The need has never been more crucial for community health providers, programs, and organizations to have access to training in addressing the unique behavioral health challenges facing our veterans, active duty military, and their families. Handbook of Military Social Work is edited by renowned leaders in the field, with contributions from social work professionals drawing from their wealth of experience working with veterans, active duty military, and their families. Handbook of Military Social Work considers: Military culture and diversity Women in the military Posttraumatic stress disorder in veterans Traumatic brain injury in the military Suicide in the military Homelessness among veterans Cycles of deployment and family well-being Grief, loss, and bereavement in military families Interventions for military children and youth Offering thoughtful advice covering the spectrum of issues encountered by mental health professionals working with individuals and families, Handbook of Military Social Work will contribute to the improvement of efforts to help our military personnel, veterans, and their families deal with the challenges they face.

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has thousands of opportunities for Social Workers posted annually for recruitment. VA Social Worker opportunities come with excellent pay and a VA benefit package that increases your salary up to 39% as a total compensation package. The federal bureaucracy makes searching, applying and hired into one of these positions a monumental task.The VA hiring process can be overwhelming for anyone. All you want to do is apply and get the job, but this is not possible unless you have the skills to navigate the complicated hiring process. The VA hiring process is stacked against you with rules and regulations galore. To make it worse, the people who interpret these rules and regulations are sometimes poorly trained, understaffed and overwhelmed by the volume of applications they receive. To help you overcome these obstacles, we offer you this book. Together, Gary & Lynn Strickland have 50 years of experience working for the federal government.Gary spent 35 years working for the federal government including 23 years in human resources. Of that time, close to 7 years was with the Department of Veterans Affairs where he posted healthcare vacancies, rated applications, conducted interviews and recruited healthcare professionals of all specialties.Gary was a human resources specialist for the Social workers Service at the Ralph Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston, SC and a VA National Healthcare Recruiter who assisted hundreds of Social Workers in finding employment with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).With the knowledge contained in this book, your chances of receiving a job offer as a Social Worker will increase greatly. We cannot guarantee you will be hired but we certainly can increase your odds greatly by transferring our knowledge to you. Understanding how to search for social workers opportunities, how to create a VA resume and understanding the entire process will help you tremendously in beginning your career with the VA.

Women have served in each branch of the U. S. military. Equally significant, women have served in critical civilian roles during war in service to this nation. The protagonist in this saga gains admission into the U.S. Army to enhance her life chances and forage several future goals. Unknowingly, the protagonist embarks upon military service joining an influx of women of color- officially known as the All-Volunteer Force. Our omnipresent God, manifests his master design through lives of believers, exceeding expectations in ways never imagined, creating us at once singular, but collectively including us in the larger fabric of his plan. The protagonist's journey is riddled with twists and turns during her quest to transition from an individual, into a soldier, and a licensed clinical social worker. Throughout life anxiety provoking questions (e.g. Where am I going? How will I make my goals a reality?) demand immediate responses, which threaten to overshadow the joy and challenge of goal attainment. While many individuals struggle to connect the dots, the protagonist's encounter with an Armed Forces recruiter establishes a trajectory of events that address initial inquiries and spur adventures the protagonist never anticipated. Serendipity. Nothing but favor! God orchestrates divine connections linking the right people to the right opportunities at the right time for those who step out on faith! While pensive, but never deterred, the protagonist learns distance running and deep breathing, unknowingly developing valuable skills, crucial in completing tasks only dreamt of years earlier. Because of enough belief, God allows the protagonist's impossible dreams to become possible. You'll be grappling with the ideal that, risks taken today, in the absence of knowledge of outcomes serve as catalysts for overcoming tomorrow's obstacles! "Seed planting" by influential figures; belief in God; commitment; risk-taking; mastery (early success); along with clean and sober living anchors the protagonist in Christ and propels her into her God given destiny. Glory to God!