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Service members, Veterans, and their families have special needs for mental health services, but the nation lacks a sufficient pool of social workers competent in military culture. Noting the need for military cultural competency and an increasing number of student Veterans, a graduate school of social work created a military social work training program embedded in an existing MSW program. Operation Veterans to Social Workers (OVSW) were designed to increase culturally competent mental health services to this population by recruiting Veteran MSW students into a Military Social Work certificate program that included a specialized field placement with a trauma-informed clinical focus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Military caregivers provide essential services for their veteran or military service members who have serious injuries or illness. Of the estimated 39.8 million Americans who provide care for an adult, 1.1 million care for a post 9/11 veteran or service member. Caregivers may experience greater physical or mental health concerns including stress, depression and/or chronic illness, and have greater financial burden than their non-caregiving counterparts. Policy shifts such as the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010 (2018) have created and expanded programs to support caregivers. Practitioners working with injured or ill military service members or veterans and their families should include a comprehensive biopsychosocial assessment of the whole family, utilizing several interventions, such as support groups, peer support, psychoeducational programs, training, individual and family counseling, and/or respite care services, to improve family function and reduce caregiver burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Female veterans differ from their male veteran counterparts in terms of ratio of men to women, minority status, economic status, and age. In 2014, female veterans totaled over 2 million; roughly 10% of the veteran population. In addition to balancing personal and professional responsibilities, many female veterans also have to adjust to and cope with the physical and/or mental health conditions they experience post-deployment. The extent to which female veterans succeed in transitioning back to civilian life post-deployment may be determined by biological, psychological, and social factors within their home and community. Circumstances that can support or hinder female veterans’ reintegration process include: (a) availability of gender-specific Veterans Affairs policies and services; (b) access to education and employment; (c) supports specific to mental health and/or military sexual trauma; and (d) social stigmas associated with being a female veteran. Along with other healthcare professionals, social workers have an obligation to promote social justice, and to empower underprivileged populations, including female veterans, whose needs may differ from male veterans and require specific expertise and knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the author discusses recognition of the U.S. military-connected families in national security after military involvement in the wars such as Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Afghanistan and Iraq (Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). Topics include families support the service members dealing with issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), adolescents and children at risk for behavior and academic problems and support for military members and families by social workers.

Many female service members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan report experiencing some level of combat. However, female veterans may perceive combat and threat differently than their male counterparts. A feminist analysis of semistructured interviews was used to examine female veterans' (N = 12) definitions of and experiences with combat. Participants described combat in three themes -- experiencing combat-related events, witnessing combat-related events, and feeling threatened. Veterans also described a flexible definition of "combat veteran," comparing their experiences to others' to determine their status. This study has implications for practice, research, and policy on veterans, including broadening the assessment of combat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various topics within the issue including impact of war on military women's lives and families in the U.S.; problems faced by the military and Veteran-connected families; and using empirical evidence for addressing the challenges.