Social Work and the Military

Social workers in all branches of the military are helping families and military personnel prepare for, and cope with, the hardships of war. They do so through a range of preventive and clinical services provided by the Veteran Administration with many different types of programs, including family-support and mental-health counseling. The mission statement of the VA Social Workers is to eliminate significant barriers to clients in need and offer interventions for veterans and families. It is accomplished by developing and maintaining integrated, in-depth programs in patient care, research, and education. When men and women are off to war, or serving the United States Military somewhere out in the world, social workers in the Department of Veteran Affairs are trained and educated to help our soldiers and their families stay physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy throughout each day. Social workers can be found at local VA Health Administration Branches in almost every state, and as well in-country bases occupied by American Forces located throughout the world. There are roughly 3,700 social workers in the Veterans Affairs Health Administration to date. This number shows huge growth from the original 14 that began over 80 years ago.
Social workers specialize in treating all types of clients. Regardless of their specialty, all social workers have common tasks. When they get new clients, social workers, both in the military and in the civilian world, ask clients questions to identify their problems, concerns, and needs. Social workers collect information, such as employment, school, military, and medical records, and they will successfully determine the situation of the person or family they are providing help to. For some clients, social workers arrange for medical or psychiatric tests. War and military life is tough on everyone within a family unit. Medical tests help show disabilities that a person might have on the outside, while psychological tests