It is often said that coming home from war can be more difficult than the war itself. While deployments are measured in months or years, reintegration is a lifelong event, often away from the battle buddies that watched their back. The pressure can be too great for some Veterans—and may lead to first time run-ins with the law.

That’s why Veterans Treatment Courts, tailored for Vets with first time felonies, have popped up all around the country. Judges offer leniency in exchange of a treatment plan, usually fulfilled at a VA facility.

The courts were highlighted in a recent segment on 60 Minutes, which traced the rise, fall, and rebirth of a Marine Veteran who found himself facing the justice system after a combat tour. The piece also delves into the story behind the bench, and how the treatment program is a tougher yet more promising option for Vets.

The system works for another Marine featured; he avoids jail by graduating from the program and is on his way toward another graduation—this time from college.

Throughout the year, the US Chamber of Commerce has hosted dozens of hiring events for Veterans across the country in an effort to drive down Veteran unemployment and help Vets find meaningful jobs.

Below, you’ll find a list of hiring events located throughout the country from October 13 through October 31, 2012. Double-check before heading off to the event because the date may be subject to change. Click on the state to find out when and where the event is being held. If you don’t see your state listed, don’t worry! We’ll put together a new list of hiring fairs for the month of October in a few weeks—so be sure to check back. You can also see a complete list of this year’s hiring events here.

October 16, 2012 – Bedford, MA

October 18, 2012 – Pittsburgh, PA

October 18, 2012 – Middleton, MA

October 18, 2012 – Glendale, AZ

October 23, 2012 – MacDill AFB, FL – Military Spouse Event

October 23, 2012 – Fort Riley, KS

October 23, 2012 – Bossier City, LA

October 23, 2012 – Louisville, KY

October 24, 2012 – Flemington, NJ

October 25, 2012 – Fort Collins, CO

October 25, 2012 – Greenwood, SC

October 25, 2012 – Atlanta, GA

October 30, 2012 – West Haven, CT

October 31, 2012 – Concord, CA

It’s often said that everyone comes back from war changed, even if you have no injuries. But thanks to advances in battlefield medicine and surgical procedures, troops are surviving their wounds at a higher rate than ever before. That means folks are coming home changed in ways never seen in history.

That’s why VA created a number of rehabilitative programs to help disabled Veterans get out of the house and get active. Every year, VA holds events like the National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic, the Winter Sports Clinic, the Wheelchair Games, the Creative Arts Festival, the TEE Tournament, and the Golden Age Games where Veterans gather from all over the country to compete in adaptive sports. Veterans typically report better health and a better quality of life when they join in, and the camaraderie they find doesn’t hurt, either.

VA’s National Veterans Sports Programs & Special Events Office is the first place to go if you’re looking to join fellow Vets in competition. Their site has information on how to connect with community-based programs to get you in the game, as well as more information on the national events. And there are grants available for folks looking to begin or expand opportunities for disabled Veterans to participate in physical activity in their communities.

One of the most impactful things we can do is help disabled Veterans find their way after they come home, so if you’re looking to get back out there, learn more about the benefits adaptive sports programs and get started.

With the stroke of a pen, President Franklin D. Roosevelt made a promise to our country’s Veterans by signing the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944. With the Act’s passage, the idea of obtaining a higher education didn’t seem so farfetched. The ability to move up the social and economic ladder wasn’t just a dream anymore for those who served our country during wartime. Instead, the Act, simply known as the GI Bill of Rights, was a sign of hope for a brighter future.

Since the GI Bill of Rights was passed, the number of Veterans enrolled in college and universities across the country has grown throughout the years. Fifty-one percent of World War II Vets used their benefits, 43 percent of Korean Vets dipped into the funds, and 71 percent of Vietnam Vets took advantage of their education benefits. Since the Post-9/11 GI Bill rolled out in 2009, VA has awarded more than $22 billion in benefits to over 822,000 individuals. Something worth celebrating!

Now, we want to honor all of those who have used their education benefits in pursuit of a higher education. We here at VA need your help to recognize the Veterans who’ve gone on to transcend the battlefield and successfully complete an undergraduate or graduate degree, vocational/technical training, on-the-job training, flight training, correspondence training, licensing and national testing programs, and entrepreneurship training.

Here is how you can help: Please send a photograph of yourself for a new Flickr set we’ll be creating—or a Veteran you’d like to acknowledge—on graduation day. We’d love to see the cap and gown, holding the diploma shot! You’ll need to include name, branch of service, dates served, school attended, what you received your degree in, and date of graduation or receipt of the licensing or certification. Please send all information to newmedia@va.gov by Friday October 12.

Earlier today, the American Legion released its 2012 System Worth Saving Task Force Report, which surveyed Veterans from 25 VA medical centers and 24 veteran town hall meetings in American Legion posts about quality of care and patient satisfaction at VA facilities.

Facility executive leadership, patient safety managers, patient advocates, and women veteran Veterans program managers were among those surveyed on the VA side. American Legion also conducted interviews about their experiences. Some concerns raised were localized, like wheelchair accessible facilities. Some were broad; Veterans at the Nashville VAMC suggested departments would benefit from information sharing, which is a priority for VA at a high level.

The whole report is worth the read to see what we do well, and what areas we need to improve. If you aren’t enrolled in VA care but want to see for yourself, you can determine your eligibility here and apply here. And if the words from Legion members aren’t enough, get the facts straight about the myths of VA care.

Yesterday and today, Dr. Tommy Sowers, our new Assistant Secretary of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, walked the halls of the Chicago Regional Office to see for himself how claims are received, processed, and delivered.

Along the way, he tweeted photos and facts from his visit (you can follow him on Twitter at @sowers). His insight comes at a time when the disability claims backlog is making national news. Today’s New York Times front page story ran down the difficult truths on why it has grown in recent years, for reasons in and out of VA’s control.

Take a moment to check out the process from behind the scenes below, and if you’re looking to file a claim, check out this post that gives some helpful tips on how to make it a first time go. Hopefully some of the tips will be unnecessary soon; by the end of 2013, all 56 regional offices will roll out paperless processing technology to speed up the process and improve accuracy.

Missions, raids, patrols, clearing, firefights: no sweat. That was the daily rhythm of my unit’s deployment to Iraq. We were tasked with massive operations to root out insurgents, and in some cases undermanned and outgunned by an entrenched foe. We didn’t stop to think if it couldn’t be done. We simply moved toward the sound of gunfire.

But when conversation drifted to college—the post-military plan of most of the guys in my infantry company—an air of apprehension swirled around. Many of us didn’t do well in high school and figured it had been too long since algebra and English class. Ironically, higher education seemed like a risky move to a group of folks fighting in a brutal counterinsurgency campaign.

Veterans sometime limit themselves when going after higher education, but it doesn’t have to be that way, says Barbara Mujica, a professor at Georgetown University who also acts as a faculty adviser for the student Veterans chapter there. Read More »

Of all the things drilled into you in the military, “leave no man or woman behind” might be the most uncompromising ethos of them all. The military would fail its mission if troops didn’t operate under complete faith and trust, in life and in death.

National POW/MIA Recognition Day was established in order for us to recognize when those fought were never found, or were captured by the enemy in a time of war. According to the Defense Department, 83,417 troops are still unaccounted for, stretching from WWII to Iraq and Afghanistan. Those missing troops don’t just have a profound impact on their units, but their families as well. That’s a lot of families that may never see closure.

The other half of our reflection is reserved for troops captured by the enemy in battle—or in James O’Neal Hughes’ case, by revolutionaries during the Iran hostage crisis. Their incredible sacrifice is almost impossible to conceive, and our gratitude can never be enough.

This is also a day to recognize the hard work by the folks at the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, whose mission is to search for, identify, and bring home remains of our men and women overseas from sites all over the world.

Take a moment to reflect on those who have suffered in the hands of the enemy, and those who never came home.

The guys in my infantry squad were always lighting up another cigarette. Before patrols, during patrols, after long missions and endless guard tower stints—it was an endless cycle that relieved stress and gave idle hands something to do.

But now many of those guys are trying to quit smoking, and for good reason. Everyone knows smoking is bad for you, but few realize how destructive it really is. Smoking increases the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke two to four times and kills nearly half a million people every year. It can also contribute to infertility, low birth weight and a variety of deadly cancers.

If you’re looking to quit, the health benefits are immediate. Your sense of smell and taste improve after just two days, and your risk of heart disease drops by half after a year.

Quitting isn’t about going cold turkey anymore. VA has established group sessions to help Veterans quit smoking, which has shown positive results compared to going at it alone. If you want to quit today, visit your local VA facility or call 1-877-222-8387.

Photo via scrapetv.com