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Wellesley, MA (CompNewsNetwork) -
The Iraq and Afghanistan theaters of war represent the largest deployment of civilian
soldiers since WWII. Of the 1.5 million troops that have served, approximately one in every
four is a National Guard member or a Reservist. While the Uniformed Services Employment
and Reemployment Rights Act offers legal job protections, the road back will not
be an easy one for many veterans. Many have suffered profound and life-changing physical
injuries; many also face less obvious wounds - Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
estimate that about one in three Iraq veterans will face a serious psychological
injury, such as depression, anxiety, or PTSD:
These psychological injuries exact a severe toll on military families. Rates of marital stress, substance abuse, and suicide have all increased. Twenty percent of married troops in Iraq say they are planning a divorce. Tens of thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have been treated for drug or alcohol abuse. And the current Army suicide rate is the highest it has been in 26 years.One of the goals of any disability program is to help the injured party to recover and to return to their normal lives, including return to work. This is true whether the injury occurred in the workplace, at home, or on the battlefield. Work is not only vital for economic security, for most of us it is also a core part of our identity, an integral part of our lives. A good return to work program can be restorative on a financial, emotional, and psychological plane. Both in the short term and over the longer term, employers will play a vital role in helping veterans readjust to civilian life. This requires that employers have awareness of the many challenges that veterans face and the willingness to provide the resources to support a successful transition.
Enter the Workplace Warrior Think Tank, a coming together of The Disability
Management Employer Coalition, several of the nation's premier insurers, employers, and
military and veteran participants with the purpose of helping veterans to ease the
transition from the war to the workplace. The group examined challenges and opportunities
facing returning employees and identified employer-based resources and strategies. The end
product is a useful guide for employers,
It's great to hear about the efforts of the think tank and their recommendations for employers - please help to distribute the guide and raise the issue because as the report notes, "Repercussions and delayed effects of the war experience will be felt in the workplace for decades to come." Hopefully, this will be the first step in many by leaders in our industry to dedicate resources and attention to this important issue.
For more information and resources:
The Corporate Response to Deployment and Reintegration - this is
the full report from Workplace Warriors, available through DMEC.
Wounded Warriors is a blog that collects veterans coverage from the McClatchy Washington Bureau, McClatchy Newspapers, and other sources. It's a good source of news for items that affect returning vets and their families.
Resources for returning veterans and their families - from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration.
Veterans and Military Health - from MedlinePlus
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of
America - since 2004, the nation's first and largest group dedicated to the
Troops and Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the civilian supporters of
those Troops and Veterans.
This article reprinted with permission from http://www.workerscompinsider.com/.
Author: Julie Ferguson
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