re: OT vets, question for you

First, you should know that every homeless person claiming to be a "homeless veteran" is simply not being entirely truthful. A lot of them are just mentally disabled people who have found that they'll generally be better received if they claim to be a Veteran.

As for the Vets who are legitimately homeless; most of those guys have experienced the worst of human nature. The VA is an absolute disaster. I'm rated over 50% disabled by the VA and it took me nearly 4 years after being out of the military to get a rating, so I could begin receiving appropriate treatment. A lot of guys have been fricked over by the VA, denied benefits, lost paperwork and had to refile, etc.

It's nearly impossible to be perscribed medication through the VA, so a lot of those guys don't receive proper medication. A friend of mine went to the VA once because he was feeling sad and guilty about coming back from deployment, he didn't even get to see a psychologist and they tried to lock him down in the psych ward for the night. He had to threaten to take legal action to be let out.

Also, a lot of military skill just don't directly translate to the civilian world. As a 23 year old Marine Sergeant, I was responsible for multimillion dollar logistical operations in a foreign country. At 30, and working on a Master's, I don't have nearly the responsibility I had in my early 20s. So a lot of guys get out with wives and kids, and simply can't find work. Try going back to school on the GI bill and if your school doesn't know what they're doing, it could take 3-4 months before you start seeing any money so you better have a shitload of savings.

Basically, the military takes 6 months to a year to assimilate you into the culture and about 2 weeks processing you out and preparing you for the civilian world.

Yea, the VA is great at paying late... if at all

Just curious; what was your MOS and what do you do now?