Table of ContentsIntroductionThose Who ServeThe ProblemThe Veterans Health AdministrationIntroductionAs an active duty service member, with 24 years of continuous service, topics involving veterans become very personal. I joined the Navy in August 1994 during the heart of Operation Uphold Democracy. This choice was made voluntarily because of my family's deep service to the U.S. Army for over 200 years. Each generation of my family provided at least one member, if not more, for military service after the Revolutionary War. Unfortunately, I will most likely be the last to do so because of the way this country treats our military. My family collectively came to this decision because of the work it cost us. I am a combat veteran, a patriot, and a member of special operations. I suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay "You cannot define war in harsher terms than I will. War is cruelty and you cannot refine it, and those who brought it into our country deserve all the curses and curses that a people can pour in. I know I did not help make this war, and I know that today I will make more sacrifices than anyone else to ensure peace ― William T. Sherman, Memoirs of General WT Sherman Those who serve To understand the information contained in this document , you must first have some facts on which to base your opinion. According to the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC), a body of the Department of Defense, as of January 31 there were almost 1.4 million active duty members 0.4% of the American population are active military personnel. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), in 2014 there were 22 million military veterans in the US population to the number of active personnel mentioned above, 7.3% of all living Americans have served in the military at some point in their lives. Only 2 million veterans and approximately 200,000 service personnel are women. Overall, 1.4% of all American women have ever served in the military, compared to 13.4% of all American men. The United States Census reports that the current population of the United States is 327,079,855 million. That number of flows due to birth occurs every eight seconds, a death occurs every ten seconds, and an international immigrant is acquired every twenty-nine seconds. This means that there is a net increase in population every eighteen seconds. The problem The equity gap begins with insufficient mental health care for veterans who served in Iraq or Afghanistan with significant depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. One in four has symptoms of substance abuse disorder. Post-traumatic stress disorder, which usually begins to manifest after a veteran has been home for three or four months, is firmly linked to traumatic brain injury, another serious mental health problem among veterans. Despite this known prevalence of mental illness among veterans, half of veterans who need mental health care will not receive it due to many factors reported by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, including: Personal embarrassment about mental health disabilities related to service Long waiting times to receive mental health care Shame about needing mental health care Fear of being seen as weak Stigma associated with mental health problems Lack of understanding,lack of awareness about mental health issues and treatment optionsLogistical issues, such as long trips to receive this type of careConcerns about the veteran's psychological health treatment offered by Veteran's AffairsDemographic barriers and false perceptions based on these demographics such as age or genderThe disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can occur after experiencing trauma. Trauma is defined as a shocking and dangerous event seen or experienced. Suffering trauma is not uncommon, in fact it is prevalent in today's society. Approximately 6 in ten men (or 60%) and 5 in ten women (or 50%) have experienced at least one trauma in their life. Women are more likely to experience sexual violence and child sexual abuse. Men are more likely to experience accidents, physical assaults, fights, disasters, or witness death or injury. Among veterans using VA health care, about 23 in 100 women (or 23%) reported sexual assault when they were in the military. 55 out of 100 women (or 55%) and 38 out of 100 men (or 38%) experienced sexual harassment during their military service. This is just the number of incidents reported. The number of veterans with PTSD varies depending on the era of service, Operations Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Enduring Freedom (OEF): approximately 11-20 veterans out of 100 (or between 11 and 20% ) who served in the OIF or OEF suffer from PTSD in a given year. Gulf War (Desert Storm): About 12 in 100 Gulf War veterans (or 12%) suffer from PTSD in any given year. When you break it down, 11-20% of all veterans are diagnosed with PTSD. 0.4% that are needed. This is why there is an equity gap. The number is so small that it is less than the number of deaths caused by heart disease each year in the United States, or 1 in 4 adults. While both are preventable and treatable, mental illness goes unnoticed unless there is a shooting or act of terror. Most veterans use the VA for health care because it is relatively inexpensive, the doctors understand military jargon which makes translating the cause of the injury more natural, and because we veterans have earned the right to be cared for by the government after giving so much. However, the location of VA facilities may not be convenient for the care you need. For veterans living in rural communities, accessing medical care, particularly mental health care, can be a challenge. of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities, lack of specialty and urgent care within rural VA facilities, and shortages of healthcare providers. Such barriers can negatively impact the health of rural veterans, who typically report lower health-related quality of life than veterans living in urban areas. The quality of care provided by the VA is only as good as the organization providing it. As seen in the news recently, the VA has undergone tremendous structural and policy changes due to the nature of the care provided to our heroes. I don't know of many hospitals that have had to wait six months to receive treatment. The unfortunate deaths of veterans awaiting treatment have done an excellent service by shedding light on this issue and others. Hundreds of thousands of veterans listed in the Department of Veterans Affairs' records system died before their claims were processed, according to a report released Wednesday. The VA inspector general found that about 800,000 records were blocked In the agency's system for managing health care enrollment, there were more than 307,000 records that.