"Conditions for Postservice Success Are Set Well Before the Uniform Comes Off"

Proceedings from a Roundtable on How Military Service Affects Veterans' Posttransition Outcomes

Rajeev Ramchand, Kayla M. Williams, Carrie M. Farmer

Expert InsightsPublished May 30, 2023

How smoothly a service member transitions to becoming a veteran can have significant implications for their life trajectory. The RAND Epstein Family Veterans Policy Research Institute hosted subject-matter experts for the first of four scheduled roundtable discussions on issues and potential solutions for a variety of topics across the service member and veteran lifespan, focusing on how military experience shapes veterans' transition to civilian life.

The discussion highlighted several main themes: pre-enlistment factors that have implications for a service member's transition experience; military occupational specialties that may affect a veteran's earnings and career options; military cultural norms that may discourage help-seeking and instill a distrust in government organizations; and organizational responsibilities on the part of the U.S. Department of Defense, veterans service organizations, and military service organizations.

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Ramchand, Rajeev, Kayla M. Williams, and Carrie M. Farmer, "Conditions for Postservice Success Are Set Well Before the Uniform Comes Off": Proceedings from a Roundtable on How Military Service Affects Veterans' Posttransition Outcomes. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2023. https://www.rand.org/pubs/conf_proceedings/CFA1363-2.html.
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These conference proceedings were sponsored by the Heinz Endowments and conducted by the RAND Epstein Family Veterans Policy Research Institute within RAND Education and Labor.

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