Post 9/11 Veterans With Service-Connected Disabilities and their Transition to the Civilian Workforce

Abstract

The problem

More than five million U.S. veterans are expected to return to our communities and the civilian workforce by the year 2020. The vast majority of Americans have little understanding of military service or the impact service may have on civilian employment outcomes. Connection to the labor force provides the swiftest means for a successful transition back home, yet almost half of post 9/11 veterans indicate finding a job is their biggest challenge. An exploratory literature review was conducted to examine if and how the career transition of post 9/11 veterans with service-connected disabilities is presented in the human resource development (HRD) literature.

The solution

Based on the results of this exploratory literature review, three solutions are proposed: (a) examine what is working at work for veterans with disabilities in an effort to change the research conversation from problems to solutions, (b) understand and begin to deconstruct the veteran–civilian career identity conflict, and (c) explore the lived experiences of veterans with service-connected disabilities and their employers.

The Stakeholders

HRD researchers, HRD scholarly practitioners, and HRD professionals with an interest in the complexity of career transition and return-to-work issues facing veterans and people with disabilities.

Keywords

post 9/11 veteran disability transition civilian workforce

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ainspan

N. D.

(Feb 2011). From deployment to employment for veterans with psychological disabilities, finding a job can be as effective at treating symptoms as prescribing medication. U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, 137(2), 44-49.

American Council on Education. (2015). Student veterans: Who are they and how are they doing? Retrieved from http://www.acenet.edu/news-room/Pages/Student-Veterans-Who-Are-They-and-How-Are-They-Doing.aspx

Batka

Hall

K. C.

(2016). More research on veteran employment would show what’s good for business and for veterans. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.

Ben-Shalom

Tennant

J. R.

Stapleton

D. C.

(2016). Trends in disability and program participation among U.S. veterans. Disability and Health Journal, 9, 449-456.

Brunger

Serrato

Ogden

(2013). No man’s land: The transition to civilian life. Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, 5, 86-100.

Bullock

E. E.

Braud

Andrews

Phillips

(2009). Career concerns of unemployed U.S. war veterans: Suggestions from a cognitive information processing approach. Journal of Employment Counseling, 46, 171-181.

Burnett-Zeigler

Valenstein

Ilgen

Blow

A. J.

Gorman

L. A.

Zivin

(2011). Civilian employment among recently returning Afghanistan and Iraq National Guard veterans. Military Medicine, 176, 639-646.

Castro

Kintzle

Hassan

(2014). The state of the American veteran: The Los Angeles county veterans study. Retrieved from USC Social Work Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans & Military Families website: http://cir.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/USC010_CIRLAVetReport_FPpgs.pdf

Clemens

E. V.

Milsom

A. S.

(2008). Enlisted service members’ transition into the civilian world of work: A cognitive information Processing Approach. The Career Development Quarterly, 56, 246-256.

10.

Cohen

S. I.

Suri

Amick

M. M.

Yan

(2013). Clinical and demographic factors associated with employment status in US military veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Work, 44, 213-219.

11.

Congress of the United States, Congressional Budget Office. (2014). Veterans’ disability compensation: Trends and policy options (Publication No. 4617). Retrieved from http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/113th-congress-2013-2014/reports/45615-VADisability_2.pdf

12.

Disability Compensation. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.benefits.va.gov/COMPENSATION/types-disability.asp

13.

Fink

D. S.

Gallaway

Millikan . (2014). An examination of successful soldier postdeployment transition from combat to garrison life. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 27, 98-102.

14.

Fryers

(2006). Work, identity and health. Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health, 2(1), 1-7.

15.

Gerber

L. H.

Weinstein

Frankenfeld

C. L.

Huynh

(2016). Disability among veterans: Analysis of the national survey of veterans (1997-2001). Military Medicine, 181, 219-226.

16.

Greene-Shortridge

T. M.

Britt

T. W.

Castro

C. A.

(2007). The stigma of mental health problems in the military. Military Medicine, 172, 157-161.

17.

Griffin

C. L.

Stein

M. A.

(2015). Self-perception of disability and prospects for employment among U.S. veterans. Work, 50, 49-58.

18.

Hall

K. C.

Harrell

M. C.

Bicksler

B. A.

Stewart

Fisher

M. P.

(2014). Veteran employment: Lessons from the 100,000 jobs mission. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.

19.

Harrell

M. C.

Berglass

(2012). Employing America’s veterans: Perspectives from businesses. Washington, DC: Center for a New American Security.

20.

Hayden

Buzzetta

(2014). Hope for the future: Career counseling for military personnel and veterans with disabilities. Career Planning and Adult Development Journal, 30(3), 52-65.

21.

Haynie

J. M.

Shepherd

(2011). Toward a theory of discontinuous career transition: Investigating career transitions necessitated by traumatic life events. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96, 501-524.

22.

Hoge

C. W.

Castro

C. A.

Messer

S. C.

McGurk

Cotting

D. I.

Koffman

R. L.

(2004). Combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, mental health problems, and barriers to care. New England Journal of Medicine, 351, 13-22.

23.

Horton

J. L.

Jacobson

I. G.

Wong

C. A.

Wells

T. S.

Boyko

E. J.

Smith

T. C.

(2013). The impact of prior deployment experience on civilian employment after military service. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 70, 408-417.

24.

Institute of Medicine. (2013). Returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan: Assessment of readjustment needs of veterans, service members, and their Families. National Academies Press. Retrieved from http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13499

25.

Jones

K. C.

(2013). Understanding student veterans in transition. The Qualitative Report, 18(37), 1-14.

26.

Kraimer

M. L.

Shaffer

M. A.

Harrison

D. A.

Ren

(2012). No place like home? An identity strain perspective on repatriate turnover. Academy of Management Journal, 55(2), 399-420.

27.

Kukla

Rattray

N. A.

Salyers

M. P.

(2015). Mixed methods study examining work reintegration experiences from perspectives of Veterans with mental health disorders. Journal of Rehabilitation Research & Development, 52, 477-491.

28.

Maury

Stone

Roseman

(2014). Veterans job retention survey. Retrieved from Syracuse University Institute for Veterans and Military Families at website: https://ivmf.syracuse.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/VetAdvisor-ReportFINAL-Single-pages.pdf

29.

Mcallister

C. P.

Mackey

J. D.

Hackney

K. J.

Perrewé

P. L.

(2015). From combat to khakis: An exploratory examination of job stress with veterans. Military Psychology, 27(2), 93-107.

30.

McGeary

Ford

M. A.

McCutchen

S. R.

Barnes

D. K.

(Eds.). (2007). A 21st century system for evaluating veterans for disability benefits. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

31.

Miles

R. A.

(2014). Career counseling strategies and challenges for transitioning veterans. Career Planning and Adult Development Journal, 30(3), 133-135.

32.

O’Herrin

(2011). Enhancing veteran success in higher education. Peer Review, 13(1), 15-18.

33.

Osborne

N. J.

(2014). Veteran ally: Practical strategies for closing the military-civilian gap on campus. Innovative Higher Education, 39, 247-260.

34.

Ostovary

Dapprich

(2011). Challenges and opportunities of Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans with disabilities transitioning into learning and workplace environments. New Directions for Adult & Continuing Education, 2011(132), 63-73.

35.

Rausch

M. A.

(2014). Contextual career counseling for transitioning military veterans. Journal of Employment Counseling, 51, 89-96.

36.

Resnick

L. J.

Allen

S. M.

(2007). Using international classification of functioning, disability and health to understand challenges in community reintegration of injured veterans. Journal of Rehabilitation Research & Development, 44, 991-1006.

37.

Robertson

Miles

Mallen

(2014). Career transition and military veterans: An overview of literature from 2000 to 2013. Career Planning and Adult Development Journal, 30(3), 14-27.

38.

Rocco

T. S.

Hatcher

(2011). The handbook of scholarly writing and publishing. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.

39.

Rudstam

(2012). Beyond yellow ribbons: Are employers prepared to hire, accommodate and retain returning veterans with disabilities? Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 36, 87-95.

40.

Ruh

Spicer

Vaughan

(2009). Helping veterans with disabilities transition to employment. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 22, 67-74.

41.

Saayman

Crafford

(2011). Negotiating work identity. South African Journal of Industrial Psychology, 37, 207-218.

42.

Sayer

N. A.

Carlson

K. F.

Frazier

P. A.

(2014). Reintegration challenges in U.S. service members and veterans following combat deployment. Social Issues and Policy Review, 8, 33-73.

43.

Smith

D. L.

(2015). The relationship of disability and employment for veterans from the 2010 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). Work, 51, 349-363.

44.

Smith

R. T.

True

(2014). Warring identities: Identity conflict and the mental distress of American veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Society and Mental Health, 4, 147-161.

45.

Stone

D. L.

(2015). Factors affecting hiring decisions about veterans. Human Resource Management Review, 25, 68-79.

46.

Szelwach

C. R.

Steinkogler

Badger

E. R.

Muttukumaru

(2011). Transitioning to the civilian workforce: Issues impacting the reentry of rural women veterans. Journal of Rural Social Sciences, 26(3), 83-112.

47.

Taylor

Morin

Parker

(2011). The military-civilian gap: War and sacrifice in the post 9/11 era. Social and Demographic Trends, Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2011/10/05/war-and-sacrifice-in-the-Post-911-era/

48.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2016). Employment situation of veterans summary (USDL-16-0611). Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/news.release/vet.nr0.htm.

49.

U.S. Department of Defense. (2014). 2014 demographics: Profile of the military community. Washington, DC: Military One Source. Retrieved from http://download.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/Reports/2014-Demographics-Report.pdf

50.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs & Westat. (2010). National survey of veterans, active duty service members, demobilized national guard and reserve members, family members, and surviving spouses (Contract GS-23F-8144H. Task Order 101–G87089). Washington, DC: Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved from http://www.va.gov/vetdata/docs/SurveysAndStudies/NVSSurveyFinalWeightedReport.pdf

51.

Van Til

Fikretoglu

Pranger

Patten

Wang

Wong

Pedlar

. (2013). Work reintegration for veterans with mental disorders: A systematic literature review to inform research. Physical Therapy, 93, 1163-1174.

52.

von Schrader

Malzer

Bruyère

. (2014). Perspectives on disability disclosure: The importance of employer practices and workplace climate. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 26, 237-255.

53.

Wilson

K. B.

(2014). Thank you for your service: Military initiatives on college campuses. New Horizons in Adult Education and Human Resource Development, 26(3), 54-60.