Caring for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans
By Jeanne Shaheen

In 1944, Franklin D. Roosevelt passed the G.I. Bill to guarantee returning WWII veterans a college education.  It was our way of saying thank you from a grateful nation.  But it was also good for the nation – those veterans became the backbone of the middle class that built American prosperity.  Today, more than 200,000 soldiers and Marines are on the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan.  It’s time our country honor these brave men and women with a new G.I. bill.  It’s the right thing to do for our veterans.  It’s the right thing to do for our country.  

Wednesday marks the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq war.  I believe it’s time to end the war and bring our soldiers home.  But, no matter where you stand on the war in Iraq, one thing all Americans can agree upon is that our men and women in uniform have done a tremendous job.  Sadly, after serving their country with distinction, too many of our newest veterans are returning home to diminished opportunities.  That’s no way to honor their service.  Washington can and should do more to help.  Passing a new G.I. Bill is a good place to start.  

In terms of providing opportunity, the original G.I. bill was one of the most successful and important pieces of legislation in history.  It paid college tuition, covered supplies, and included a monthly stipend to returning veterans.  More than eight million WWII veterans went to college on the G.I. Bill.  For the next thirty years their hard work fueled our country’s unprecedented economic expansion.  But current G.I. Bill benefits are not keeping pace with skyrocketing college costs.  According to the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, today's GI Bill covers less than 70% of the average cost at a public college and less than two years at a typical private college.  We need to update the G.I. bill’s education and training benefits for our new greatest generation.   

We should all be proud of the leading role that Dartmouth College is taking to increase access to education to wounded veterans.  A recent article in the Christian Science Monitor, highlighted Dartmouth President Jim Wright’s efforts to provide college counselors at military hospitals.  Working with the American Council on Education (ACE), President Wright helped raise money for a national program that has worked with more than 250 veterans and families.  About half are now enrolled on college campuses or are taking online courses while at the hospital.  It is a tremendous success story.   Now, Washington should do more to help.

Our veterans deserve health care they can count on.  Tens of thousands of veterans are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with serious physical and mental injuries, including traumatic brain injuries (TBI), the signature injury of the Iraq War.  Injured veterans need our help but instead they’re finding a Veteran’s Administration (VA) health care system that is understaffed and underfunded.   Here in New Hampshire, we need to restore full services to the Manchester VA Hospital.  

It’s wrong for veterans who have put their lives on the line to protect our freedoms, to return home and face month-long waits for medical care, inadequate facilities, and bureaucratic red tape.  Delays by the VA in processing disability claims stretch nearly six months, and appeals are dragged out nearly two years.   And, for veterans returning with mental health problems, including PTSD, the problems can be worse – longer waits, no treatment, and often a life on the streets.  Far too many will end up hungry and homeless.  In fact, a recent study by the National Alliance to End Homelessness found that veterans represent 26% of the homeless population, but only 11% of the overall population.  Already, between 500 and 1,000 veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq are homeless.   
Our strained military forces are also straining our families.  More and more National Guard and Reservists are being called to active duty, being asked to serve longer rotations, and given less time home between deployments.   Our country needs to do more to meet the increased demands on these soldiers and their families – including protecting their jobs and helping their families cope with the loss of income in their absence.   
It’s time we take better care of our men and women in uniform.  As we approach the 5th year anniversary of the beginning of the war in Iraq, let’s remember our fallen heroes, our soldiers serving overseas, and our veterans here at home.  They all deserve our respect and gratitude.  And, they deserve a government as good and as honorable as they are.