We know a lot abt Post-9/11 vets today that we didn’t 10, even 5 yes ago. For #StandTo2021 @BushCenterMSI & @IVMFSyracuseU did a canvass of the literature & a new survey to tell us where we are; & stood up some task forces. Today we talked abt our findings & recommendations! https://twitter.com/barrettbogue/status/1362502822470770694

2/ you’ll want to read over their survey write up here. Overall, we are down to 18.8 million vets from 26.4 in 2020; P9/11V now represent 20% of all vets& their median age is ~39, vs ~69 for all vets. https://www.bushcenter.org/publications/resources-reports/reports/stand-to-2021-report.html

3/Some good news! P9/11V actually feel fairly good abt how they/the military prepared them for civilian life transition (69%). Harder when they answer specific transition pathways tho-transition to employment, or higher Ed, or esp health care & benefits are ~60%, but still rocky

4/one of the biggest challenges for vets is they have difficulty determining *which* programs are relevant & effective; that they are qualified to use; & how to complete enrolment requirements.
53% who needed but didn’t receive employment services didn’t know how to access them!

5/33% who needed but didn’t receive ED benefits didn’t know how to access them!
27% who needed but didn’t access health care services didn’t know how to access them &
32% didn’t think they’d be able to afford services!

6/(parallel problems for key stakeholders like funders. Duplications of services etc means vets, legislators, private-sector funders don’t know what services are effective or worthy of support)

7/ Enlisted & younger vets (18-24) are higher risk for esp difficult transitions, as well as tho who served in combat. The first year out is repeatedly proving to be the most difficult. Women vets have higher rates of mental health concerns but *even less likely* to seek support

8/The survey covers employment & education. 80% of P9/11V are active in the workforce. Abt 70% of P9/11V using their GI Bill benefits want a better job or to make more $&; 67% want to learn more abt things that interest them; 61% want specific training

9/This is great news! Reinforces all the data we are seeing (h/t @studentvets ) that student vets represent 1 of the most resilient, high performing pops of students on higher Ed campuses today.

10/.Student vets are a dynamic community of non traditional adult learners, 60+% 1st gen college; a testament to the passionate belief in a cross-section of underrepresented Americans in the uplifting power of ED. They deserve to be seen for who they are & where they come from.

11/. To help with that, our veterans & Higher Ed task force developed two sets of policy recommendations, one for state & federal policy makers & 1 for decision makers at institutions of higher learning. A key point of both is military student cultural competency & flexibility

12/. Did you know that it takes a literal act of Congress for a student vet to get their education benefits is the slightest whiff of something upsets “normal” life? (Not to mention a tsunami like COVID)

https://m.box.com/shared_item/https%3A%2F%2Fbushcenter.box.com%2Fs%2F3s833fgjos173tashobmqptxpxuo49pm

13/ And here are our draft recommendations for IHL. Keep investing in the peer support programs & veterans Center’s on campus! Don’t backtrack on the great work. Educate your administrators in military transcripts! Continue hybrid learning opportunities!

https://m.box.com/shared_item/https%3A%2F%2Fbushcenter.box.com%2Fs%2Fbar9fmav2z96rbcnpptok70887yqduzv

14/14. And finally. Just a reminder. Just bc we are talking abt the challenges doesn’t mean we should forget that veterans are social assets representing a broad swath of Americans.