The second in a series of snapshot poll briefs, the IVMF research team, in partnership with Military Times, examines the coronavirus and its impact on the military and veteran community. This brief analyzes resource needs among veteran and the active-duty service member populations in key areas such as employment, education, childcare, mental and physical health, along with caregiving resources. Results reveal widespread concern and resources needed among military and veteran community members collectively and independently. Knowing which resources are needed is just half the battle as findings also indicate that navigating some of those services is also a challenge. This report aims to offer insight and recommendations, to the military community, along with multiple stakeholders including policymakers, practitioners, grant makers, and researchers.

Some of the Highlights:

• Veterans (77%) and active-duty (69%) participants reported medical care as their number one resource need.
• Active duty over veterans reported a higher percentage of need in their key resource areas.
• Female veterans reported a higher percentage of need in top resource areas.
• Veteran and active duty minority reported a higher percentage of resource need in key resource areas.

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Military Times and the IVMF partnered on a poll that included questions on service members’ opinions related to the COVID-19 climate. In the first installment of the Covid-19 related briefs, we found that military-affiliated participants consistently view COVID-19 as a severe (i.e., moderate to extreme) threat to nearly all key issues.  surveyed. Projecting three months ahead, perceptions of the COVID-19 threat decrease slightly, but overall levels remain severe for most issues. Perceived threat was most extreme toward national issues (public health, economy) compared to community or family/personal concerns, though nearly all were a concern for many. Some slight differences in perceived threat were observed between subgroups: active duty/veteran (e.g., economy/employment), gender (e.g., resources, family health, finances), and age (e.g., employment, finances).

View the summary either with the visual PDF or the accessible word document version.

Military Times and the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) at Syracuse University conduct recurring snapshot polls of the military and veteran community. The purpose of these polls is to provide timely insights on the social, economic, education, and policy views and concerns of military-affiliated individuals. As the world navigates the Coronavirus (COVID-19) health crisis, IVMF remains committed to serving transitioning service members, veterans, and their family members. We are determined to stay informed of the evolving impacts, needs, and challenges experienced by this military-connected community. Therefore, in partnership with Military Times, the IVMF created and conducted a COVID-19 climate poll.

Many military and veteran serving organizations have responded quickly to this crisis and have surveyed their memberships to determine the immediate effects of the pandemic. Several surveys have measured the impacts on employment, education, childcare, children’s education, mental and physical health, and caregiving across various military, veteran, and military family populations. In an effort to provide new insights and add to the emerging COVID-19 survey research in this space, this poll focused on service member and veteran perceptions of immediate and future (three months) threats of COVID-19, their need for and knowledge of resources, and their confidence in various levels of public leadership.

View the full report