"Those Who Serve" (CAUSE Leadership Academy 2013 Group Project)

7/30/2019 "Those Who Serve" (CAUSE Leadership Academy 2013 Group Project)

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Those Who ServeA Report on Asian American/Pacific Islander Service Members

2013 Cause Leadership Academy

Jonathan Chen

Tanya Edmilao

Danny Chee Kwan

Katrina Lei

Lauren Richardson

Christine Sun

Jimmy Tran

Edward Truong

Kim Yamasaki


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ForewordOn March 19, 2009, United States President Barack Obama declared, We also owe our veteransthe care they were promised and the benefits that they have earned...But we know that for toolong, weve fallen short of meeting that commitment. Too many wounded warriors go without thecare that they need (Obama).

As President Obama had stressed the need to increase resources for returning veterans, the 2013CAUSE Leadership Academy chose to investigate how his initiative would affect Asian Americanand Pacific Islander (AAPI) service members.

Our project, titled Those Who Serve: A Report on Asian American Pacific Islander ServiceMembers, covers research on the current state of Asian American Pacific Islander servicemembers, including active duty members, reserve members, and veterans. Along with research,interviews were conducted with various intellectuals and representatives from organizations in thecommunity to further understand this issue.

Although AAPIs have made significant progress in the military, there seems to be little documentationof their recent experiences in combat missions and their transitions back to civilian life. The lackof information makes it difficult to address the problems AAPI service members face.

Most significantly, our intern class has a particular vested interest in this issue because it is a matterthat affects some of our closest friends and family members. Within our own group, Danny CheeKwan, served in combat for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Throughout his time in service, hewitnessed and experienced several traumatizing events. And since returning and transitioning backinto civilian life, he has faced several additional challenges. This project highlights these strugglesand aims to shed light to the AAPI service members in hopes of one day gaining the resourcesadequate for supporting this community.

Thus, we hope to empower community leaders and government organizations to not only conductmore research, but also to document the experiences of this minority group in the military.

In addition, we seek to educate our counterparts about resources already in existence. Uponcompletion of this project, we would like to encourage the establishment of services for AAPIservice members that are both culturally sensitive and responsive. Assessing AAPI needs andexperiences is a pivotal step toward helping veterans as a whole.

Sincerely,2013 CAUSE Leadership Academy Interns


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Content

Foreword 2

Abstract, Introduction 4

A Portrait: AAPI Service Members 5

Recruitment 7Mental Health 13

Military Hazing 23

Conclusion 29

Resource Guide 32

A Word of Thanks 33

About the Interns 34

Works Cited 36

About CAUSE 38

Photos Courtesy of JONATHAN KIM AND CHEE KWAN


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Abstract

Introduction

This research paper covers the lack of resources that are available and accessible to the Asian Americand Pacific Islander (AAPI) service members and their families. Through researching the topic, it has bediscovered that there is a specific lack of information pertaining to the prevalent issues that are currently faciAAPI service members. It is believed that there are minimal ethnic specific resources because there is a lackdata to illustrate the need.

This project will discuss three subjects and will identify how each subject illustrates the importance of providculturally and linguistically sensitive resources to AAPI service members and to their families. The project wfirst discuss matters related to the recruitment rate of AAPI members and how it is important to have culturaand linguistically competent recruitment officials. Secondly, the project will describe prevalent mental heaissues that impact the AAPI community and explore how those same issues are magnified in its service memb

community. Third, the paper will cover the issue of hazing in the military and reveal how AAPI service membcan be mistreated because of their cultural and ethnic background.

This project will conclude with several recommendations on how the federal, state, and local government cimpact the creation of more culturally sensitive resources.

According to the Pew Research Center, the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community is tfastest growing ethnic group in the United States. As reported by the 2011 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, theare currently 18.2 million AAPIs in the United States, constituting 5.8% of the total population. Traditionalthe AAPI community has maintained the lowest rate of enlistment and commissions into the United Stamilitary. Despite a recent surge in AAPI enlistment rates, AAPI service members still only constitute 4.3% ofactive duty service members, a number that is not reflective of the overall AAPI population (Shavelson). Duetheir disproportionately small size within the military, AAPI service members are often overlooked in terms

resource allocation and funding.

In order to increase the amount of attention and support for AAPI service members and their familigovernment and community leaders must first acknowledge that there is a need for more services. Howevthere is no specific data to suggest that a need exists. Without the data to illustrate the need for more culturaand linguistically competent services, government officials and community organizations are less likely to aTherefore, this project seeks to highlight some of the more prevalent issues that are facing AAPI service memband their families so that more awareness can be raised on their behalf.


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A Portrait: AAPI Service Members

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are a record 18.2 million Asian American and Pacific

Islanders (AAPIs) living in the United States, or 5.8% of the total population. In fact, the Pew ResearchCenter found that AAPIs are the fastest growing racial group in the United States. Because of thegrowing number of AAPIs, there is a greater need for cultural understanding and tolerance. Thisfurther necessitates the availability of ethnic sensitive and specific resources. For example, if militaryinformational pamphlets are available in Spanish, they should also be readily available and accessible for

AAPIs in their native languages.

Service StatsAccording to the 2011 U.S.Census, there are 21.8 millionveterans in the U.S. and of those

21.8 million, 264,695 are Asianand 27,469 Hawaiian or PacificIslander veterans, making that atotal of 292,164 total AAPI veterans(Asian/Pacific American HeritageMonth: May 2013). In addition,AAPIs make up 1.3% of the totalveteran population, as reported by a2008 AmericanCommunity Survey.

Rising Enlistment RateStatistics show that AAPIs have had a history of low militaryenlistment. For the past decade, AAPIs comprised less than 3% of allmilitary recruits, only recently rising to 3.2% in 2010 (Semple).

However, it is hard to ignore that over the last few years, there hasbeen a dramatic surge in AAPI recruits. In the Los Angeles Battalionalone, there was an 80% increase in AAPI enlistment rate in 2009compared to the previous year (Shavelson). Similarly, the totalnumber of AAPI recruits from the Los Angeles County added up to

an astounding 22% in 2009 (Shavelson).

Since AAPI service members constitute a very small minority groupwithin the military, they are often overlooked for resource allocation.Nevertheless, as an employer, the government must be held moreaccountable. Adequate resources distributed in a way that would beaccessible to both the service members and their families must beensured.

Graphics Courtesy of PEWRESEARCH.ORG


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Service AcademiesAdditionally, AAPIs are also a risingpresence in the United States serviceacademies. Each of the service academiesoffers an elite, all-expenses paid, four-

year educational program, and upongraduation, students of service academiesare commissioned as officersrising asimportant leaders in the military. Themilitary service academies include: U.S. Military Academy (USMA akaWest Point) in West Point, New York

U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) in Annapolis Maryland U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) in Colorado Springs, Colorado

U.S. Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) in New London, Connecticut U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) in Kings Point, New York

Racial demographics of these serviceacademies reflect a clear Caucasianmajority, with AAPI community as a clearminority. At the United States Air ForceAcademy, the AAPI community comprises8% of the student body. However, sucha figure easily makes AAPIs a leadingminority population within the military

academy.

Similarly, the United States NavalAcademy has an AAPI population of 10%of the total student body, while AfricanAmericans follow close behind at 9% andHispanics lead with 13%.

However, racial demographics were not readily available for the other service academies, which makeit more challenging to track the overall increase of AAPI students in these academies. In addition,after much investigation and correspondence, ethnic demographics were even more difficult to find.Available data that was found took a great deal of unearthing.

Demographic data that is ethnic specific is vital. As commissioned officers from service academiespositions of higher leadership roles, understanding ethnic backgrounds will be essential. Theprovision of such data for public access will allow for improved services that directly cater toward aservice members backgrounds.

This information is valuable for military academy students and graduates as well as the overall AAPIservice members. The lack of ethnic-specific data is a recurring theme throughout varying militarysectors. The following segments highlight this issue within the areas of recruitment, mental health,

and hazing in particular.

Graphics Courtesy of JONATHAN KIM


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The Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community retains the lowest rate of enlistmentand commissions to the United States military (Shavelson). According to the Demographics 2010

Profile of the Military Community, the AAPI minority group only constitute 4.3% of all activeduty service members. To put that into perspective, the Department of Defense (DOD) found thatonly 61,000 service members out of over 1.4 million are of AAPI descent (2010 Department ofDefense Military Demographics). Further dissection of the data reveals that AAPI service membersmake up only 4.4% of the enlisted population and 4.0% of the commissioned officer population(Demographics 2010).

Recruitment MotivationsBut after such a long history of AAPIs beingunderrepresented in the military, why has there

been an increase now? The following outlines a fewmotives behind the decision to serve:

EducationFirst and foremost, after being signed into law in2008, the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill now offers a handful ofeducational incentives that attract many young menand women each year. The Bill states that a servicemember who serves at least 90 days on active dutymay receive the most basic educational benefits. As

long as a service member has served three years onactive duty since 2001, 100% of his four-year public, in-state college tuition will funded for under thisBill. In addition, if a veteran serves 10 years on active duty, these benefits then become transferableto his spouse and children. In addition to educational support, monthly stipends and housing benefitsare also allocated. Overall, the provisions under the GI Bill deeply encourage higher education.

Job SecurityWith the rising cost of tuition and lack of employment opportunities, military service providesveterans with not only college benefits but also job security after honorable completion of service.Many service members are able to enlist into non-combat roles that can provide transferable job skills,such as clerical or mechanical experience through working in offices or auto shops. As one Naval

Academy senior believes, The Uniform opens the door for Asian-Americans to enter mainstreamsociety... Powerful people in the U.S., including CEOs and politicians, often have backgrounds in themilitary (Nuasian). In essence, serving in the military generates unique technical skills that may beapplied to a variety of jobs and sense of unspoken trustworthiness.

Forbes Magazine also noted that employers prize military service because a veterans experienceduring military service enables them to become more versatile. Corporations such as Walmartare leading the way in publicizing the effort the provide jobs for veterans, launching the VeteransWelcome Home Commitment in May 2013, which offers any honorably discharged veteran a jobin his or her first 12 months off active duty.

Recruitment

Graphic Courtesy of DEBATE.ORG


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Leadership OpportunitiesThe growing number of high-profile AAPI officers in the upper echelons of the military could be anotherincentive encouraging AAPI enlistment. In fact, although AAPIs only make up 3.7% of the enlistedpopulation, they represent 4.2% of the officer population (2010 Demographics). This demonstratesthat AAPIs are relatively well represented in terms of leadership within military ranksoffering a brightand positive outlook for members of the AAPI community who plan on joining the military.

Path to Citizenship

For many, the military also offers the unique opportunity of receiving an American citizenship. Underspecial provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), service members may receive expeditednaturalization processes as well as more lenient qualifications. Rather than the normal five years ofpermanent residency history, under the INA, veterans qualify for an accelerated process which takesabout 8 to 10 months from beginning to end (Powers 1).

Also, the U.S. Army also offers a special citizenship program called Military Accessions Vital to theNational Interest (MAVNI), in which immigrants with certain language expertise or medical trainingcould enlist and receive citizenship in 10 weeks under the provision that they complete the 10 weeks ofbasic training (Schafer). This program was first piloted in 2009 and has since been extended until May2014 after a brief period of suspension. As many AAPI students are studying in the U.S. on student

visas, this program will give them the unique opportunity to obtain citizenship and remain in the U.S.However, this program has capped enrollment at 1,500 people until 2014, thus making the quota foreach language category fiercely competitive. AAPIs are definitely taking advantage of this opportunity,and Koreans in particular have shown keen interest in this program (NuAsian). Programs like these,which provide citizenship that translates into lifelong benefits, could be another contributing factor forthe increase in AAPI service members over the years.

Other MotivesCurrent recruitment trends tend to highlight that military service provides life experience, job training,and college benefits. However, factors such as diverse socioeconomic status, familial experience with

Photo Courtesy of CSMONITOR.COM


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military service, and generational gaps do indeed affect a familys decision to either support or denouncemilitary service. Although there is no specific research to support this claim, Dr. Jack Tsai, Assistant Pro-fessor of Psychiatry at Yale University, believes that AAPI members within lower socioeconomic statusgroups have a higher tendency to go into the military because they are looking for more opportunities,which service in the military can provide (Tsai). Regardless of the facts, military recruiters will continueto have difficulty responding to the needs of the AAPI community without the availability of data.

As AAPI veteran Tim Hsia pointed out, anincreasing AAPI population in the militarycan not only provide linguistic and culturaltranslations for military operations, but alsofacilitate better understanding of the AAPIculture in general (Hsia). According to a 2011Department of Defense report, there are7.1%, or 99,921 Active Duty troops stationedin East Asiaa figure that seems rather minute

at first mention, but in actuality, bears greatsignificance. While a majority of troops arestationed on American soil, the second largestgroup of stationed troops is in East Asia.

Since a significant portion of U.S. troops arein East Asia, the push for more understandingof the AAPI culture is even more crucial. Ulti-mately greater understanding will be mutuallybeneficial and have the potential to make military operations in East Asia operate more efficiently. Inaddition, the AAPI soldiers stationed in East Asia can be at the forefront of these efforts to facilitate

better understanding by sharing their own beliefs in an effort to promote general cultural understanding.

Recruitment StrategiesThe Marine Corps launched a major ad campaigncomprising a series of short videos targeting AAPImembers for recruitment this year from May 8 to June7, coinciding with the Asian Pacific American HeritageMonth (Lanz, Vigeland). The ad campaign, known as

A Warriors Education, featured AAPI officers whoemphasized the importance of discipline and respectalong with the value of service and self-betterment. TheMarine Corps hopes that such efforts of outreach willgenerate a positive response and garner an increasein AAPI recruitment rates, especially since the AAPImakeup of the Marine Corps currently stands at 3.06%.

Graphic Courtesy of DEFENSE.GOV

Graphic Courtesy of AFMIL.COM


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However, a potential pitfall of ads that target specific ethnic groups is that it utilizes racialized recruitmentstrategies (Buenavista). Dr. Tracy Buenavista, who teaches Asian American Studies at Cal StateNorthridge, is critical of such an approach. She argues that such strategies stereotypes AAPI membersas the model minority with hyper-disciplinary practices within their families. This stereotyping furtherperpetuates the stereotype that AAPI families inherently value a high level of discipline (Buenavista). The

militarys strategic use of and reliance on stereotypes ultimately highlights the lack of genuine effort tounderstand the AAPI community. If actual data and research on AAPI service members were available,then using stereotypes for assistance would not be necessary in the effort to promote AAPI enlistment.

Recruiters & Recruitment Facilities: Their RoleThe need for culturally sensitive recruiters and recruitment facilities that offer ethnic-specific resources isimminent . The recruiters and their offices are often the first and only means for families to bridge the gapbetween military service and civilian life. The recruiter is a representative for his or her specific branchand may often provide the only face-to-face contact that is readily available and accessible for an AAPIservice member since recruiters are assigned to specific localities manage all recruits of those localities.

Even after completion of service, recruiters can play a crucial role in receiving information at the locallevel because the Department of Veterans Affairs lacks adequate facilities to serve the ever-growingveteran population. Often, recruiters help bridge the gap between military service and civilian life. Thismay be done by guiding service members to available resources and serving as an overall support system.

In order for recruitment facilities to become more sensitive to the needs of the AAPI community andoffer more services geared toward the AAPI population, more research must be done. Such researchwould enable experts to conclude which services are needed for specific ethnic groups and figure out howto implement them.

According to Sergeant Cory Jeffers, a Marine Corps recruiter, the recruitment field is the only militaryoccupational specialty that is segregated by ethnicity (Jeffers). Recruiters are given the option of choosingtheir duty station but are ultimately placed according to the needs of their military branch. The MarineCorps, for example, strives to allocate its recruiters back into their communities of origin. This allowsthe recruiter to be more effective when it comes to recruiting from that specific community. Jeffers also

Graphic Courtesy of MARINES.COM


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emphasized that there are often very few AAPI recruiters that can be tasked out to their communitiessimply because there are not enough of them.

Though it would be ideal to offer services that are conducive to potential enlistees backgrounds, theabsence of adequate resources makes this very difficult. When dealing with the family members of

service members with varying backgrounds, recruiters are often expected to adapt to the best of theirabilities in servicing the enlistees. According to Staff Sergeant Ramon Inzunza, a former Marine Corpsrecruiter, Having some ethnic specific pamphlets, brochures, or DVDs for the parents of AAPIpotential recruits would have helped a lot (Inzunza). As one could imagine, the lack of such resourcesseverely limits the effectiveness of communication. Often, it is extremely challenging for recruiters tohelp the families of different cultural backgrounds understand the process of enlistment.

Although recent recruitment strategies have shown a greater interest in and understanding of AAPIoutreach, the availability and accessibility of ethnic specific resources has yet to improve becauseAAPIs continue to remain a small minority group within the military. Dr. Anthony Hassan, Directorof the Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans and Military Families at the University of

Southern California, stated at the Veteran Homelessness and Services Forum, As a community weneed the data to drive change and create improvements (Hassan). The rise in AAPI recruitment ratesas well as the increase in funding for ethnic advertisement campaigns encourages the production offuture research to create the data that drives change.

Executive Order 13515, Renewed by 13625: Recruitment Plans

in accordance to the White House Initiative on Asian Americans

and Pacic IslandersExecutive Order 13515, in part, focuses on the renewal of the White House Initiative on AsianAmericans and Pacific Islanders. In regards to AAPI military service members, the White HouseInitiative works with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as Co-Chairs, according to section 3(b)(Obama).

Photo Courtesy of SGT. RAMON INZUNA


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The VAs objective, in accordance with Executive Order 13515, will be to target the improvement, ad-vancement, and overall recruitment rates along with health of AAPI service members.The following table outlines their four major goals of implementing Executive Order 13515.

The current status of 13515 has been renewed by Executive Order 13585 and will be ending its two-yearterm on September 30, 2013. As of May 2013, the Department of Defense has initiated several new tac-tics to increase the the AAPI communities within the military. However, these strategies did not includeculturally sensitive training for administrative staff (i.e high-ranking officers). With cultural training, thiscould lead to better communication and understanding among the AAPIs and their prospective superi-ors.

Graphic Courtesy of VA.GOV


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According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AA-PIs) face many barriers when seeking mental health services, including lack of access to care, language

challenges, and a shortage of culturally and linguistically responsive providers (NAMI). As a result of thesechallenges, AAPIs have the lowest utilization of mental health services, making up less than 9% of those whoseek mental health services nationwide, which is significantly lower than the 18% of the general populationwho do (Lee). Subsequently, this underutilization of available mental health services is echoed within theAAPI military community.

Cultural and Language Barriers and the TabooIn order to treat AAPI service members with mental health issues, it is imperative to understand how men-tal health is perceived through different cultural lenses and how this sparks the reluctance of AAPI servicemembers to seek treatment. In this section, we will explore the different barriers to care faced by AAPIs,including the stigma typically associated with seeking treatment.

Cultural InfuencesCultural beliefs are an important factor that affects how AAPIs deal with their mental health issues. Accord-ing to a report released by NAMI, many individuals choose to stay in denial or remain silent about theirsituations because of the cultural adherence to avoidance of shame and stigma (NAMI). Such determina-tion to deny mental illnesses stems from the desire to maintain appearances. Further, AAPIs avoid seekingmental health treatment due to the fear of being mislabeled as crazy (SAMHSA). For AAPI veterans,admitting mental health issues such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is often considered [to be a]weakness (Cohen). As a result of these myths that still need to be dispelled, many have resorted to simplyremaining silent and continue to choose not to receive treatment.

In addition, the AAPI community is composed of several ethnic groups, which all have their own means ofcoping and treatment. Among the Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese communities, these culturalbeliefs justify seeking historically traditional treatments originating from their respective homelands (seechart below).

Mental Health


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Such explanations could help clarify why AAPIs have the lowest utilization of mental health services. Inshort, cultural beliefs can potentially act as barriers to adopting the Western perspective of mental healthissues as psychological concerns in need of treatment such as therapy, psychiatric medicine, or peer-to-peer counseling.

Generational GapsMany of the studies conducted found generational differences among the first, second, and thirdgenerations. The results of the National Latino and Asian American study revealed that third-generationAsian Americans were twice as likely to use any services and more than three times likely to use formal

services (i.e. professional services) than first-generation individuals. Second-generation status wasassociated with a lower likelihood of use of informal services (i.e. home remedies) than first-generationstatus (Spencer). This was the first national survey of AAPIs which examined 600 Chinese participants,508 Filipinos, 520 Vietnamese, and 467 other Asians totaling up to 2095.

Our analysis concludes that the third generation was more open to treatment since their perception ofmental health treatment is more aligned to American perceptions than their second or first generationalcounterparts. In fact, at the national level, AAPIs are one third as likely as Whites to use availablemental health services (Matsuoka JK, Breaux C, Ryujin DH). As for the first and second generations,AAPIs have been found to perceive mental health as a stigma that resulted in a lower likelihood of usingany services.

Given that these participants associated shame with coming forward due to the highly stigmatized natureof mental illness in many Asian cultures, loss of face is a key interpersonal dynamic in Asian socialrelations that defines an individuals social integrity and the perception of the individual as an integralmember of a group (Spencer). In order to break through this dynamic, AAPIs need programs that willtranslate into the need for treatment by understanding the cultural stigmatization; otherwise, this cycle ofsilence to save face will continue.

Graphic Courtesy of GAMBASSA.COM


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Language BarriersAlthough language barriers do not seem to be a problem for AAPI service members as they are pre-screened for basic English proficiency, such linguistic challenges may be an issue to the families ofservicemembers. According to The Rise of Asian Americans, a demographic study published by thePew Research Center, among those who did not speak English very well, 5.9% were born in the U.S

and 46.8% were born outside of the United States. Based on the results of this study, there is a strongpossibility that AAPI service members with parents who were born outside of the U.S. grew up in ahousehold that did not use English as a primary language.

If so, growing up in such a household could place an AAPI servicemember at a disadvantage in terms ofseeking family support for mental health issues. Often, family support may be the driving factor behinda service members decision to seek or not seek treatment. The encouragement of family is key, butwithout the adequate resources available to help them comprehend the importance of such support,we cannot hope to expect any results. According to the 2001 U.S. Surgeon Generals Report on MentalHealth and Race, there are approximately 70 Asian providers for every 100,000 AAPIs of the generalpopulation. Given the scarce number of providers who are linguistically capable of bridging this gap,

employing more bilingual or multilingual clinicians will help encourage AAPIs service members to seektreatment.

Model Minority MythThe Model Minority Myth (MMM) defines all AAPIs as overachieving and affluent intellectuals (Lewin).However, the reality of the AAPI community is that this success is disproportional. For example, while49% of the AAPI population earned a Bachelors Degree (Pew Research Center), 35-40% of other ethnicsubgroups such as Southeast Asians do not finish high school (2006 American Community Survey). TheMMM assumes all AAPI do not need any social programs as a result of this stereotyped success.

Although some AAPI populations are in need of culturally and linguistically appropriate mental healthprograms, the MMM dampens the possibility of adequate resource allocation for specific ethnicsubgroups. This shortage of resource allocations has even trickled down to AAPI service members.

Military SuicidesA study released in January 2013 revealedthat the military suicide rate hit a recordhigh in 2012 at one suicide per 25 hours(Briggs). In fact, soldier suicide rateoutpaced combat deaths in 2012 (Briggs).This ratio has become more alarming

than the data presented just last year. Inthe first four months of 2013 alone, 161potential suicides have been reportedamong active-duty troops, reservists andNational Guard members at a recordpace of one suicide per every 18 hours(Briggs).

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According to a Pentagon correspondent, Tom Bowman, the majority of those who commit suicide areyoung men ages 18-24. In addition, he pointed out that a third of the deaths were among troops whowere never deployed, and about 80% had never been in combat (Bowman). Such shocking statisticspose questions as to what exactly is triggeringsuicides among active duty service members.

Although the numbers may be startling, thesestatistics do not factor in the number of veter-ans who commit suicide once they leave themilitary. According to the Department of Vet-eran Affairs, suicide among veterans occurs ata rate of 22 lives a day (Hoh).Among soldiers of AAPI descent, the rate ofsuicide is dramatically higher than those ofother racial groups. Researchers say that theirrisk can potentially be double or triple that

of other soldiers, and four times higher in warzone (Zoroya).

Until further research is done regarding AAPIservice members, it will be difficult to find outwhy suicide rates for AAPIs can quadruple inwar zones. Moreover, more research in generalneeds to be done in light of the suicide epidemic faced by the military. The military must figure out whysuicide rates keep rising each year and what can be done to prevent more troops from taking their ownlives. Only then will the suicide epidemic begin to wind down.

Even so, the military announced that its suicide rate is lower than that of the American civilian popula-tion, citing that the civilian suicide rate for males aged 17-60 is 25 per 100,000 compared to the mili-tarys rate of 17.5 per 100,000 in 2012 (Chappell).

Still, the facts cannot be ignored. The issue of suicide is becoming an increasingly prevalent problemamong active duty troops and veterans alike, acting as the deadly enemy within. It is clear that the mil-itary, as well as organizations such as the VA must take the initiative to resolve this growing epidemic.

Year Deaths in military action Suicides

2008 352 268

2009 346 3092010 456 295

2011 472 301

2012 311 349

Graphic Courtesy of 3RD BATTALION, 3RD MARINE REGIMENT

Graphic Courtesy of GUARDIAN.CO.UK


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Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a form of psychiatric disorder that usually develops after ex-posure to traumatic or life-threatening events. Symptoms of PTSD often include recurring nightmares,insomnia, irritability, and a severe sense of detachment. It is one of the primary mental health issuesthat characterize the type of wound suffered by todays service members. Also known as the invisible

wounds of war, PTSD is a serious, yet often times, untreated issue among veterans (Reno).

TreatmentAccording to the Los Angeles Times, at least 20% of the 2.3 million troops returning from Iraq andAfghanistan will suffer from some form of PTSD (Zarembo). Roughly half of all service members whoare affected by PTSD will refuse to receive treatment and among the half that do, 20% to 50% will notcomplete their treatment plans (Robson).

The resources that are available to service members affected by mental health issues can be obtainedthrough local Veterans Affair (VA) clinics and facilities. The VA has physicians, clinicians, and PTSDspecialists that are capable of providing on-site support to those who are in need. The services that areoffered include one-to-one mental health assessment and testing, medications, one-to-one psychotherapy, and group therapy (Department of VA). Although not all VA facilities offer the same programs,some smaller facilities are capable of providing treatment through telemental health (using technologyto communicate) or by referral to Vet Centers or community clinicians (Department of VA). Accordingto the VA, research has shown that the treatments they provide are effective in treating veterans.

A Need for Culturally Competent ResourcesA service members reluctance to seek help for PTSD necessitates the need for more culturally sensitiveresources. Although the VA has been making efforts to improve outreach and promote more widespread professional services, the lack of accessible culturally sensitive services still remains a problem.

According to the VA, the total mental health clinical staff adds up to 22,000 professionals, dedicated tohelping veterans with PTSD transition to civilian life (Reno).

The main problem, however, lies not in getting veter-ans to admit to having PTSD, but in persuading themto receive treatment (Reno). As mentioned before,less than half the veterans with PTSD receive treat-ment for it (Veterans statistics: PTSD, Depression,TBI, Suicide). In many cases, veterans believe thatseeking treatment will cause them to be mislabeledand thus jeopardize their future job opportunities. Be-cause of this negative association with PTSD, veteransmay see their job opportunities shrink as employersare less likely to hire employees who are deemed cra-zy by society (Tsai). Many, in fact, refuse to cometo terms with the fact that they have PTSD and thusnever receive treatment.

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Case Study: Chee KwanWe often underestimate the impact of mental health issues upon our service members, an issue that isparticularly magnified in the AAPI community. From generation to generation, the AAPI community hasfailed to acknowledge the existence of mental health issues because of cultural barriers and its perceptionas a taboo subject. In addition, many AAPI soldiers have been brought up in households that have

perpetually reinforced mental issues as mere imaginations and will fade away as time progresses. Butdo they? The following case studyshows the severity of mental healthissues in the military among AAPIservice members.

Corporal Chee Kwan answeredthe call of duty shortly before his18th birthday and as an under-agedapplicant to the United States MarineCorps, Kwan needed his mother to

sign his enlistment contract for him.She did so only after he convinced herthat he would enlist with his friends.He told her he would enlist anywayafter turning 18 years old, even if shedid not support him. Upon graduatingfrom Gabrielino High School, Kwanwas sent to boot camp at the MarineCorps Recruit Depot in San Diego onAugust 8, 2005. He was only 17 years

old at the time. After completing BootCamp and infantry training at CampPendleton, California, Kwan was permanently assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1stMarine Division, in Twentynine Palms, California. He served as an Infantry Assaultman for the durationof his enlistment and deployed to Iraq in January 2007, and then Afghanistan in April 2008.

My rst experience in theater was something surreal and out of the movies. As soon as I stepped out of the

C-130, three Cobra attack helicopters ew overhead and lit the heck out of some town off in the distance. If

I had any illusions of where I was that notion quickly faded away. Iraq was characterized by sniper re and

indirect mortar re. The enemy was never any closer than 300 meters away unless they were speeding towards

you in a dump truck lled with explosives. Afghanistan was worse. Close quarters battle and complex ambushes

preceded by IED strikes were typical of the type of combat that we experienced in Afghanistan. Although many

of my friends were wounded in Iraq, none of them were killed in action until my deployment to Afghanistan. The

overwhelming trauma resulting from my experiences in combat will continue to stay with me for as long as I live.

As a combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, Kwan hasexperienced the horrifying tragedies of war. His first deployment to Iraq had left him questioning themorality of [his] actions while [his] second deployment had left [him] as a broken shell of [his] formerself.

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As common for veterans of his generation, Kwan suffered from post-traumatic stress (PTS), depression,and traumatic brain injury. What characterizes his PTS is his inability to sleep, frequent intrusive memories,and extreme sense of hyper vigilance. In addition, Kwan experiences severe bouts of depression andsurvivors guilt that can be triggered by various circumstances. The mere mention of troop fatalities orwatching war movies such as Black Hawk Down and Saving Private Ryan can trigger his depression. Asnoted by Kwans friend, Terry Vaughn, a former British Royal Marine Commando and Haptics expert,Every time [Kwan] laughs theres a slight pause at the end followed by a look of guilt.

Having experienced the realities of war, Kwan has often had to struggle with his experiences in combat.He suffers from hyper vigilance, an over-exaggerated form of alertness, which often borders onparanoia, because of the need to stay constantly on guard while deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Kwanexplains that he cannot even eat a meal at a restaurant without first scrutinizing every person in the roombecause they may be potential threats. During his service, Kwan was taught to embody the belief thatevery Marine should be polite and professional, but to also have a plan to kill everyone [they] meet.In order to understand this belief, one must understand that the service members are trained to winwars. Only then can civilians understand the need for indoctrination. This mental conditioning cannot

be easily turned off.

According to Kwan, he did not fully experience the effects of post-traumatic stress until six months afterhe returned home from Afghanistan in 2008.

When I returned home on October 28, 2008, I didnt think much about the war that I just survived. I was

simply happy to return home. I dated, I went out, and I enjoyed my life as happily as I could. But then everything

changed after I realized just how much my fellow Marines and I had lost on my last deployment. The battalion

had suffered over 200 wounded and 21 of its members were killed. Many of them were my friends. My war at

home didnt begin until I had fully realized just how much we had truly lost. And from then on, I grew depressed.My relationships with others suffered to the point where I simply lost the will to communicate to my friends and

family. I experienced so much guilt from having survived when others did not. I often wondered, Why did I come

home unscathed when others didnt? But that feeling of survivors guilt wasnt the only emotion that continued

to haunt me. I believe that it was Robert Leckie that said, There are things men can do to one another that are

sobering to the soul. It is one thing to reconcile these things with God, but another to square it with yourself. I

also had to deal with the emotional cost of taking another mans life.

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Despite choosing to suffer alone, his mother and friends refused to allow him to isolate himself anyfurther. Kwans mother often related stories of how she had suffered terribly as a result of her ownexperiences being a target of racial genocide and the guilt she felt for being responsible for her fathersdeath. She understood the emotions that he felt and begged him to seek professional help or at thevery least confide in her and his friends. Kwans willingness to accept his mothers advice and openly

talk about his experiences helped him understand the feelings that he was experiencing. In time,Kwan was able to come to terms with his emotions and accept the experiences he had in war.

Although Kwan was able to come to terms with his experiences, many veterans are still unable tograsp the reality of their own experiences and either suffer alone or cause their loved ones to sufferalong with them. Kwan believes that many veterans refuse to seek help because they are afraid thatany mention of PTSD or depression on their medical records will reflect poorly on their job applica-tions and that they will not be hired. He also believes that many service members simply dont believethemselves to be affected. However, as Kwan points out, every combatant will inevitably suffer fromsome form of PTS, depression, or traumatic brain injury if they have actively participated in combat.

While the military does offer pre-and post-deployment screenings to service members that travel toIraq and Afghanistan, Kwan does not believe that they do enough to actually screen outgoing servicemembers for mental health issues. In his experience, military corpsman only asked him if he eitherfelt like he was a danger to himself or to others and that if he said no then that was the extent of thequestionnaire. However, Kwan felt that nothing was seriously done for those that did answer yes.Kwan ultimately believes that the issue with PTSD and depression is that service members simply donot want to come forward with their problems because of some perceived stigma that is associatedwith being weak and crazy.

Regardless of ethnicity, Kwan believes that in order for service members to come forward and seek the

help that they need, society must first create the conditions in which there is no stigma associated withseeking help for mental health issues. To Kwan, it is societys understanding, compassion, kindness,and love towards its service members that will truly make the difference. As a society, People mustfirst understand that because the militarys sole purpose is to win wars, the military must condition itstroops to lose a certain part of their humanity in order to accomplish its mission. When society beginsto understand that war is nothing like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, where the trauma and emotionscan be turned off with the end of each gaming session, then it can come to accept that service mem-bers are flesh and blood individuals who are sometimes deeply affected by their experiences.

ConclusionAlthough our research deals specifically with AAPI service members wholack culturally sensitive and responsive services, their situation is reflectedin the experience of other minority groups. It is therefore important toprovide programs that are culturally sensitive to other minorities back-grounds. This push for more AAPI mental health services is the firststep in instigating more research and development for Hispanic, AfricanAmerican, American Indian, and other minority mental health services.

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Legislative Action Towards Mental Health Access: Mental Health

ACCESS Act: Public Law 111-163U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash), Chairwoman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, in-troduced a bill to reform the Department of Defenses behavioral health and suicide preventionprograms. This law, known as the Mental Health ACCESS Act became effective on January 2013 andseeks to reduce the high suicide rates by creating a comprehensive suicide prevention program, ex-panding VA mental health services, and establishing peer counseling opportunities that pair returningservice members with those who have already made the transition to civilian life.

Although the Mental Health ACCESS Act proposes to create a comprehensive [and] standardizedsuicide prevention program, improve training and education for our health care providers; createmore peer-to-peer counseling opportunities, it has not addressed the cultural sensitivity of the AAPIcommunity within the militaryand [expanding] such services to their families (Murray). Further-more, this expansion of mental health services to family members will be neglecting the needs ofAAPI members, unless this legislation includes suicide programs, culturally sensitive training and

education for health care providers appropriate to the AAPI community as well as other minorities.

Patient Protection and Affordable Care ActUnder the Affordable Care Act, mental health care will be one of the coverages that will be expand-ed. According to the APSE Department of Health and Human Services, about 3.9 million peoplecurrently covered in the individual market will gain either mental health or substance use disordercoverage or both. Furthermore, about 1.2 million individuals currently in small group plans willreceive mental health and substance use disorder benefits under the Affordable Care Act (Beronio,Po, Skopec, Glied).

However, despite the increase in coverage, the underutilization of such resources may be a problemfor the AAPI community. In order to negate this occurrence, provisions to include culturally sensitivetraining to mental health facilitators and linguistic material to provide inclusive mental health services.To implement such training and to target communities with the most AAPI service members andfamilies, funding for ethnic-specific demographic data must be available.

Public Law 112-213: Regarding Mental Health ServicesSection 716 and 731 of Public Law 112-213 detailed plans to implement a consolidated MilitaryHealth System, which is a singular database to increase access to healthcare for all service membersin general.

According to Stephanie Wong, the Field Representative of Assemblymember Jimmy Gomez whofocuses on Veterans Affairs, expanding on the database network is a start. However, establishing anonline database alone will not solve this issue based on Wongs experience with the troubled studentsof East Los Angeles High school systems, many of which deal with lack of mental health resources.


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Wong has communicated with numerous school nursesdemanding more funding for counseling programs ratherthan funding for an electronic database of these limitedresources. Wong concluded that, although this issuedeals with the East Los Angeles students, it is imperative

to understand the correlation with the veterans, especiallythe AAPI service members (Wong). Rather thanconsolidating insufficient resources in a mental healthdatabase, the entire military population would also benefitfrom having a more mental health programs in general.Furthermore, the AAPI community would benefit fromcultural training and understanding from their healthcareproviders in order to deconstruct the cultural barriers thatprevent AAPIs from seeking treatment.

Executive Order 13515: PresidentsAdvisory Commission on AAPIs and

the White House InitiativeThe history of Executive Order 13515 was established byExecutive Order 13125, signed by President Bill Clintonon June 7, 1999. The most current renewal of the initiativeis Executive Order 13515, signed by President Barrack Obamaon October 14, 2009 (Bau).

In accordance to 13515, the Presidents Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

was established to function to address the concerns of the AAPI community, according to section 2(a),which will provide sufficient advice [to increase AAPI] participation of Federal programs by compilingdata (Obama).

Since this Advisory Committee, defined in section 3(ii), is committed to increase public and private-sector collaborationin improving the health, education, environment and well-being of AAPIs, thecommunity should be involved being aware of the data compiled by the Committee in order to address

their problems (Obama). To extendproper outreach to AAPIs, thepublication of research reportsshould be readily accessible, alongwith the access to services.

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Though military enlistment rates among the AAPI community are currently on the rise, militaryhazing, especially of AAPI service members, has been emerging as an increasingly pervasive issue that

requires immediate attention. The suicide case of Private Danny Chen in particular opened the eyesof many AAPIs to the extreme harassment thatsoldiers were subjected to in the military. As aresult, members of the AAPI community foundthe need to display a united front, rallying behindDanny Chen and even introducing legislation tofight the battle against military hazing. Similarto this outcry for justice, AAPIs must also standtogether and support AAPI veterans in theirtransition back to civilian life. Currently, thereis little data on AAPI hazing incidents and a

shortage of information on services that couldpossibly be used to access care.

Corporal Punishment v. Military HazingIn the military, there is a fine line between corporal punishment and military hazing. It is essentialthat the military maintain good order and discipline in a unit in order to successfully participate inbattle, but discipline in such a volunteer organization is a delicate topic. Members of the military

need to understand how to perform appropriate discipline, but at the same time, understand thatdiscipline should never cross the line of becoming abusive (Lesson 20). In order to create a balancedenvironment in the military, the differences between authorized corporal punishment and unnecessarymilitary hazing need to be defined.

Essentially, corporal punishment is a type ofphysical punishment inflicted as a type ofcorrective training. The punishment resultswith hopes of instilling higher discipline andcorrecting unacceptable behavior.

On the other hand, Military hazing is anyconduct whereby one military member oremployee, regardless of service or rank,unnecessarily causes another military memberor employee, regardless of service or rank,to suffer or be exposed to an activity which

is cruel, abusive, oppressive or harmful(Army Board Study Guide 3).

Military Hazing

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According to the Army Study Guide, a non-government, privately-sponsored website for educationalbenefits, hazing includes, but is not limited to any form of initiation, rite of passage or congratulatoryact that involves inflicting pain or engaging in illegal, harmful or demeaning acts. Hazing does not need toinvolve physical contact among or between the military members. Unnecessary verbal or psychologicalabuse that is degrading to another service member is also considered military hazing.

Common practices of military hazing include: Physically striking another in order to inflict pain Piercing anothers skin in any manner Forcing or requiring the consumption of excessive amounts of food, alcohol, drugs, or

other substances Sexual harassment Racial insults

At the same time, discipline is also a core principle in the military. Military discipline helps to createindividuals who can complete certain jobs with accuracy and efficiency. The military provides discipline

in the form of penalties for tractions like disobeying lawful orders or neglecting ones duties. With disci-pline possibly turning into or being recognized as military hazing, the fundamental breakdown in militaryorder could be jeopardized. For example, a command by the commanding office to do 20 sets of push-ups due to misbehavior could be considered excessive. Individuals may then consider it military hazing,therefore jeopardizing the units authority to discipline.

Also, because of the publicity many high profile military hazing cases have been brought to the attentionof the U.S. Congress, there are now strict rules banning all military hazing as well as most corporal pun-ishment (Vandiver 2012, 10). This is a significant step in diminishing unnecessary harassment amongservice members. However, we must also ask ourselves whether or not we have passed legislation thatis chipping away at the core of disciple within the military in exchange. We must not let military hazingcontinue, but concurrently, the military needs regulations to uphold its pillars of excellence for our coun-trys sake.

Lack of Data on Military HazingCurrently, there are few statistics on military hazing occurrences, especially within minority groups.Therefore, it is difficult to create an approach that can sufficiently combat this issue. In order for anyprogress to made, there needs to be more detailed research documenting the individuals who are victimsof military. For example, racial breakdowns for military hazing could be particularly useful in helping themilitary pinpoint which areas of research to focus on as well as in creating culturally sensitive programsthat promote tolerance and awareness. From there, more services and programs can be catered towardtraining service members, especially officers, so that unnecessary abuse is weeded out and put to an end.

Next, we will examine a case study on Private Danny Chen, an unfortunate victim of the heinous crimeknown as hazing.


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Case Study: Danny ChenBackground and Cultural BarriersOne soldier who committed suicide because of the haz-ing he endured was Army Private Danny Chen. DannyChen was a Chinese American U.S. Army Private, born

and raised in New York, who was deployed to Afghani-stan for six weeks. He was 19 years old when he took hisown life in October 2011 (Semple).

Because Private Chen grew up in a first generationhousehold, he was not especially Americanized or in-tegrated into the American society. In fact, he was bornand raised in New Yorks Manhattan Chinatown. Inaddition, his parents were first generation immigrants.While his father worked as a chef in Chinese restau-rants, his mother worked as a seamstress in a garmentfactory. As a result, they did not speak English fluentlyand did not understand too much about the military cul-ture (Semple).

The TrialsDuring the resulting court-martials that concluded in December 2012, Private Chens parents could noteven advocate for themselves when they tried to hold the military accountable because of the languagebarrier. The justice they sought was greatly hindered by their inability to speak the English language, thusthey remained powerless and ultimately voiceless during the trials and sentencing (Semple). In the end,only one officer was implicated in the death of Private Chen while others were given brief prison sen-

tences and demotions. As Elizabeth R. OuYang, President of the New York chapter of the Organizationof Chinese Americans, had stated, These light sentences do not give justice to the life of Pvt. DannyChen.

The TragedyIn the Army, Private Chen served with C Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st StrykerBrigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division and was the only Chinese American in the group. Henot only had to endure taunts and racial slurs, but also received severe physical maltreatment, enduringharassment beyond the standard corrective training (Elie). In fact, on the day of his death, Private Chenreported for guard duty without his helmet and after going to retrieve it, other soldiers forced him tocrawl over gravel for 100 meters while they threw rocks at him.

On October 3, 2011, Private Chen was found dead in a guard tower from a self-inflicted gunshot wound,two months after he was deployed. From the details released from the trials, his suicide can be attribut-ed to the extreme emotional and physical abuse Private Chen received. In December 2011, the Armycharged eight soldiers in Private Chens battalion in connection with his death, including the charges ofmanslaughter and negligent homicide.

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During the investigations that ensued, more and more details of Private Chens mistreatment wererevealed. In addition to racial taunts, he was even forced to wear a green helmet and shout orders inChinese even though the battalion consisted of no other Chinese American soldiers (Chen case: Asian-American soldiers endure bias).

Though the initial charge of involuntary manslaughter was ultimately dropped, in December 2012, FirstLieutenant Daniel L. Schwartz was implicated in Private Chens death and thrown out of the military.The court concluded that Lieutenant Schwartz had failed in his leadership, and he was formally chargedwith dereliction of duty for neglecting to foster camaraderie and prevent extreme maltreatment.

Though Private Chen was inexperienced and made frequent mistakes, such lapses were normal forinexperienced military soldiers, and thus the problem lay ultimately in how his superiors were helpinghim overcome his deficiencies. Instead of employing corrective training to improve his deficiencies,they resorted to hazing, and even refused to transfer him to a nearby base where he could have receivedfurther help (Chu). In contrast, they continued to haze him, even to the point where they were throwing

rocks at him to simulate artillery. Thus, failure of leadership in preventing hazing among fellow servicemembers is a serious issue that needs to be addressed and worked on.

Sergeant Adam M. Holcombs trial revolved around what caused Private Chen to take his own life. Inaddition to being charged with one count of assault and two counts of maltreatment, he was sentencedto one month in jail a substantially shorter time than the 17 years he could have faced had he beenfound guilty of negligent homicide. His lawyers argued that Private Chens personal failures as a soldierand fraught relationship with his parents were the ultimate causes of his death (Semple). Accordingto Holcombs lawyers, Private Chen had told a close friend that his parents had disowned him becauseof his imminent deployment and was later found curled up in a fetal position. Defense lawyers of Sgt.Holcomb cited this incident as proof of Private Chens personal life undermining his duties.

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Support from the CommunityMany advocates for the family in the AAPI community, from local Chinatowns to college students,came together to demand a full investigation as well as to lobby the Army to crack down on militaryhazing and improve conditions for minorities.

Many minority advocates have expressed their concern over the treatment of AAPIs in the military,especially in regards to malicious and unnecessary taunting. In fact, OuYang pointed out that thereneeds to be an environment where they are integrated, protected and supported [but] its unclearthat thats the case (OuYang). This could have easily been done had Private Chens superiors taken amore constructive approach to hazing, or corrective training, rather than pure punishment and abuse.Wellington Chen, Executive Director of Chinatown Partnership, also expressed her concern, statingthat the verdict will have profound implications, not only for our ethnic group but for all Americanswho expect their government to give them both freedom and protection. As Americans, it is reasonableto expect the government to protect our individual freedoms and rights, but in terms of Danny Chen,his right to life was taken away from him as he was inhumanely treated by his superiors. Through her

statement, Chen firmly believes that the government is responsible for this miscarriage of justice.

After initially feeling frustrated and angry by the news, Vassar College student, Julia Chung, decided totake action, signing petitions, staging protest marches, and even contacting military officials to push forjustice on American soil (Dobnik, 2012).

Furthermore, in August 2012, Congresswoman JudyChu wrote an Op-Ed piece in the New York Timesand expressed her thoughts on the Danny Chencase, and in particular, spoke out against hazing.

As seen through the actions of AAPI individuals,the AAPI community came together and ralliedbehind Private Chen and his family to providesupport. Similarly, it is just as important for theAAPI community to rally behind its veteransby committing time and effort to research thechallenges faced by the service members and pushfor more resources and services instead of waitingand relying on the VA.

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Corrective Training v. Hazing in the Danny Chen Case: Just When

Does It Become Too Much?Ultimately, the fine line between hazing and corrective training must be more clearly defined. While haz-ing threatens unit cohesion, morale, and productivity, corrective training can foster professional devel-opment and conduct. In the case of Private Danny Chen, his chain of command had clearly failed him

in his time of need. Rather than employing proper corrective training tohelp Private Chen correct his individual deficiencies, his superi-ors, in dereliction of their duties, chose to harass and taunt himbecause of his race. Although the case of Private Chen speaksvolumes about the harassment of AAPIs in military service, italso points to the larger problem of military hazing in general.While the military has implemented policies to prevent hazingamong its service members, the military should also strive toproduce more data on military hazing so that a more proactiveand comprehensive prevention plan can be established to pro-tect individuals like Private Chen while also ensuring superiors

are not abusing their power.

ConclusionHazing is emerging as a serious issue in the U.S. military, especially because of the tragic consequencesthat have recently resulted from it. It also poses as a valid threat against the credibility of the militaryas the lack of accountability in many hazing cases raises the publics skepticism and is detrimental tothe militarys name. Though hazing is strictly prohibited in the military, the fact that it is not part of themilitary code detracts from its enforceability (Chu). If hazing were incorporated in the military code as acrime, only then would the military be able to take more immediate actions on it (Chu).

Legislative Action Towards Military Hazing: Public Law 112-231,The results of the Harry Lew Military Hazing Accountability and

Prevention Act of 2012On April 3, 2011, a Marine Lance Cor-poral named Harry Lew committed sui-cide in response to multiple incidentsof abuse, which were revealed afterfurther investigation. Outrage from thecommunity and representatives led tothe first congressional hearing on mili-tary abuse since 1979 (Chu).

In response to the death of Harry Lew,the nephew of Congresswoman JudyChu, a congressional hearing was heldon March 22, 2012 to introduce legis-lation addressing military abuse. TheHarry Lew Military Hazing Accountability and Prevention Act of2012 was incorporated into the FY 2013 National Defense Authorization Act: Selected Military Person-nel Policy Issues, which was signed into Public Law 112-213 on January 2, 2013.

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In order to increase the number of ethnic specific resources which are available to Asian Americanand Pacific Islander (AAPI) service members and their families, the Department of Defense (DOD),Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the AAPI community must first collaborate to research theproblem at hand. By working together, the DOD and VA can collect data to identify the issues that AA-PIs face and determine how to develop the appropriate programs. Ultimately, this project serves as theinitial point of dialogue, starting from AAPI issues as a pipeline to address possible issues among otherminorities within the military.In terms of mental health resources, it is important to provide multilingual services which will helpnon-English speaking family members identify symptoms of PTSD and refer service members to ap-propriate treatment. However, many of the resources that are available to veterans are simply inacces-sible because information regarding who might utilize those services is lacking. In fact, many of the VA

resources that are accessible to service members and their families are primarily in English or Spanish,which puts AAPI family support at a disadvantage. For example, in order to obtain a brochure in Chi-nese, a series of requests through the District Office and National Headquarters is necessary. Even then,the information will not be mailed directly to the recipient, but will go back to the District Office andthen to the local office (Inzunza).Because the DOD is ultimately responsible for any and all issues pertaining to active duty and reservemembers of the military, it would greatly benefit from further support to handle the vast number of vet-erans who have served this nation. Therefore, it falls upon the VA to supplement the efforts of the DODby improving AAPI access to resources.

In addition, ethnic breakdowns will help point out the subgroups that are more inclined to suffer fromPTSD. Because there is no data on the number of AAPIs who are currently afflicted with PTSD, we canonly infer from both the overall AAPI population and the general veteran population of what their num-bers are today. With the specific ethnic breakdowns, it is possible to determine which ethnic groups aremore inclined to develop PTSD and other mental health issues. Such data will allow us to cater specificmultiethnic support plans to these service members and family members.

Conclusion

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Furthermore, it is imperative to research the reasons veterans refuse to seek PTSD treatment in order toeffectively target service members and develop programs that will help them overcome barriers. For ex-ample, by dispelling the misconception that a service member receiving treatment for PTSD is perceivedas being crazy, employers would not be as reluctant to hire service members afflicted with PTSD. Inturn, this will help increase the willingness of veterans to seek help as they would not feel as burdened bythe threat of lifelong unemployment.

Similarly, there is great potential that the overall community will benefit economically from addressingthe problems that AAPI service members face. These efforts will ensure that the immense militaryspending invested in each service member would result in highly trained and skilled populations enteringthe general workforce as veterans. In fact, Secretary Robert Hale from the DOD has stated that $850,000is spent each year to maintain one soldier in Afghanistan (Shaughnessy). However, the monumentalamount of time and money invested in each service member would reach full potential only if theseveterans receive the proper resources to help them transition into productive members of society. Be-cause of the lack of these services, many are left suffering from mental health issues in silence and evenbecoming victims of suicide. Therefore, it is beneficial to both the general population and the economy

as a whole to increase resources helping AAPI service members.

In regards to military hazing, while the DOD recognizes that AAPI service members are a small minoritywithin the armed forces, it has yet to provide definitive research on the discriminatory problems AAPImembers face. The case of Army Private Danny Chen and Marine Lance Corporal Harry Lew broughtto light that differences in culture, background, and race could create conditions that cause minorities tofeel marginalized and become the targets of cruel and degrading acts. Their suicides drew national atten-tion by exposing an issue that was relatively unaddressed in public and galvanized the AAPI communityinto rallying for a change in the way military officials address the issue of hazingBoth suicides, in fact, were largely due to the failure of military leadership. In Danny Chens case, his

superior was charged with dereliction of duty for failing to foster camaraderie and failing to put an endto the extreme harassment. Thus, military leaders should be better trained, both in protecting minoritygroups and in handling cases of hazing, especially those involving racially-based harassment. Along theselines, the DOD must ensure that the chain of command is responsible for implementing policies andprocedures regarding the ethical treatment of its service members. Meanwhile, the VA should continueto invest its time and resources into documenting what challenges the AAPI service members are facing.As Congresswoman Judy Chu recommended, though hazing is indeed prohibited in the military, includ-ing it in the Uniform Code of Military Justice will allow the military to take more immediate actions onit (Chu).

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Ultimately, the goal of this research project is twofold. It is our duty to encourageservice members, who have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, to seek screen-ing for mental health issues regardless of whether or not they believe themselves tobe affected. Although the VA is accountable for taking care of our nations veterans,the AAPI community must share this responsibility by leading the way in research-

ing the issues faced by AAPI service members. In addition, it falls upon the entirecommunity to help assess the issues that AAPI service members are facing and todocument these findings for the general population and the military to see. Establishing public serviceannouncements will be a great way to publicize these findings and encourage the AAPI communityto exercise care and support in dealing with its service member population. More importantly, theseannouncements can help dispel the stigma associated with mental health issues by highlighting AAPIservice members who have gone through successful treatment.

Only by encouraging open dialogue on this issue and implementing solutions to these problems can wefulfill President Abraham Lincolns desire to care for him who shall have borne the battle and his widowand his orphan.

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The Center for Innovation and Researchon Veterans and Military Families at USC

Social Work is a research center that works tofacilitate the transition of veterans and their familiesto their respective communities. The researchcenter has many ongoing projects ranging from

helping homeless veterans in Skid Row to refining military social work training. One particular projectof interest is The Los Angeles Veteran Survey, which is launching this August through October. Thissurvey seeks to identify current local needs of veterans in Los Angeles County, barriers to care issues,opportunities for program and service development, policy change, and community collaboration. Formore information, contact Margaret Thomas, community liaison, at [email protected] or visitCIRs website at http://cir.usc.edu/.

Resource Guide

Asian Pacic Counseling and Treatment Centers (APCTC)wasestablished in 1977 as a directly-operated satellite program of Los AngelesCounty Department of Mental Health. With over a hundred highly trainedstaff, APCTC takes a multidisciplinary and culturally competent approachto serving the social and psychological needs of its clients. APCTC pro-vides child and family outpatient care, adult outpatient care, full-servicepartnerships, among others. To learn more about APCTC, visit http://www.apctc.org or call (213) 252-2100.

Graphic Courtesy of PACIFICCLINICS.ORG

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is amental health advocacy organization that aims to supportresearch on mental health, increase parity of mental healthservices, and ensure treatment for those who are in need.NAMI is at the forefront of the effort to shape national publicpolicy on mental health, providing resources, skills, and toolsto grassroots leaders to help remedy this problem. Morerecently, NAMI has organized listening sessions regardingthe AAPI populations experience with the mental healthfield and addressing the barriers and gaps they faced while

accessing supportive services. For more information, please visit www.nami.org.

Graphic Courtesy of NAMI.ORG

Pacic Clinics is an outpatient mental health agencythat seeks to provide innovative behavioral health careservices to diverse populations in Los Angeles, Orange,Ventura, San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Theirscope of services ranges from prevention to early inter-

vention, including integrated treatment programs for thosewith substance abuse problems and mental health disorders. In regards to AAPI mental health, PacificClinics has facilitated much research and conversation on this topic. More recently, a report by PacificClinics C. Rocco Cheng found that AAPIs face a lack of culturally appropriate services. To learn moreabout Pacific Clinics services, please visit http://www.pacificclinics.org/ or call (877) 722-2737.

Graphic Courtesy of PACIFICCLINICS.ORG

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Apart rom our own eorts, the success o any project depends largely on the encouragement andguidance o many others. Without the mentorship we received, this project simply would not have

been possible.

First and oremost, we would like to thank the dedicated CAUSE Board and sta members or theirinvaluable insight and endless advice. We cant thank them enough or their tremendous support andunwavering aith in us.Special thanks to:

It is equally important to highlight the generous contributions o many o our guest speakers alongwith our legislative oces. As such, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to these individualswho have been instrumental in the successul completion o our project. Our work would have notbeen complete without their crucial help and support.Special thanks to:

A Word of Thanks

Chair, CAUSEBoard o Directors, CAUSEExecutive Director, CAUSEDirector o Programs, CAUSE

Director o Communications, CAUSEDirector o Marketing, CAUSE

Oce o CA State Senator Ed HernandezCAUSE VolunteerAsian Pacifc Policy and Planning CouncilUnited States Marine CorpsPacifc ClinicsUnited States Marine CorpsCongressional Asian Pacifc American CaucusUnited States Naval AcademyNational Asian Pacifc American Families Against Substance AbuseFormer CAUSE Leadership Academy InternCAUSE VolunteerChinese American Citizens AllianceNational Asian Pacifc American Families Against Substance Abuse

Asian Pacifc Policy and Planning CouncilCAUSE VolunteerNational Asian Pacifc American Families Against Substance AbuseOce o Congresswoman Judy ChuCaliornia Department o Veterans AairsSouthern Caliornia EdisonYale School o MedicineCaliornia Department o Veterans AairsOce o CA Assemblymember Jimmy GomezChinese American Citizens AllianceCAUSE Volunteer

Janet ChinAlbert GianatanKimler Cruz GutierrezRazon InzunzaDr. Wenli JenCory JeersGene KimJonathan KimChristina LayMonica LeeSamuel MoriEugene MoyHiroku Murakami

Mark MasaokaLarry PhamMyron Dean QuonEnrique RoblesJP TremblayTammy TranDr. Jack TsaiMirtha Villarreal-YoungerStephanie WongWinston WuMaxwell Zhu

Charlie WooGary H. ArakawaCarrie GanGrace Hsieh

Sophia IslasAlex Phung


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About the Interns

Jonathan Chen

University of California, San DiegoIncoming FreshmanCalifornia State Senator, Lou Correa

Tanya Edmilao

University of Southern California

Rising SeniorCalifornia State Assembly Member,

Jimmy Gomez

Chee Danny Kwan

University of California, IrvinRising JuniorU.S. Congresswoman, Grace

Katrina Lei

University of California, Los Rising SeniorU.S. Congressman, Ed Royc

Lauren Richardson

University of Southern CalifoRising JuniorCalifornia State Senator, Ted


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Mengyuan Christine Sun

University of PennsylvanniaIncoming FreshmanCalifornia State Assemblymember, EdChau

Jimmy Tran

Pasadena City CollegeIncoming FreshmanCalifornia State Senator, Ed Hernandez

Edward Truong

San Jose State University

Rising JuniorU.S. Congressman, Adam Sc

Kim Yamasaki

University of California, LosRising JuniorU.S. Congresswoman, Judy C


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Documents

"Those Who Serve" (CAUSE Leadership Academy 2013 Group Project)