Returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan: assessment of readjustment needs of veterans, service members, and their families.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been the longest sustained U.S. military operations since the Vietnam era, sending more than 2.2 million troops into battle, and resulting in more than 6,600 deaths and 48,000 injuries. Many service members returning from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are relatively unscathed. Upon return, the vast majority report that their experiences were rewarding, and they readjust to life off the battlefield with few difficulties. Others, however, return with varied complex health conditions and find that readjusting to life at home, reconnecting with family, finding work, or returning to school is an ongoing struggle. In response to the surge of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans returning with lingering problems, Congress required the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to study their physical and mental health, and other readjustment needs. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) committee conducted this congressionally mandated assessment in two phases. The result of the second phase, Returning Home from Iraq and Afghanistan: Assessment of Readjustment Needs of Veterans, Service Members, and Their Families, presents the IOM committee’s comprehensive assessment of the physical, psychological, social, and economic effects of deployment on service members, their families, and communities.