America's Veterans Deserve A Healthy Homecoming

by Scott Quilty · 2009-11-10 21:00:00 -0800
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Scott Quilty is a Retired US Army Captain and veteran of the Iraq War.

This Veterans Day, as we continue to try to make sense of what happened last week at Fort Hood, one thing is clear: our country has been deeply scarred by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And, unless we act now, war will continue to reverberate in our communities.

Soon, more than 1.8 million Americans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan will be back home.  Along with their duffel bags and their service awards, they'll bring the baggage of their experience: physical injuries and psychological trauma.

Remarkably, there's been no national effort to fully reintegrate these veterans into our communities, and the consequences—veteran unemployment, substance abuse, domestic violence, and higher-than-ever suicide rates—are hurting us all.

I know, I came back the hard way.

In 2006, I stepped on the roadside bomb in Iraq’s “triangle of death.”  I can't remember the flight home, but when I woke up—minus an arm and a leg—at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC, I realized that my homecoming wasn't going to be defined by a parade, or a kiss of the tarmac.

Indeed, for all veterans, the homecoming process doesn't last a day, or a week.  It's a constant effort that involves peers, entire families, and involved communities.

Starting today, Veterans Day, I am asking you to be a part of this effort by joining the Campaign for Healthy Homecoming.

Together, campaign members are collaborating on the first national plan that details the steps we can take to improve the homecoming process.

We're calling this plan a roadmap, because we're convinced that once all of us look at the complete landscape veterans face upon returning home, we'll be able to map the best route to thriving communities.

Whether you're concerned with the GI Bill and veteran education, or PTSD and veteran suicide, you have the power to influence the discussion that will help guarantee a healthy homecoming to those who have served.

It's time to change the way service members come back.  That change starts with you.

Scott Quilty
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