"The weighted lifetime prevalence of ED among veterans," according to an article published earlier this year in the journal Military Medicine -- Erectile Dysfunction in a U.S. National Sample of Male Military Veterans.
The percentage of of veterans who will be women by 2032, according to an article from the RAND Corporation -- Improving Support for Veteran Women: Veterans' Issues in Focus. Currently, 10% of veterans are women.
The number of low-income veterans who report owning a firearm, according to a study published earlier this year in the journal Military Psychology -- Prevalence and characteristics associated with firearm ownership among low-income U.S. veterans.
Every year over 200,000 veterans separate from military service leaving them with a significant number of decreased social supports, leading many to experience social isolation. Social isolation defined, is a pervasive absence of intimate contact with, and support from others; but felt, is a sensation that is hard to shake. For many of us, we lived it day in and day out during the COVID-19 pandemic, feeling more like a repeat of the 2020 film “Two Distant Strangers” produced by Van Lathan, Jesse Williams, and Sean Combs (to name a few), than our introduction to the new decade. While we were fortunate to have returned to a routine of somewhat normalcy or at least a new normal, many veterans experiencing social isolation continue to grapple with its detrimental impacts.
As we have looked at the concept of moral injury we have predominantly looked at it as a condition of the individual. However, every disorder exists within a social context. In this entry, I’d like to examine the role of American society in moral injury. Previously, I had discussed the treatment options that have evolved. These methods focus on the service members developing some form of peace with what had happened in a variety of ways. What I am hoping to examine is the aspects of our culture and society that may contribute to the burden that our service members bear in the prosecution of a war or conflict.