It’s no secret that the United States spends most of its national budget on the Military. The United States spends more on the Military and national defense than any other country. [3]This comes from the belief that by ensuring our military strength, the United States can deter other countries from challenging us and even prevent certain ‘behavior’.
The military is prevalent throughout the country, affecting our livelihood, our economy, and our culture. [2] However, the city of Virginia Beach was most affected.
According to the official defense website, our national defense budget is $841.4 billion, and our service member count is 3.4 million (including both service members & civilians). [3]
So, taking this into account, it really shouldn’t be a surprise that a city like Virginia Beach has been so thoroughly affected.
Virginia Beach:
Virginia Beach, according to VAB Economic Development, has the ‘largest concentration of military personal outside the Pentagon.’ At least 96,835 active-duty military personnel are in Virginia Beach, and this isn’t just limited to one branch or force, as all are represented. It houses nine major military installations and the world’s largest naval base, the home of the Atlantic fleet. Moreover, around 14,000 military personnel exit the military each year while in VAB, ranking it 3rd in best city to retire after service. [4]
“JEB Little Creek-Fort Story employs 15,472 (13,325 active-duty personnel and 2,147 civilians) making it one of the largest military bases on the East Coast as well as one of Virginia’s largest employers.”[4]
Virginia Beach also, as mentioned above, is home to Norfolk, the world’s largest Naval Base, supporting over 15,000 personnel, controlling 3,100 ships movements, and conducting over 100,000 flights annually. This base is the headquarters of the US Navy’s Fleet Forces Command and host of the Norfolk Fleet Fest, which is open to both civilians and personnel. [5], [6], [7]
JEB Little Creek and NAS Oceana are the other two major Navy bases in Virginia Beach. The Joint Expeditionary Base, or JEB, Little Creek, is one of the US Navy’s larger ‘amphibious’ bases. Both have been around for many years now, participating in events like the World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.[14]
Locally:
It isn’t a recent development that Virginia Beach has been home to the US Military. It’s gone on for years and, as such, has had a long time to integrate itself into our culture and lives.
In many ways, Virginia Beach, as so many of its residents are military, more often than not caters to its service members.
From the Norfolk Fleet Fest, to the 190 purple star schools virginia houses, to discounts and the MWR events, Virginia beach finds numerous ways to assist their service members and veterans in feeling at home in our city. [9]
As stated by the VAG, “Our work-life balance, flexible schedule, and competitive benefits have always been a draw for military veterans.”
Moreover, the Virginia Beach government does its best to assist members looking for jobs, even offering skillbridge fellowships to give hands-on experience. This isn’t wasted as service members and veterans contribute deeply to the city’s economy and make up around 10% of the Virginia Beach city’s workforce. [8]
Of course, not only members can use all these benefits; VAB also does its best to assist the family. As mentioned above, Virginia is home to over 190 Purple Star schools. Purple Star Schools are schools that have the designation of being military friendly and helpful to meeting the needs of military families. And while this may not seem to be a big deal, for Military ‘brats’ who have traveled all around the country, or have had to wait back at home while their parent is away for the service, or a parent staying at home alone with the kids, having help is always appreciated. [9]
Moreover, Virginia Beach offers assistance for helping service members transition out of the military. It publishes information on the military, its members, and their trauma for the general public to help generate an understanding of why they may act certain ways and ways to better work with combat veterans.
With many suggestions like: [11]
- Do not say you understand what they have experienced unless you have experienced combat or military yourself
- Involve the veteran’s primary support system
- Long-term – recognize the importance of discussing grief and survivor’s guilt and the impact of experiences on the veteran’s spirituality and belief system
- Refer to other professionals as appropriate
And multiple resources to further understanding and awareness:[11]
DVS–Virginia Veteran and Family Support www.dvs.virginia.gov
National Resource Directory www.nationalresourcedirectory.gov
Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health & Traumatic Brain Injury www.health.mil/dcoe.aspx
Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center www.dvbic.org
Department of Veterans Affairs www.va.gov
DoD Disabled Veterans www.dodvets.com
Vocational Rehab/Employment www.vetsuccess.gov
Center for Deployment Psychology
http://deploymentpsych.org/military-culture-coursemodules
National Center for PTSD www.ptsd.va.gov
VetsPrevail https://www.vetsprevail.org/
It’s all of this that ranks Virginia Beach so highly when it comes to military families and retirement, a ranking credited by both the Navy Federal Credit Union and Sperling’s BestPlaces. [12]
We do our best to help our service members in any way we can, sometimes more so than others.
Continuing onwards, the other benefit is the local VAB Vet Center. This service offers help for veterans and service members, including family. They offer counseling for any mental trauma or issues service members may have, as well as many recreational services.
Housing, of course, is another thing the military has greatly affected. It’s well known that active duty members of the military are often required to travel for their job. Whether because of deployment or billots, travel is a requirement. So it’s because of this that more housing is often required for Virginia Beach, as base housing isn’t often enough.
Moreover, base housing, due to low funding from the government, is more often than not in shambles, causing service members to seek other places of residence. However, as Virginia Beach is a high-demand housing market, more often than not, it isn’t possible.
It was because of this that many service members choose to use long-term rentals or some of the many hotels. However, as Virginia Beach is often flooded with tourists during the more popular times of the year, this can make this process very difficult. Unfortunately, because of that and the hard re-assimilation process, many service members, after coming back from deployment, will end up homeless. Currently, almost 55% of the homeless in VAB are military members, with this number only recently decreasing to that level. [15]
Overall, the military has affected the community on many levels, from housing to schooling to structure. However, the question has to be asked: Would the city be the same without their presence? The answer is no. The Virginia Beach of today would not be what it is without the many service members that reside within the city, and its residents are all the more glad for this.
Sources:
- Defense
- Report Military’s Impact on State Economies.
- About
- Military
- https://blog.wm.edu.pl/
- Navy Bases – Aaron Meyer Law.
- Naval Station Norfolk.
- Military SkillBridge | City of Virginia Beach
- 190 Schools Earn Virginia Purple Star Awards for Meeting the Needs of Military Children and Families
- Virginia Military and Veterans Benefits
- Military Cultural Competency & Transition Awareness
- A Brief History of Virginia Beach
- Virginia Beach ranked as a top destination for veterans and military families
- A Guide to the Virginia Beach Virginia Navy Bases
- Number of homeless military veterans drops to lowest level on record
