Veteran Service Providers Ask Americans to Go Beyond Saying ‘Thank You for Your Service’

The annual Veterans Stand Down event at Middletown Elks Lodge in N.Y., on Oct. 5, 2024. Cara Ding/The Epoch Times

Military veterans today still find numerous challenges when leaving service, whether it be physical disabilities, psychological challenges, or employers discounting their experience. In response, several nongovernmental organizations beyond the Veterans Administration (VA) have been developing programs to assist in veteran reacclimatization, providing services ranging from psychological counseling to community networking, and combating a suicide rate that continues to grow.

Those organizations are also in agreement that military veterans, after deployment, need much more than a “Thank you for your service” message when trying to reengage in civilian life.

“What bothers me about the ‘thank you for your service’ message is that it just feels empty,” said Damon Friedman, CEO of SOF Missions and a former Marine lieutenant colonel who retired after 20 years serving as a special operations and mission commander in Afghanistan. “It feels like it’s a comment made as an ice breaker and a random statement that sounds disingenuous. If you’re really grateful for my service, my question is, ‘Where is your support?’”

SOF Missions provides medical care to veterans and military service members to help them overcome challenges and reduce the risk of suicide.

With the U.S. government predicting financial shortfalls in programs helping military veterans, more NGOs are needed to meet the continuous needs of those leaving the service. The VA is warning that, because of increased demand, it could be nearly $15 billion short of what it needs to pay for benefits and health care through 2025.

In addition, the VA’s annual national veteran suicide prevention report for last year showed another increase in the suicide rate for veterans under the age of 45, with the highest rates among those aged 18 to 34. The reported rate of suicide among veterans in 2021—the last year for which complete data are available—was 33.9 per 100,000, an increase of 1.3 from 2020, with a total of 6,392 reported suicides.

“I’m part of the Florida Department of Veterans and the speed and the attention needed in many veterans hospitals just isn’t there,” Friedman said.

“We hear these stories of veterans wanting to see a mental health provider and unless they say they’re ready to kill themselves, it might be 45 days, and that is unacceptable. Suicide is a complicated issue and my argument is that it’s not just PTSD; it’s a combination of many issues coming together that the VA is failing to recognize.”

Veterans Are Being Typecast

In addition to mental health and physical disability issues faced by veterans transitioning to civilian life, many have found the task of convincing potential employers that they’re qualified to do the job sometimes daunting as many have been typecast into the roles the military chose for them, according to Charlie Hall, CEO of Upstate Warriors Solutions (UWS) in Greenville, South Carolina.

“A lot of civilians think that military veterans are robotic people and can only do what they did in the military. For instance, they may have worked as a mechanic in the military because the recruiter had to fill a slot, but what they really should be doing is selling real estate and going to law school,” he told The Epoch Times.

“The DOD (Department of Defense) system instills in you that you have to look only for the jobs you were trained to do in the military. Part of it is we don’t understand veterans and listen to their stories. Instead of saying, ‘Thank you for your service,’ instead say, ‘Tell me what you did while you were in the military.’ You’ll find that there’s a great guy or woman who has the necessary skill sets but just isn’t connected to the community.”

Hall served five years as a Marine before crossing over to Air Force Special Warfare as a combat control officer for 15 years, and participated in what he referred to as “catch and kill missions” during his military deployments. He is now a lieutenant colonel in the Marine Reserves, and started UWS 12 years ago in an effort to connect veterans and their families to resources and opportunities in their communities. UWS helps veterans and their families build their own process of self-empowerment and educates the community to embrace them as valued neighbors and friends.

He said the best thing communities can do is learn more about who veterans are in 2024, to help dispel stereotypes.

“We’re all not in our 70s smoking cigarettes in front of the VA. We’re different. I think the prevailing sentiment in the last couple of decades and even my kids’ perception of a veteran is a bearded tattooed guy driving a big truck with a mean look on their face,” Hall said.

“Most of the veterans we work with are middle-class people who don’t have flags flying off their trucks, no stickers, no wheelchairs and they’re not connected to the VA. Our Iraq and Afghanistan veterans today feel like those coming back from Vietnam, with the way the wars over there ended up.”

Correction: A previous version of this article gave an incorrect figure for the reported rate of suicide among veterans in 2021. The Epoch Times regrets the error.