The Iraq election has been among the leading news stories this week, and while I was browsing to catch up on the latest reports from Iraq , I found a multimedia piece about Cpl. B.J. Jackson on MSNBC.com. Jackson is a 23-year-old veteran of the war who lost both his legs in an explosion. In a series of video clips, he shared the challenges he now faces after returning to the U.S.
Jackson said in his commentary that the resources veterans need are out there, but you have to know where to look. His struggle made me think of the thousands of other veterans like him that need a reliable source of information to stay up-to-date and help them reorganize their lives. When I surfed the web for veterans' news, I found only one simplistic site devoted to veteran news, but its content was largely current military news. The Department of Veterans Affairs has an extensive web site, but the focus is not news. A news web site focused on veterans of the U.S. armed forces is a need that has not yet been met on the web.
The VA department estimated in July 1997 that there were about 25.6 million living veterans. That estimate has no doubt changed, but it doesn't include dependents, who might also be drawn to a news site dedicated to veteran affairs. A veterans-specific site could feature not only current military news, but military history for veterans of past wars and conflicts. A major concern of most veterans is health care - how and where to get it. Information about changes to health benefits, tips for applying, recent medical research related to common injuries, and the psychological component of good health would be in one place and easy to access on a good news site.
Another important topic for veterans is employment -- where to direct their efforts after returning to civilian life. A news site could address this concern through feature-style content about education and vocation opportunities and features on successful veterans. Interactive opportunities on such a web site would be great -€“ discussion boards and chat rooms for veterans to meet or reunite, and maybe an honored veteran for the day submitted by readers.
To make the site successful, a working relationship with the military and the VA department would be helpful, particularly in aggregating any helpful information from their sites. Ads selling health care products, psychological services, life insurance and vocational or educational training could also help support the site.
Because of the number of U.S. veterans, the prominence of the Iraq war and the soldiers now returning home with injuries, it's the right time to launch a veterans web site to provide resources and information to veterans like Cpl. Jackson.
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