Twenty-Five Years Later: Our Veterans Deserve More Than Gratitude

Watching my nephew graduate from Marine Corps boot camp was far more than a proud family experience. It was an opportunity to reflect on the responsibility we have to the next generation of American service members.

Dee Williams

Twenty-five years after September 11, 2001, I watched a young man enter the profession of arms. What was so special about this inaugural event? It was my nephew. Having viewed this celebration from a unique lens: that of a retired Air Force veteran, a student of psychology, and someone who has spent years working to understand the relationship between human performance, trauma, resilience, and recovery, I took a very vested interest in his enlistment.

As Kinnick begins his military career, I find myself asking a question that deserves more attention than it receives:

 

The Gap Between Service and Care

For decades, the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs have invested considerable resources in healthcare, suicide prevention, transition assistance, and behavioral health services.

Yet access to services does not always translate into continuity of care. Those that have worked in this field long enough understand the continuum of care model, sometimes arduous and redundant. Nevertheless, work in progress

Military service members move between installations, assignments, medical systems, and eventually civilian communities. Often with little to no support. Each transition introduces the possibility of interrupted treatment, delayed referrals, incomplete communication, or uncertainty about available resources.

 

For someone managing chronic pain, post-traumatic stress, depression, substance use, or another health concern, these disruptions can carry significant consequences.

The problem is not simply whether services exist. It is whether individuals can navigate them consistently, without having to repeatedly establish their needs or advocate for basic coordination.

 

Resilience Cannot Replace Healthcare

Throughout my military career, resilience was central to operational readiness. We trained individuals to perform under pressure, adapt to adversity, and maintain mission effectiveness.

These skills matter, but are not always transferable, learnable, or adaptable.

However, resilience training must never become a substitute for accessible healthcare or organizational accountability.

Service members can demonstrate exceptional physical conditioning, psychological adaptability, and professional competence while simultaneously experiencing significant emotional or physiological distress.

Human performance and human vulnerability are not mutually exclusive. Furthermore, I always say; Service before self does not equal service before family.

We must also recognize that the effects of prolonged operational stress can extend beyond an individual’s period of active service, but well into their civilian experience.

Sleep disruption, chronic stress exposure, traumatic experiences, family separation, and occupational demands may influence health long after the uniform comes off.

A comprehensive approach to veteran wellness must account for these cumulative experiences rather than waiting for a crisis to justify intervention.

 

Transition Is a Process, Not an Event

Military separation is frequently discussed as an administrative milestone. It is a major life transition involving changes in identity, healthcare access, employment, family dynamics, and social support.

For some, that transition is relatively smooth. For others, it introduces substantial uncertainty. In fact, during Kinnick’s graduation, a moment of uncontrollable emotion came over me as I watched his family provide significant support from the day he shipped off to basic training until the day he was welcomed home. What if many more veterans and service members received the same level of support?

Effective transition planning should begin well before separation and continue afterward.

That means strengthening coordination between military treatment facilities, VA providers, community healthcare organizations, family advocacy systems and qualified peer-support networks.

It also means treating preventive healthcare, behavioral health screenings, and timely follow-up as essential components of readiness and reintegration. Kinnick’s reintegration after 13-weeks is surely indicative of what his reintegration will look like after every deployment and separation phase…and that is enough to sustain a military member throughout their career.

 

A Responsibility to the Next Generation

Watching Kinnick graduate reminded me that military service is both an individual commitment and a national responsibility.

We ask young Americans to accept extraordinary obligations. In return, our institutions must demonstrate an equally serious commitment to their long-term health and well-being.

That commitment requires measurable improvements in access, communication, accountability, and continuity of care.

It requires listening to veterans and families when systems fail, incorporating their experiences into policy decisions, and evaluating whether programs improve outcomes.

Most importantly, it requires recognizing that veteran care begins while individuals are still serving.

As we observe Veterans Day, gratitude remains important. Ceremonies, recognition, and public appreciation have their place. But appreciation alone cannot coordinate a medical referral, prevent an interruption in treatment, or help a newly separated veteran navigate an unfamiliar healthcare system.

 

Those responsibilities require deliberate action.

Twenty-five years after 9/11, we have accumulated substantial knowledge about trauma, psychological health, resilience, and human performance.

The challenge now is translating that knowledge into dependable care systems.

When I look at Kinnick and the next generation entering military service, my hope is straightforward:

 

May they inherit not only the traditions of those who served before them, but also a healthcare system strengthened by everything we have learned.

 

That would be a meaningful way to honor America’s veterans, not only on Veterans Day, but throughout their lives.

 

About Dee

Durel “Dee” Williams is a retired U.S. Air Force veteran with 25 years of Active Duty and Civil service, a psychology researcher, and a mental health advocate. He serves as Vice President of Mental Health America of Arizona, Senior Crisis Interventionist with the City of Chandler, and Founder and President of Beautiful Wounds Inc., a nonprofit supporting veterans, first responders, and youth. He holds a master’s degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology and is pursuing a PhD in General Psychology at Liberty University. His work focuses on human performance, psychological resilience, trauma-informed education, and improving access to mental health resources.