Throughout its history, NC State has had a strong and intimate relationship with the United States military. Embedded in the Morrill Act (which established land-grant universities in 1862) is an emphasis on education in military tactics while Bagwell and Becton Residence Halls were originally built as barracks. Nowadays, there are many NC State students who are active service, veterans or members of ROTC.
Now that it is Veterans Day, many will claim to “support the troops.” We see this now with the field of flags planted on the Court of North Carolina and plenty of Facebook posts.
The notion of supporting the troops has been historically and socially linked to patriotism. This is to say that if you disagree in the slightest, then you are deemed a traitor and un-American.
Holidays in particular are times of reflection. Simply saying that you support the troops is a blind platitude. The inelastic logic contained in it explicitly discourages thinking critically about our military’s behavior. Under the guise of preserving the democratic way, this ideology suppresses its practice.
Paying the military doggedly loyal lip service fails to acknowledge, and thereby exacerbates, the serious problems that our veterans face. Shallow gratitude is not enough.
More soldiers committed suicide than died in combat in Afghanistan in 2012, according to NPR. There are 49,933 homeless veterans as of January 2014, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. 1.4 million more veterans live in poverty and are at risk of becoming homeless — roughly equal to the number of our active personnel, according to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. 720,000 veterans are estimated to have some form of depression, combat-related stress, traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the Wounded Warrior Project.
Veterans seeking help are met with a bureaucratic nightmare in their local Veterans Affairs Hospital waiting room, spending sometimes more than a year waiting for an overcrowded, understaffed facility to provide service for their immediate issues, after they spent more than a year in service.
A combination of mental trauma and lack of skills that are transferrable to the civilian workplace means it is hard for veterans to find work, so they find themselves without a safety net, leading to an alarming rate of homelessness. Although this rate has been rapidly declining over the past five years, there are still nearly 50,000 homeless troops who continue to lack our support.
As a nation, we can’t leave these elephants in the room; doing so would be a disservice to our service members. It’s easy to give a soldier a handshake and a “thank you for your service.” It’s easy to wear a yellow ribbon or attach one to your car. But it’s hard to support the troops when they come home.
So, what else should you do to support the troops? Write or call your representative or senator asking them to prioritize veterans’ issues. Volunteer for the Wounded Warrior Project, a homeless shelter or your local VA. Although sentiments of support are important, to bring about genuine change, you must pair them with action.
