ABSTRACT
A substantial amount of evidence documents that service members who fight in wars are more likely than those who do not to suffer injury and death (Gawande 2004), as well as enduring physical and mental health problems (Institute of Medicine 2008a). However, in part due to positive health selection among those entering the military, at some points in the life course, veterans may have health that is better or no worse than that of non-veterans (London and Wilmoth 2006; Wilmoth, London, and Parker 2010). Despite a sociological tradition of studying health variation across different segments of the population that stretches back to the 19th century (Durkheim 1951), relatively few scholars have examined how military service affects health within a life-course perspective.
