Veterans are returning to civilian life with diverse skills and tremendous potential, but many experience hardships transitioning from the military to civilian life. Young veterans, in particular, experience the worst transitional outcomes of any veteran subpopulation.

Nearly seven years of supporting post 9/11 veterans have allowed us to harness the knowledge, network and insights of our partnerships and investments to identify three priorities designed to improve outcomes for young veterans who have selflessly served our country, including:

• Training support, career guidance and job placements aligned with the needs of junior enlisted service members because a one-size-fits-all approach to military transition often results in the most vulnerable falling through the cracks.
• Deploying coordinated hubs at the point of transition connecting young veterans, who often don’t tap into available services, to the veteran support organizations best equipped to meet their needs.
• Investing in research, advocacy and evaluation to highlight the challenges facing junior enlisted veterans and emerging best practices. By concentrating our efforts to support the 50% of transitioning service members who are junior enlisted, we strive to make sure no one falls behind.