7A- Testing the Hypothesis Part 1

The opportunity that I chose to pursue is helping veterans readjust to civilian life after their time of service in the military.
The Who: Military Veterans
The What: Military service members who have spent years in the military come home after their time of service with no help or guidance on how to readjust back to civilian life after many years of combat mode.
The Why: There are nearly 40,000 homeless veterans in the United States at this exact moment, and there are significant numbers of veteran suicides, substance abuses, and mental health problems that have never been helped. Many more veterans are unemployed and need guidance.

Testing the Who: Not all Military Veterans will need these services, but they should be available for the those who do need such services. Those who could need it more are those who were active combat and faced traumatic experiences that make life difficult for them.
Testing the What: There are a multitude of different needs that will need to be met on many different levels. The needs will range from simply needing assistance finding a job all the way to needing counseling and a support animal for severe PTSD veterans. The needs will vary and there will be some of the veterans who need more assistance than others.
Testing the Why: There are currently programs that exist that help veterans returning home from their military service in the terms of helping them find jobs and identifying that they can use some help. The VA hospitals across the country have special doctors that help with PTSD and more. Even with these current services, there are still way more veterans that need assistance than what these current programs can handle, and that is why this a great opportunity to pursue.

Interview 1:
In my first interview, I went to someone who works at the VA hospital. This individual was never a service member and has just always worked in the medical field at various locations. This individual asked to keep their identity concealed. I asked the person about some of the veterans that they had been in contact with which I soon found out that they were unable to disclose due to certain privacy rights. I asked if there was a need for more assistance to be provided to veterans when they return home from their personal opinion. The individual was very vague in the responses that  they gave me because of the privacy rights but they told me that there are some that could definitely use more assistance than what they are given. This individual said that it broke their heart to see some of the people that came through with the stories that they had. They ended their statement at that. I briefly offered my idea to provide a transformation for veterans returning from service, and I asked their thoughts on the topic. This individual thought that it was a great idea and even offered some helpful advice to what they thought could be most beneficial. I was asked to exclude that from this interview.

Interview 2:
For my second interview, I spoke with a retired veteran from the Air-Force. He had served 20 years and retired and came home to start his civilian life. I figured this was a perfect candidate. I asked him if it was hard for him coming home, readjusting to the civilian life. He told me that it was a very different experience for him, but he made the transition pretty well. He did admit that some of his friends from the military did not have it as easy coming back home as he did, and that many of them struggled. I asked him what he thought of the current services that are provided for returning veterans. He told me that he has been very grateful for the current services that there are for veterans, even though his pride has not allowed him to use a majority of them. I pitched him my idea of offering a service to help veterans transition back to civilian life and he told me that he loved the idea. He said that if I ever really did pursue such an endeavor that he would certainly like to be a part of it.

Interview 3:
This interview was with a friend of mine's grandfather, and was relatively short. I have great respect for the man and he did not seem to want to discuss much about his past military experiences. When I asked him about his military experiences he very straightforward told me that before the military he never drank. The one thing he said he learned from the military was how to be an alcoholic. I could tell from the look in his eyes that there was a sadness and hurt, and he was one of the types of people that a maybe could have benefited from such a service many years ago. Today he is a married man with kids and grand kids and is happy as can be. I can tell though, his military experiences may not have been.

Interview 4:
My fourth interview was with a friend of mine at the age of 24, who had recently got back from his military service. Him and I are very close so it was a little easier speaking with him. I asked him if it was hard for him to transition when he first got back. He told me that it was certainly different, but it was not too hard for him because he had a large family that welcomed him back with open arms. I asked him what his military experiences were like and he told me. For respect purposes, those are left out of this interview as well. Some of the things that he had seen and some of the things that he witnessed were rough and not something that an average citizen would have to experience. I asked him what he thought about a service helping people transition back to the civilian life, and he thought it sounded like a great idea. He told me that he honestly would have needed some guidance when he got back if he hadn't had such a large family to help him when he got back.

Interview 5:
My last interview was with a family member of mine, which the relation will name anonymous. Her husband is a wounded veteran from Iraq. I asked her what she thought about her husband's experiences in the military. She had told me that he was not the same person at all when he got back. There was burden that he carried with him is what she had said. She went on to explain that one of his best-friends was shot in duty and he had to carry him out. She said that he had PTSD because of his military experiences and he started drinking a lot. She said that it took a lot of time and therapy to help him with everything over time, and that he still to this day was not fully the same person that he once was. I asked her about my business idea and she thought it was a phenomenal idea and that it would help many people. She suggested to even extend the service to the spouses of those veterans who return because it can be hard on them as well.

I now see that there is certainly a need for more assistance to military veterans. I had previously not even thought about extending the services to the families of the veterans, but I can now see how it would be difficult for the veteran's loved ones as well. After my interviews and hearing from some people, I think it would be a great idea, and I think I learned one more thing as well. A lot of the people just want someone to talk too. Not necessarily about their experiences but just someone to show them support. I think that a service helping veterans adjust would be a great idea, and I hope I can show others that as well.