Educational campaign is temporary fix for veteran resource allocation issues

The report calling for a National Veterans Strategy by organizations at Syracuse University is a request that should be addressed by the federal government. But this call to action should not be given higher priority than other issues on the national stage.

After analyzing 1,300 federal and state policies, executive orders and laws related to veterans and their families, the Institute for Veterans and Military Families and the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism at SU have created a report to explain why the current policy environment makes it challenging to properly allocate resources to veterans and their families.

The report claims the National Veterans Strategy may be the best method to effectively allocate resources from the public and private sectors to veterans. But an educational campaign addressing these issues is a temporary solution.

Recommendations within the report for executing the strategy include creating a presidentially directed Veteran’s Public Engagement and Collaborative Governance Commission and establishing a single point of federal authority responsible for coordination and implementation of the strategy, among several others.

Making a comprehensive plan for improving the entire veteran resource allocation system is worthy of federal attention. Most American and NATO troops are set to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014, and a complete plan should be formed by that time.

But it is not as urgent as issues currently consuming American political and societal discourse. The post-sequester economy, gun control debate and same-sex marriage rights are issues that need to be addressed first.

Action for this cause can be taken right now in the form of an educational campaign to inform veterans and their families of what they can do to obtain resources. Despite the larger, holistic issues the strategy addresses, this could aid the situation temporarily.