Combat Veterans: From The Batlefield to Prison

This is more current, and looks more comprehensive. The article is long and the website is worth visiting, so I'm sending you there for the whole thing. This is part of what looks like a very interesting series on veterans and criminal justice:
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From the Battlefield to Prison
Crime Report Blog
by Cara Tabachnick
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 6:34 am


In a series of articles to mark Veterans Day, the Crime Report examines the impact of returning soldiers on the U.S. justice system. In Part 1, we explore the special tragedy of troubled veterans in prison.

Most of the returning veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan never get in trouble with the law—but the outlook is bleak for those who do. The U.S. justice system is poorly prepared to cope with young ex-military personnel whose post-combat stress or inability to adjust to civilian society pushes them over the line into criminal activity, a special report by The Crime Report shows.


Although the number of incarcerated veterans has not risen dramatically, a Bureau of Justice Statistics report planned for release next year is expected to show that for the first time since the Vietnam War, the majority of veterans now serving prison terms are between the ages of 25 and 34. With no early end of America’s overseas military commitments in sight, U.S. authorities need to devote more attention to the needs of troubled soldiers, says Paul Sullivan, Executive Director of Veterans for Common Sense, a national advocacy group based in Washington D.C..

Improving and expanding treatment and prison counseling programs for needy veterans can “make a tremendous difference” if corrections officials made this a top priority, Sullivan adds “It can save untold lives and billions of dollars.”...

(finish the story at The Crime Report Blog)