ABSTRACT
Veterans constitute approximately 8 percent of the US population, or roughly 23 million people (US Census Bureau 2010). For the majority of these veterans, the period of military service is a relatively brief but important segment of the life course. The average length of service among respondents in the 2001 National Survey of Veterans was about 6.5 years, or a little over 10 percent of their roughly 61 years lived on average (MacLean and Edwards 2010). The majority of living veterans have served during periods of major warfare, while only approximately a quarter served during peacetime (US Census Bureau 2010). In addition, 39 percent of respondents to the 2001 National Survey of Veterans reported having served in a combat or war zone, while 36 percent reported exposure to dead, dying, or wounded people (Department of Veterans Affairs 2002).
