Speak of supporting the troops . . .

It will surprise no one that United States Armed Forces veterans are more likely to wind up homeless. However, the numbers are astonishing. Even though veterans compose only 11% of the adult population in this country, fully a quarter of the homeless population on a given day is composed of veterans. The logical sequence to achieve this realization is not difficult: (1) Returning veterans are disproportionately more likely to have mental health problems, and (2) people with mental health problems are grossly overrepresented in the homeless population, so (3) veterans are disproportionately homeless.
Some in this country demand that all Americans "support the troops." But does supporting the troops not apply when they are not in combat? Do they only need support in Baghdad and Kabul? As the recent Walter Reed scandal and other stories have shown, too many of our soldiers are neglected on a number of fronts. One of the most serious of these is the lack of capacity at army mental health services. Even as soldiers are sent to multiple tours of duty in hositle regions of the globe, their mental health needs are not being adequately addressed.
The US Armed Forces owe its fighters the best care that it can provide. This means at a minimum, not sending patients with symptoms post-traumatic stress disorder into battle again. (This sounds fairly obvious, but to Army brass it is not, apparently.) If they provide better health services, maybe the Army's suicide total will fall from its record high in 2006. And maybe, just maybe, it could help fix some of the Army's recruiting problems.