It is our duty to serve and protect our veterans

John Phebus

Submitted photo/Axiom Community of Recovery

As Americans, we often speak of duty in military terms. By way of example, we say things like ‘duty to country,’ ‘duty to mission’ or ‘duty to protect.’ But that duty does not end when service members leave active duty. If we ask men and women to sacrifice for us, then we must also be prepared to stand beside them when they need help rebuilding their lives.”

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OPINION — Memorial Day is, rightly, a solemn occasion to honor and mourn the military personnel who gave their lives in service to this country. But it should also be a time to reflect on those who returned home and are still fighting battles of their own.

For too many veterans, that battle is substance-use disorder.

According to the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, approximately 2.8 million U.S. veterans — roughly 14% of all veterans — reported experiencing at least one substance-use disorder in the past year. Among veterans entering VA care for the first time, 11% meet the criteria for substance-use disorder, a rate higher than the general population.

Alcohol misuse remains the most common challenge, accounting for more than 80% of diagnosed veteran substance-use disorders. Post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, chronic pain and the invisible wounds of combat all compound the risk. Most alarming of all, VA research indicates that 96% of veterans with substance-use disorder do not believe they need treatment, even when clinically eligible.

These numbers make one thing painfully clear: Supporting veterans in recovery is not optional. It is a national obligation.

That obligation is beginning to take meaningful shape in Arizona through efforts like the newly opened John McCain Veterans Center in Phoenix, a transitional-housing center dedicated specifically to veterans facing mental-health and substance-use challenges.

Named in honor of Sen. John McCain with support from Mercy Care, Arizona Department of Veterans Services and Axiom Care, the center represents exactly the kind of targeted, compassionate response veterans deserve: care designed around their experiences, their trauma and their path toward healing.

Located on the Victory Place campus, a 200-apartment veteran-focused affordable housing community, the center includes a 60-bed transitional-housing and treatment model designed specifically for veterans navigating substance-use disorders, trauma, mental-health conditions and homelessness. There, veterans can remain in a safe, structured environment for up to 90 days while receiving evidence-based clinical treatment, medical and psychiatric care, peer accountability, workforce-development training and art therapy, all designed to help create lasting stability beyond crisis intervention.

Organizations like this matter because veterans often need more than treatment alone. They need culturally competent care, stable housing, peer support and environments where asking for help is seen not as weakness, but as courage. Recovery is rarely linear, and for those who have spent their lives in service to others, the transition into vulnerability can be especially difficult.

As Americans, we often speak of duty in military terms. By way of example, we say things like “duty to country,” “duty to mission” or “duty to protect.” But that duty does not end when service members leave active duty. If we ask men and women to sacrifice for us, then we must also be prepared to stand beside them when they need help rebuilding their lives.

Supporting veteran recovery means investing in treatment access, expanding specialized recovery housing, reducing stigma and championing organizations doing this critical work on the ground. It means recognizing that addiction is often not the root problem, but the symptom of pain borne in service to the nation.

Memorial Day calls us to remember sacrifice. Let it also call us to action.

To honor our veterans fully, we must do more than thank them for their service. We must ensure that they have every opportunity to heal, recover and thrive. That is not charity. That is duty.

John Phebus is board chair of Axiom Community of Recovery, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on housing navigation, peer support, workforce development and creative healing. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.