By Charles A. Reid III, Esq.
Coming home is the most difficult obstacle combat puts in front of you. As a veteran who had a difficult and tumultuous transition into civilian life, I am compelled to inform you, the general public, on the difficulties that I have faced and many of my brothers and sisters are facing today. I would like to inform you of how many veterans struggle upon return.
I am compelled to follow my Fourth General Order, “To repeat all calls from posts more distant from the guardhouse than my own (Smith).” It is my desire that any veteran who is having trouble and facing charges in court to know about the Veterans Treatment Court. Veterans need to know that they are not the only one going through it.
I am one of the lucky vets who has been able to make the transition, though rocky. If I can make another veteran’s transition easier by displaying the Veterans Treatment Court through this blog, then I am going to.
There will be several parts to this blog. A new part will be posted each week. It is based on a study that I conducted at the Massachusetts School of Law at Andover, Andover, Massachusetts as part of a Collaborative Justice class.
Part A. The Sound of the Bugle Cries War!
War is unknown to the common man today. This is because of all the young men and women who gave their lives before our time. I personally lived a relatively sheltered life from violence. I had witnessed accidental death. However, what I witnessed in Iraq and caused at my own hand was not something I was ready for. I do not believe that I had or was even capable of comprehending what war truly was. There wasn’t a single movie that had truly captured war. There were no stories told that could inspire the terror, thrill or love that combat permeates your senses with. I did not understand what I was getting into when I joined the U.S. Marine Corps.
All I knew for sure was that the United States was at war and I wanted to be a part of it. I wanted to prove that I was a man. I can remember watching the invasion of Afghanistan. I remember thinking that it was all going to be over before I had a chance to get involved. I was going to be a generation that was skipped by war. I would never be able to live up to America’s heroes. I would never have my chance to show that I had what it takes. I would never get to display my courage. There would always be men who could look down on me as if I were a coward. I would never go down as someone who was willing to give all to their country.
Eventually, we invaded Iraq. I had gotten my shot! I wasn’t a very disciplined kid to say it in a subtle way. When I told my recruiter that I wanted to join the infantry, he replied, “Are you sure?”
I replied, “Yes.”
He asked me again, “Are you sure?”
I kind of laughed or chuckled, “Yeah, I’m sure.”
Once more with force, “ARE YOU SURE?”
A little confused I eked out, “Yes, I am sure.” I was sure I wanted to join, but I had no idea what I was joining. Somehow my mother knew as she bawled when I told her. Moms are ALWAYS right!
Combat raises a person to his or her highest potential. A man can go without sleep, food and water for days while clearing house after house in the streets of the Luj (Fallujah). He/She can see ultra-far while keeping watch over what is directly in front of him. He/She can hear an enemy movement through the sound of explosions, gunfire and screaming. The pain of exhaustion or the searing hot metal lay burning in his/her limbs is a welcomed feeling of LIFE!
We train our warriors to be the best, win at all costs, to kill or be killed. This is a necessary task. It is a necessary task because we send our men and women in uniform to face an enemy that will try to accomplish the same.
“War is young men dying and old men talking.”
–Franklin D. Roosevelt (1944)
According to the 2014 Demographics Report, half of the United States active duty troops are 25 years of age or younger (Manpower Data Center, 2014, p. 35). The average age of members of the House of Representatives was 57 and the average of Senators was 62 (Manning, 2014, p. 2). Only 20% of the Congress was comprised of veterans[1] (Manning, 2014, p. 9). Unless you have served in combat under fire, you cannot possibly understand how it feels and maybe, without proper professional psychological training, the true ramifications it has on the veteran. This is not anyone’s fault as it is the goal of our warriors is to shelter civilians from the horrors of war. These ramifications are the result of the fact that we train our warriors to be animals, with animal instincts. We send them to fight other warriors like animals. These men and women returning home from war often react as trained warriors who have been battle hardened and sharpened to a be the razor’s edge of the sword of justice, with animal instincts.
Having these animal instincts leads many veterans lost and heading down the wrong rat trail without a map, protractor, compass, or GPS. Veterans find themselves in dark places even though they are standing in their mother’s well-lit kitchen or at a firework display under a brightly lit sky.
Society has never been ready to receive its veterans after war. Society has not only failed to provide adequate medical care for its veterans, but also to adapt society via veteran awareness education and the justice system to help society interact with veterans. There is a social clash between men and women who have faced death and eternity and the rest of the members of society. Society’s laws pale in comparison to the natural laws veterans lived under in combat conditions; kill or be killed. This clash has lead veterans to finding themselves entangled in the legal system due to mental health issues, substance abuse or acts of violence involving and not involving substance abuse.
In January of 2008, the State of New York answered the question of how to handle the rapidly increasing number of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan war returning home with mental health and substance abuse issues (which has led to the increased number of veterans facing charges in courts across the nation) by starting the first Veterans Treatment Court in the United States. First, the Veterans Treatment Court (VTC) is a statement that the justice system is aware of the problem and understands the necessity for a specialized program for a “unique” group of individuals. Secondly, the Veterans Treatment Courts have been exceedingly successful at avoiding recidivism. Finally, the VTCs are not perfect in that they still preclude use by some vets, however they are still heading in the right direction.
- The War at Home:
“A 2000 Bureau of Justice Statistics Report found that 81% of all justice involved veterans, had a substance abuse problem prior to incarceration, 35% were identified as suffering from alcohol dependency, 23% were homeless at some point in the prior year, and 25% were identified as mentally ill (Veterans Courts). The Department of Veterans Affairs has reported that one-third of the homeless population is comprised of veterans (Veterans Courts). As of October 2008, the U.S. veterans’ population was 23,224,000 (Russell 131). “Of those veterans, 84,000 have been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD (Russell 131).” Veterans make up about 12 percent of the population in jail or prison (Russell 131).
As of 2015, there are 1.7 million Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in the United States (Veterans Courts). There is a troubling statistic floating around that 22 veterans commit suicide every day. This is a misleading statistic that was based on a Veteran’s Affairs report in 2012 (Bare). The report contained people outside of the group of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans which the number “22” is supposed to be from (Bare). The number is just less than one a day (Bare). However, that is still one a day too many.
Veterans come from their own unique and isolated culture that comes with unique experiences (Russell 131). These unique experiences come with unique needs in order to deal with their aftermath (Russell 131).
Coming home, in my personal experience, is the hardest part of going to war. A veteran can feel isolated or out of place when walking the streets at home or going to a party with friends that are still doing the same stuff they did before the veteran left. The veteran’s family didn’t stop living just because the veteran left. The veteran has changed in so many ways that none of the people they know outside of their military unit could relate, due to the differences in environment. The veteran’s mother doesn’t understand why his son uses the word “f***” five times in what would normally be a four-word sentence without that word in it. Recently, I watched a video floating around on Facebook that displayed the Marine vocabulary. The video showed several different Marines in various places and at various times using the word “f***” in a variety of ways.
If the veteran’s own mother cannot form an understanding of the veteran, how could any other civilians on the street? As confirmed in my interviews, which I discuss below, our military personnel are trained to do one task if nothing else, KILL THE ENEMY! Whenever there is a threat, you destroy it. This is a mentality that does not fit in normal society. It will only lead to large numbers of veterans ending up in the legal system.
- The Solution:
It may be that the traditional forms of services provided for veterans or within the legal field are not adequate or suitable to address the unique needs of our returning veterans (Russell 131). Research has also shown that the veterans involved responded better when they were dealing with other veterans with similar experiences or at least a better understanding of the veterans’ experiences (Russell 131). The State of New York decided that the unique population of veterans needed a unique program (Russell 131).
In New York State, there are eight Veterans Treatment Courts (VTC) (Russell 131). California has 12 programs as of 2011 (Veterans Court). Currently in Massachusetts, there been only two Veterans Treatment Courts, one in Norfolk out of the Dedham District Court and Boston Veterans Court (Specialty). On October 27, 2015, the third Massachusetts VTC was established in Lawrence (Ericco). These have a similar mission statement. The Massachusetts Norfolk Veterans Treatment Court’s mission statement is as follows:
“To support veterans and their families through a coordinated effort among the veteran services delivery system, community based providers, and the Court, thereby improving public safety while leaving no one behind (Norfolk 1).”
The goals of the Veterans Treatment Court are: 1) Reduce recidivism; 2) Stabilize mental health and increase compliance with treatment; 3) Facilitate participant sobriety; 4) Improve access to VA benefits and services; 5) Achieve stable housing; 6) Improve family relationships and social support connections; 7) Improve employment and/or educational status (Norfolk 1).
Are the Veteran Treatment Courts achieving their goal?
(Continued in Part B)
[1] The number of veterans in the 113th Congress reflects the trend of steady decline in recent
decades in the number of Members who have served in the military. For example, 64% of the
members of the 97th Congress (1981-1982) were veterans; and in the 92nd Congress (1971-1972),
73% of the Members were veterans.
References
Bare, Stacy. “The Truth About 22 Veteran Suicides a Day.” Task Purpose. TaskandPurpose.com, 2 June 2015. Web. 6 Oct. 2015. <http://taskandpurpose.com/truth-22-veteran-suicides-day/>.
Errico, Paul. “Mentor Interview.” Personal interview. 28 Oct. 2015.
Manning, J. E. (2014). “Membership of the 113th Congress: A profile.” Rep. no. R42964. Washington D.C.: Congressional Research Services.
Manpower Data Center. (2014). “2014 Demographics Report Profile of the Military Community.” Washington D.C.: Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense.
Norfolk County Veterans Treatment Court Information Packet. Norfolk: Mass.Gov. 1-4. Print.
Russell, Robert. “Veterans Treatment Courts Developing Throughout the Nation.” Improving Outcomes and Services in a Tight Economy: 130-32. Resources for Court Professionals. Justice for Vets. Web.
“Specialty Courts.” Court System. Mass.gov. Web. 6 Oct. 2015.
Smith, Stew. “Eleven General Orders For Guard Duty.” The Balance. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 May 2017.
“Veterans Courts.” – Collaborative. justice. Ca.gov. Web. 6 Oct. 2015.
