America’s post-9/11 veterans are struggling and need our help

This month marks 20 years since our nation launched Operation Iraqi Freedom, right on the heels of our engagement in Afghanistan. The two wars rank among the longest in U.S. history, and while reasonable minds may differ on their rationale and results, this much is clear: While all wars bring suffering, those of the last two decades have been especially tough for our troops — and we must do more to support them. 

Four million Americans have served in the military since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Because of our engagement in simultaneous conflicts, a large share of this all-volunteer group experienced multiple deployments in both wars, a different scenario than that experienced by veterans who preceded them. The aftermath of service has been disproportionately hard for these men and women.

While most veterans transition successfully from the armed forces to civilian life, others struggle with PTSD, traumatic brain injuries, drug and alcohol misuse, and homelessness. For a disturbingly high number, such hardships lead to involvement with the criminal justice system. One in three of our 19 million veterans report having been arrested and booked at least once, and the most recent available data show that roughly 181,500 are incarcerated.

We served as defense secretaries for the United States during the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, experience that gave us an intimate view of the consequences for those in uniform. We are also veterans ourselves and know well the visible and not-so-visible harm that combat-related trauma and other realities of military service can inflict.

Multiple deployments to war zones take an incalculable toll, not only on soldiers, sailors, Marines and other service members but on their families as well. Those serving multiple deployments are three times more likely to develop PTSD than veterans who were not deployed, and an estimated one in five post-9/11 veterans experienced a probable traumatic brain injury while serving.

Symptoms of these conditions fuel substance misuse and increase the risk of discharge from the military under “other than honorable” circumstances. Such discharges, which are distinct from the sort of “bad conduct” or “dishonorable” discharges that involve court-martials, have increased fivefold since World War II. While many are certainly merited, it is also true that people struggling with PTSD can exhibit behaviors contrary to military rules, such as chronic tardiness or failure to follow policy. Some superiors mistake such behavior for poor character and assign a so-called “bad paper” discharge; that designation carries severe consequences — especially the loss of the vital, lifelong benefits our government promises those who serve.

Multiple studies have found strong associations between trauma and criminal justice system involvement for veterans, and while there have been innovations and improvements in how we manage and support this population in recent years, it’s not nearly enough. The trouble begins at the system’s front door, with ineffective identification of veterans. While the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has developed data-based tools to verify a person’s veteran status, only nine of the nation’s 18,000 law enforcement agencies and 11 percent of its 3,100 jails report using them. Instead, they rely on veterans to self-identify, but many veterans fail to do so, because of shame or fear of losing VA support.

Hundreds of jurisdictions now operate specialized Veterans Treatment Courts, but participation is often restricted to minor offenses, and just 36 of 2,300 prosecutors’ offices report offering veteran-specific diversion programs. Because of such gaps in the system, veterans miss out on rehabilitative interventions targeting the service-related trauma and other conditions that often drive their criminal behavior.

To be clear, veterans who break the law should be held accountable. But America, in turn, has a responsibility to support all veterans in a fashion that honors their service and helps them address the multiple challenges that service can create. That’s not just good for them; it’s good for public safety and America’s future servicemen and women as well.

Our military institutions have always pledged to leave no troops behind. In furtherance of that vow, we have joined a national panel of leaders from the military, the veterans community, the public health sector and the justice system to find out why so many former service members do get left behind and land in prison and jail — and determine what to do about it.

Based on the first phase of our analysis, we are urging federal and state governments to expand opportunities for veterans to avoid incarceration and enter diversion and deferred adjudication programs, which incentivize participants to take responsibility for their actions while resolving issues underlying their criminal behavior. Along with that, jurisdictions should empower courts to consider whether military service, including combat exposure, played a role in a person’s criminal offense, and permit veteran status to be considered as a mitigating factor at sentencing.

State and federal lawmakers should also create or expand “clean slate” record expungement for veterans, improving their ability to find jobs and avoid homelessness, and should provide law enforcement, court, and corrections personnel with special training for cases involving veterans, especially with regard to behaviors caused by exposure to violence and trauma.

In recent years, our nation has vigorously debated whether our criminal justice system is as effective and just as it can be. Veterans who fall into that system have, despite their service and sacrifice, largely been overlooked. That’s not a just system. These young men and women volunteered to put their lives on the line for this country. America must do better by them.

A Vietnam veteran, former deputy administrator of the VA and U.S. senator from Nebraska, Chuck Hagel served as the nation’s 24^th Secretary of Defense and is the chair of the Council on Criminal Justice Veterans Justice Commission. 

Former Congressman Leon Panetta, a member of the commission, was the 23^rd Secretary of Defense, the former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and White House Chief of Staff from 1994 to 1997.