CSPAN - The Battle After Service"
Aired: 2026-04-02
Duration: 08:59


=== The Hard Transition Home (08:59) ===

[00:00:00]  American Story.
[00:00:01]  This week, in the wake of the Artemis 2 moon mission launch, we bring you 24 hours of the history of space exploration.
[00:00:07]  At 10 30 a.m. Eastern, you'll hear from Eugene Kranz and at 1 45 p.m., Gerald Griffin.
[00:00:12]  Both discuss their work on the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions.
[00:00:15]  Then at 2 30 p.m., we'll take you on a walking tour of the National Air and Space Museum.
[00:00:20]  At 5 p.m., you'll see our original documentary on the Space Shuttle.
[00:00:23]  And then at 8 45 p.m., on the U.S. space program.
[00:00:26]  Exploring the American Story.
[00:00:28]  Watch American History TV Saturdays on C SPAN 2 and find a full schedule on your program guide or Watch online anytime at cspan.orgslash history.
[00:00:42]  This year, as we mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, C SPAN's Student CAM documentary competition invited students to create short films exploring themes from American history, the rights and freedoms rooted in this founding document, and pressing issues of today, from the economy and immigration to criminal justice, education, and health care.
[00:01:05]  Nearly 4,000 students from 38 states and Washington, D.C., took part in this year's competition.
[00:01:12]  Throughout this month, we're proud to showcase our top 21 winners.
[00:01:16]  This year's second prize High School West winners are Devin Parekh and Addie Parekh, ninth and twelfth graders from Intercom High School in Sacramento, California, where C SPAN is available through Comcast.
[00:01:28]  Their winning documentary is titled Life, Liberty, and Left Behind The Battle After Service, about the difficult transition out of service for veterans in our country.
[00:01:41]  We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
[00:01:59]  My name is Matthew Sweet, and I served in the United States Navy.
[00:02:04]  It was horrible.
[00:02:05]  I had to sleep in my vehicle, my car ended up getting towed, and Then I had to sleep on the street.
[00:02:14]  I had nothing.
[00:02:15]  I didn't have clothes.
[00:02:18]  I had to sleep in 40 degree weather in a tank top and shorts and socks, and I didn't have any shoes.
[00:02:29]  They went off to faraway jungles and deserts and mountain regions.
[00:02:33]  They saw their best friends fall in ambush or because of a suicide bomb.
[00:02:41]  Some of them were left wondering why they were the ones who survived.
[00:02:45]  And after all that, too many of them have come home only to fight a new battle, a battle to keep a roof over their head.
[00:02:55]  When service members leave the military, the war doesn't always end.
[00:02:59]  The transition to civilian life can be isolating, overwhelming, and for many, it leads to homelessness.
[00:03:05]  Our nation was founded on the promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
[00:03:10]  However, this film will lead us to ask whether we are truly keeping that promise.
[00:03:14]  To the ones who defended it.
[00:03:16]  They don't really prepare you very well when you leave from active duty to civilian status.
[00:03:23]  Pretty much since I was 19 years old, I've been told what to do every day.
[00:03:27]  And so you get let go, and it's like you've lost a limb.
[00:03:32]  You're no longer connected to the hive mind anymore, and you don't know what to do.
[00:03:38]  And so I think it's traumatizing.
[00:03:40]  I had a really hard time transitioning.
[00:03:43]  Almost a third of veterans say re entry into civilian life.
[00:03:46]  Was difficult for them, a proportion that swells to almost half since the 9 11 terrorist attacks.
[00:03:52]  This forces us to look back at the promise written as a founding of this country and question whether the nation is truly living up to it.
[00:04:00]  What I hear a lot of folks talk about is how much the military felt like a family.
[00:04:07]  And so, again, that feeling of connection, that feeling of being on the same team, that feeling of having a mission or purpose that's really driving you, and then feeling connected.
[00:04:18]  That's right with a lot of other people, and in civilian life, I think there are not a lot of things that mirror that or create that same sense of camaraderie, belonging, and purpose or drive.
[00:04:32]  People come back, um, were exposed in this case, this was actually domestic exposure, Camp Lejeune, and yet have to prove their case to the government and have to wait often decades when the structure.
[00:04:49]  Purpose and community of military life end abruptly, many veterans are left without clear support.
[00:04:56]  Gaps in mental health care, difficulty translating military skills to civilian jobs, and unstable housing leave the hardest battle for after the uniform comes off.
[00:05:06]  The transition assistance program that all the services have falls short.
[00:05:11]  The fact is that veterans are underemployed.
[00:05:15]  65% of veterans tell us they're underemployed.
[00:05:18]  And why is that?
[00:05:19]  Well, they're humble by nature.
[00:05:21]  They're not going to brag about what they did and how many people they led and the equipment they were responsible for.
[00:05:27]  So it's difficult sometimes for them to make that transition.
[00:05:30]  You'd think that being in the service and discharging with an honorable discharge, that things would come a lot easier, that you'd have a lot more benefits to housing or benefits to anything.
[00:05:52]  They never helped us with anything.
[00:05:56]  I felt invisible to the country I served when I was still serving.
[00:06:02]  Not as much, but I feel like, you know, veterans in this country, you know, there should never be a homeless veteran.
[00:06:20]  If our nation promises every person liberty, dignity, and opportunity, our veterans should not be experiencing this.
[00:06:28]  But still, for too many, that promise ends the moment they come home.
[00:06:32]  After serving this country, they shouldn't have to fight a second battle not for housing, stability, or basic support.
[00:06:39]  This isn't about charity or giving back to the less fortunate, it's about honoring the promise that we made to the ones who make that promise possible.
[00:06:48]  That transition coming out of service understands.
[00:06:53]  And building support and community around the things that the vets can struggle with when they come home is definitely something that we could do to help support people in their pursuit of happiness.
[00:07:08]  The promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness was never meant to end with service.
[00:07:14]  If we ask veterans to defend those ideals, we also share a responsibility to uphold them, not just during war, but long after the uniform comes off.
[00:07:24]  We must honor their service by protecting the rights and freedoms of every American, and we must keep our pledge to promote liberty and justice for all.
[00:07:35]  Thank you again to all our veterans.
[00:07:38]  We will honor your service.
[00:07:41]  Be sure to watch all of the winning entries on our website at studentcam.org.
[00:07:46]  C SPAN, bringing you democracy unfiltered.
[00:07:56]  Coming up on Washington Journal this morning, along with your calls and comments live, Jeff Ferry of the Coalition for a Prosperous America and Michael Nagroen of the Center for American Progress talk about President Trump's trade agenda and the lingering global and domestic impacts of his Liberation Day tariffs announced a year ago.
[00:08:13]  And Unite America Executive Director and author Nick Troiano on election reform efforts and his book, The Primary Solution Rescuing Our Democracy from the Fringes, which proposes abolishing party primaries.
[00:08:26]  Washington Journal is next.
[00:08:28]  Join the conversation.
[00:08:35]  Tonight, I'm pleased to say that these core strategic objectives are nearing completion.
[00:08:47]  President Trump, in his first primetime address to the country, tells the American people the war is nearing its end.
[00:08:54]  Good morning, everyone.
[00:08:54]  It's Thursday, April 2nd.
[00:08:56]  Welcome to the Washington Journal.
[00:08:58]  Let's tee up the conversation.