this is the part that is often overlooked – educate their employees on these signs and symptoms as well. This has never before been more important than now as we wade through the current pandemic and many individuals are stressed about keeping their job, sending their children back to school and staying healthy so that they can continue to provide for their families.

I would also note that it is not only important for employers and companies to provide access to mental health care if they are able, but that it can be beneficial to also provide information about emergency services, religious leaders, veteran organizations, AA and substance abuse meetings and the nearest VA’s suicide prevention coordinator, to make a difference for employees who feel that they need access to additional services outside of traditional health care.

And, though the following strategy may not affect existing veterans, I do believe that more comprehensive mental health education can be introduced to children at a young age – either at home or especially in the classroom – as an added step to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health and provide the next generation with the tools they need to manage their experiences and emotions. We can better prepare our children to monitor and pay attention to their mental health in a way that some of us were never taught. Local teachers, religious leaders, coaches and obviously parents can lead the way by taking simple steps, such as asking if a child is okay, truly meaning it and expecting an honest response back. Sometimes it is the little things that make the biggest difference.

I believe that the actions and steps we take on the local level are paramount to preventing suicide and I encourage anyone who is interested to learn more about initiatives and steps in your city or state. Additionally, the PREVENTS’ national public health campaign, REACH, is based on the idea that combatting veteran suicide is not just something that we all must do, but something we all must do together, by reaching out to one another and letting the people we care about know that they are not alone. I want to encourage everyone to head to https://www.wearewithinreach.net/pledge/ to learn more about REACH and take the PREVENTS pledge to reach today.