Military Social Policy

Social Policy. In 1999, the Pentagon decided to form a Domestic Violence Task Force comprised of 24 members, 12 civilian and 12 military (Somerville 2009). The task of the panel was to investigate and evaluate to issue of domestic violence within the military scope. In their 2001 initial, and only, report the task force referred to domestic violence as a “pervasive problem that transcends all ethnic, racial, gender, and socioeconomic boundaries” that would not be tolerated in the Department of defense (Klimp and Tucker 2001). The initial paragraphs of the report outline domestic violence as prohibitive to military readiness and addresses the need to improve response to, and prevention of, intimate partner violence by implementing appropriate
In 2004 Sgt. Erin Edwards was brutally attacked by her husband, also active duty military, both had recently returned from independent missions in Iraq. With the help of her command, Sgt. Edwards pressed charges against her husband, was granted an order of protection, sent their children to her mother, and made plans to transfer to another base (Alvarez and Sontag 2008). Additionally, her husband’s commander assured her that her husband would be restricted from leaving base unless accompanied by an officer. Unfortunately, that assurance was not upheld and Sgt. W. Edwards left base, unaccompanied, drove to the residence of Erin and shot her point blank in the head before turning the weapon on himself (Alvarez and Sontag 2008). Lack of follow-through and accountability cost Sgt. Edwards her life and left her children without their
This time the task force created the IPV Assistance Program Pilot which included 14 recommendations (Zaccari 2015). Recommendations are as follows: the creation of a domestic violence coordinator role at each Veterans Association, provisions for intimate partner violence training to specific departments and clinics, and collaboration for treatment availability both inside and out of the VHA (Zaccari 2015). Strength at Home (SAH) is a men’s program, recently implemented in two VA hospitals, developed by the National Center for PTSD to teach skills for managing anger, as well as coping, communication, and conflict management skills (Zaccari 2015). This program showed positive results in the reduction of both physical and psychological intimate partner violence after a six-month follow-up (Zaccari 2015). These programs are essential in combating the recurrence of domestic violence; however, accountability must be maintained to assure successful completion of the programs. Is combat related posttraumatic stress disorder a positive indicator for intimate partner violence, or must there be more. Yes, intimate partner violence and posttraumatic stress disorder share a common link, however, marital discord is indicated in each instance (Gerlock, Grimesey, and Sayre 2014). Researchers also point to the lack of access to mental health care and fear of recourse by