The demographic of veterans changed after 9/11/2001. As of Sept. 30, 2008, the Department of Veteran Affairs estimated the United States had 23.4 million veterans. Since that time, more than 2 million additional U.S. veterans have seen service in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Adjusting to life after the military can be challenging. However, according to the American Council on Education, today’s veterans come home to one of the most generous G.I. bills ever. The Post 9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act not only offers more money for schooling, but it has broadened conditions under which a veteran qualifies.
Veterans enrolled in undergraduate programs tend to be older than traditional undergrad students. In fact, 85 percent of veteran undergrads are 24 or older. Imagine sitting in a freshman class with 18- and 19-year-olds whose biggest decisions so far have been prom dresses and whether to take Honors or AP classes.
While many traditional college freshmen face their first separation from home, vets have experienced basic training in a place far from home, and many have experienced the pangs of deployment. Military deployments last anywhere from six to 18 months, and many vets who come to college have experienced multiple deployments.
Traditional college students often take for granted a phone call to Mom or Dad that forms a safety net, but many vets have been stationed in places where phone calls were rare … and precious — more like lifelines than safety nets.
Since 9/11/2001, North Carolina has deployed 50,886 men and women. More than 100,000 North Carolina residents are on active duty. The experiences I am describing are more increasingly common on North Carolina campuses.
Veterans bring much to the college classroom. They have military training and life experiences that given them a much more worldly view of life. After all, they have rubbed shoulders with people from across this nation and around the world. Most veterans develop a skill set that can help them become successful in college: leadership, motivation, time management and work ethic, to name but a few.
Still, negotiating the vast bureaucracy of most colleges and universities can be as daunting for many vets as any assignment they faced in the military. Some vets can have difficulty relating to classmates. Some find loud noise disturbing. Some suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
East Carolina decided to do something special for veterans. The university recently implemented the Green Zone Program.
Faculty members in the Green Zone Program place a special emblem on their office doors. The emblem is a star in the background. A pair of dog tags hangs from the star point on the right, and GREEN ZONE is superimposed on the star’s left. Faculty participants in the Green Zone Program volunteer for the training and for the designation.
Green Zone faculty members do not receive the designation because they have answers to all the questions a veteran can ask. In fact, we probably have few solid answers.
What we do have is an open door … and an open ear … and an open heart.
The Green Zone training program emphasizes the importance of listening. We are encouraged to listen to problems with G.I. Bills questions. We listen to problems a student may be having with academics. We may listen to frustrations vets may be having with university policy and procedure. We may hear stories about their military service.
Our next move is to point these students in the direction of finding answers — making phone calls on their behalf or sending emails. Sometimes the next move is just listening some more.
The chief goal of the Green Zone Program is simple — to assist veterans so they can be successful in their college experiences and in their lives after the military.
Mike Parker is a columnist for The Free Press. You can reach him at mparker16@suddenlink.net or in care of this newspaper.