Proposed Change to VA Benefits

I read an article this morning about a petition sent to Congress that could change how veterans qualify for VA (Veterans Affairs) benefits.  The idea behind the petition is a change in the definition of wartime service, which is a distinction that determines eligibility for a lot of VA benefits.

This could make a big difference for a lot of veterans, because as it stands today, only veterans who served during officially designated "periods of war" are able to receive certain benefits.  This is important because of how the government classifies periods of war.  For example, a veteran who actively participated in Operation Urgent Fury (Grenada) could be classified as a peacetime veteran, rendering that person ineligible for certain VA benefits, even if he was in active combat, yet another veteran could have served during Desert Shield and Desert Storm, without going overseas, and still be called a wartime veteran.

From my perspective, HOW you served is far more important than WHEN you served, and the current system is kind of backwards.  Furthermore, I believe the burden of proof is absolutely bass ackwards.  With a few exceptions, it's up to the veteran to prove eligibility.  For example, I know a Marine who has cancer, and was exposed to the water at Camp LeJeune but denied benefits because he was there for maneuvers, whereas the rules say that you need to be exposed for a minimum of 30 days.  He had a hard time proving he was there.  He fought for years before finally being approved for assistance and compensation.

Let me rephrasse this in terms the average person will understand.  Only six percent of the current population has served in the military.  If you break this down by age, over 40% of those 75 and older are veterans, but only 3% of those under 35 have served.  The average young adult is ineligible or unwilling to pursue military service.

To take this further, a currently-serving Marine recruiter told me that 75% of people in the age bracket of 17 to 28 are ineligible to serve in the military.  Only 1% of those eligible to serve go on to do so.  (He continues to say that only 1% of those eligible go on to become Marines, but that's outside of the scope of the discussion... just a fun fact.)  Mathematically, this means that .25% of eligible young people enter military service.  We, as a country, need to ensure that it's worthwhile for them to serve.  If we fail to take care of today's all-volunteer military, we won't have an all-voluntary military tomorrow.

Another indisputable point is that today's military professional is pressed harder than those of past generations.  Even reservists and National Guard soldiers can absolutely expect to be called to action.  This was effectively unheard of between Vietnam and the second Gulf War.  Active duty personnel can absolutely expect multiple conflict deployments.  This is hard not only on the person wearing the uniform, but the family as well.

As a capitalist society, we have a mindset of paying the minimum possible in exchange for goods and services.  Translation:  Employers will pay the minimum required.  I ask you to consider the reality that most of our lower ranked enlisted personnel (with families) qualify for food stamps and housing assistance, but we require them to place themselves in harm's way, and to be separated from their families for extended periods of time.  These young men and women experience shit the average person can't imagine.  Yet we thank them by giving them shit wages, and if they come back broken, we don't seem to care.

If we're going to have a society with a separate warrior class, which is how we function today, we need to make sure that the warrior class is overcompensated, not under-compensated.  This is especially important in a capitalistic society.  We have under-served our warrior class for far too long, and I fully support doing anything we can to right that wrong.

Full disclosure:  I am a wartime veteran.  I am in the VA program.  I will not benefit if these changes are implemented, because I'm already qualified.  This is not about me.  This is about my brothers and sisters in arms.  Also, please do not thank me for my service after reading this article.  Again, this is not about me.  It's about the others who also answered the call to arms, but are being denied help by the very system that sent them into harm's way.