This report describes the intersecting social and medical problems indexed by the idea of “transition” for the purpose of highlighting the many ways that post-military life can be disorienting and difficult. In recent years, the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has recognized this and begun increasingly to support veterans’ transitions back to civilian life. The non-medical dimensions of veterans’ “transitions” are necessary context for understanding the complexity of the VA’s institutional task, and its unique potential to provide a sense of stability for veterans, beyond caring for them in the strictly medical sense.
The report is part of Brown University's project titled The Costs of War, which examines war's human, economic, and political costs to foster better informed public policies.