Transitioning from active duty to civilian life is difficult for many soldiers, but the challenges may be especially steep for wounded warriors. Having to adapt to a drastically different lifestyle, all while managing the wounds of war – whether they be emotional or physical – is something few people can fully understand. A new program known as Sentinels of Freedom aims to help injured troops overcome some of these obstacles and has seen considerable success so far, Florida Today reports.

An all encompassing approach
While there are many services available to transition soldiers, few are quite as comprehensive as Sentinels of Freedom. The program, which helps veterans through many of the common obstacles – including finding a home, continuing education and managing their health – costs about $100,000 for each soldier. While it's a steep price, the expenses are covered by donations from local residents and businesses. It also connects troops to veterans who managed to make a smooth transition in a mentorship program. This was the case for Ernso Auguste, who contacts veteran Brian Laughlin regularly for advice.

"I want to see him in a position to have the skill sets to get gainfully employed and be able to support his family," Laughlin told the newspaper. "We talk all the time. He bounces things off me. We help him make certain decisions."

A decade in the making
Sentinels of Freedom was launched in 2003 when California native Mike Conklin was inspired to help others after his son was injured serving in Iraq. The first soldier Conklin and his organization helped was Cpl. Jake Brown, who was injured while serving in Germany. In the years since, the nonprofit has helped more than 115 soldiers all across the U.S. 

Wide array of services available
Private organization such as Sentinels of Freedom are certainly a useful tool for servicemembers transitioning into civilian life, but the Department of Defense has been working on improving its transition assistance programs as well. The recent redesign was announced in July 2012 and includes a number of features better suited to the most recent group of veterans. Colloquially known as Transition GPS, the program focuses primarily on helping separating servicemembers land a job once they enter the civilian workforce. 

Men and women who have a spouse serving overseas face a wide variety of challenges, but second lady Dr. Jill Biden did not know just how difficult it was having a loved one deployed in a war zone until she experienced it herself. In 2008, her son Beau served in Iraq, and in remarks at the recent Annual Joint Armed Forces Officers' Wives' Luncheon she said it gave her a newfound respect for the challenges military spouses overcome every day, American Forces Press Service reports.

Raising awareness
Although Biden highlighted her own experiences, she used the anecdote to highlight the fact that much of the American public may not be aware of the obstacles military families face on a daily basis, something she has tried to raise through the Joining Force initiative – the program she runs with first lady Michelle Obama. Biden says the biggest reason for the disconnect is that many civilians are simply unaware of the daily life of those close to the Armed Forces, especially since they only make up about 1 percent of the total U.S. population. 

"So many Americans don't know anyone in the military," she told those in attendance. "They haven't been through the challenges of deployment, and they don't really understand what the military experience is really like."

Deployment not the only challenge
Having a spouse serving overseas is not the only obstacle that military families face on a regular basis, there are also considerable financial challenges, according to CNN Money. For instance, frequent moves can make it hard to spouses to find consistent work due to issues with certification and licensure. Additionally, having to move on a regular basis can take its toll on financial security because of the less-than-stable housing market. 

Help available
While Biden hinted that the plight of the military family may not get as much attention as it deserves from the civilian population, they have resources available to them, especially through the Joining Forces initiative. For one, the program has helped spur changes that make it easier for spouses to find training programs that help them, as well as their husbands or wives, land jobs. 

Many servicemembers take advantage of the education benefits afforded to them by their time in the military, and a large number states make sure it's easy for troops to head back to school once they've separated from service. This is especially true in Indiana, where legislators recently extended rules allowing out-of-states troops to pay in-state tuition and schools including Indiana State University (ISU) have been particularly welcoming to active duty servicemembers and veterans alike, reports CBS affiliate WTHI reports.

Indiana State implemented a policy in 2010 that offered in-state tuition to active duty troops regardless of where they were stationed, and they recently extended that policy to veterans who are not currently active in the military. The new policy applies to troops who served at least one year, ISU officials say. 

"[If they were] honorably discharged or medically discharged we would grant that individual residency for fee payment purposes if they could prove they were living in Indiana, along with their children and spouses," ISU Vice President of Enrollment John Beacon told the news channel. 

Of course, Indiana is not the only place where servicemembers and veterans are heading back to the classroom. In fact a growing number of military families are also making use of the post-9/11 GI Bill. According to findings from the Veterans Affairs Department, an estimated 54,000 spouses made use of the benefits in 2012 – a 70 percent increase from 2011.

There's no denying that being a soldier is a stressful job. Aside from being physically demanding, the job also requires regular moves and is mentally straining. In an effort to stay on top of soldiers' mental health, officials at Fort Carson have launched a new program. Known as Preventative Maintenance of the Comprehensive Soldier (PMCS), the initiative is meant to strengthen bonds between leaders and soldiers so they can identify servicemembers who may be mentally taxed, reports Army Times.

A break from tradition
What sets the the PMCS apart from already established programs is that there is no set timetable. Instead, officials are encouraging platoon leaders to ask their soldiers about their well-being at unscheduled times, such as before a workout or during other periods of downtime. The different approach may provide more candid answers and offer better insight into how soldiers are doing at that particular time.

"We want to make it a little more informal that way, where it's sort of the air we breathe, and this culture we're living in," Capt. Sam Rico told the news source. "A lunch in civilian clothes, where they can just talk, acts like a culvert to let some of the pressure go," he said.

Rebuilding bonds
Aside from being better able to assess how soldiers are doing on a regular basis, the PMCS is meant as way to improve relationships between troops and their commanders, which have been strained due to the decade-plus of war. Furthermore, Rico says that the new program is especially easy to implement at Fort Carson – and others – because there are no set guidelines or rules that need to be followed.

A legislative push
In addition to efforts like those at Fort Carson to improve mental health assessments, there has been a renewed focus on the issue among lawmakers. Most recently, a pair of bills made their way through Congress. Among them is the Military Mental Health Empowerment Act, which was written in an effort to encourage more troops to seek counseling by eliminating the stigma that is sometimes attached to doing so. The other bill, the Military Suicide Reduction Act, is aimed at providing better assessments to identify troops who may be at a high suicide risk upon their separation from service.

The employment report for the month of April contained good news for much of the country. An estimated 165,000 jobs were added to the economy, bringing the overall unemployment rate to 7.5 percent – its lowest in four years. But the findings were particularly positive for members of the military community. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revealed that the unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans also dropped to 7.5 percent, Military Times reports.

Big improvements
While the civilian unemployment rate dipped just 0.1 percentage point, young veterans enjoyed a much more significant reduction. In March, the rate for that demographic stood at 9.2 percent. Some speculate that the improvement stems from the fact that young veterans make up a small portion of those sampled by the BLS, but it's hard to discount the substantial efforts made by both public and private organizations to help the most recent group of veterans find jobs.

White House plays big role
First lady Michelle Obama has been leading the charge in helping bring down the unemployment rate, largely through her Joining Forces initiative. Earlier this week she was joined by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden in calling on private organizations to fully commit to hiring hundreds of thousands of servicemembers and their spouses over the next year.

"Together, we have been partnering to do everything in our power to help our veterans and military families find the jobs they need and deserve," the first lady said from the East Room of the White House recently. "These efforts are about so much more than a paycheck.  This is about giving these men and women a source of identity and purpose."

Future will be telling
While the recent figures from the BLS are certainly encouraging, it remains to be seen whether initiatives like those from the first lady and others have a long-lasting impact, especially as the war in Afghanistan draws to a close by the end of 2014. Experts from the Department of Defense estimate that approximately 300,000 troops will separate from service each year for the next several years – and many of them will likely be looking for work.

The Army often is recognized for the skill and bravery of its soldiers, but the branch recently earned praise for something else – its research capabilities. The Army was named one of the world's most innovative research organizations in the world after nabbing more than 300 patents over the course of a three-year period, according to the Army's official website. 

The award comes from Thomson Reuters, who recognized the branch for its performance in both influence and success. Perhaps most impressive was the wide variety of innovation the Army made. Its portfolio includes everything from new training software to robots that are used to dispose of deadly explosives. Its research also helped create a vaccine meant to guard against the Ebola virus.

"This illustrates how we attack many Army-unique problems, yet also contribute in wide-ranging areas," Dale A. Ormond, director of the Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, told the news source. "Our portfolio was heavy in weapons, ammunition and blasting, but also pharmaceutical products, polymers and computing."

Last year wasn't the only good period for the Army's latest inventions. In 2011, the branch unveiled a number of impressive innovations including a new brand of helmet sensors meant to improve treatment of traumatic brain injuries.

Addressing the prevalence of suicide among veterans has become a priority for many members of the military community, and a recent report from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) indicates there's more work to be done. The VA inspector general says that as many as one-third of veterans deemed to be at a high risk for suicide do not attend follow-up appointments with mental health professionals, Military Times reports.

The study was based on an analysis of 215 cases reviewed during several months in 2012. Researchers found that 65 of the patients did not have the recommended four visits with a mental healthcare professional in the 30 days after being discharged from the hospital. Making the findings even more troubling is the fact that there was a lack of follow up on the part of healthcare providers even in the case of missed appointments.

The report mentioned that staff failed to document whether their were follow-up attempts for around 8 percent of patients who missed appointments. 

This isn't the first time the VA has encountered criticism for the way it treats mental health conditions. In fact, a report released earlier this year determined that veterans seeking mental health treatment have to wait an average of 50 days for an appointment, according to Stars and Stripes.

Physical therapy comes in many different forms, and a new bill being proposed in Congress could make sure that TRICARE covers all kinds of treatment. The legislation, sponsored by a trio of lawmakers, would make sure that the popular health benefits program covers any physical therapy recommended by physicians regardless of whether it is deemed experimental, Military Times reports. 

The issue came to the forefront last year when Kaitlyn Samuels, the 16-year-old daughter of Navy Capt. Mark Samuels, was denied coverage for horse therapy, which had proven to be effective at managing the symptoms of cerebral palsy. The coverage stopped after the therapy was deemed experimental, but this proposed legislation would change that restriction and open up new channels of treatments to many troops and their families. 

"Our bill simply corrects discrimination and would ensure that beneficiaries receive rehabilitative therapies that are prescribed by a patient's physician and included in a patient's individualized plan of care authorized by his or her physical therapist," Congressman Michael Burgess, one of the bill's sponsors, wrote to fellow lawmakers.

Should the bill become law, it could have a far reaching impact on many servicemembers and veterans living with PTSD and other conditions. Specifically, a growing body of evidence suggests that therapy dogs can help manage PTSD symptoms by boosting levels of the hormone oxytocin, according to Smithsonian magazine. 

Frequent moves are one of the greatest challenges the military community faces. Known as permanent changes of station (PCS), not only can they be stressful, but the moves often cause significant financial concerns. So it should come as no surprise that approximately half of the complaints the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) receives from veterans and servicemembers relate to issues such as mortgages and foreclosures, according to Military Times.

Complaints don't tell the whole story
The figures come from an analysis of data by the CFPB's Office of Servicemember Affairs and revealed that more than 3,400 complaints received in 2012 were from troops, their family members or veterans. While that comprises just about 4 percent of the total complaints received, officials say the issues could be particularly troubling for troops. Specifically, servicemembers have to move more regularly than the civilian population, which means problems relating to mortgages, loans and other payments could have a greater impact on them. Still, Holly Petraeus, the assistant director of the Office of Servicemember Affairs, says more analysis is needed to know exactly what these findings mean.

"I'd like to have more complaints in there before we start drawing conclusions," she told the publication. "With more complaints, maybe their profile won't be the same."

Increasing legislative efforts
Over the last several years there has been an increasing effort on the part of lawmakers to ensure that predatory lenders are less capable of targeting servicemembers who may already be struggling financially. In fact, Petraeus was recently making the rounds to speak to troops about the importance of vigilance when it comes to these unscrupulous practices. In April, she spoke at Fort Bliss in Texas to discuss the role financial security plays in readiness reports CBS affiliate KENS.

"It's a readiness issue," she told the gathered crowd. "The number one cause for servicemembers losing their security clearance is for financial reasons."

More than just mortgages
While mortgages complaints topped the list, the analysis revealed some other interesting findings regarding what is causing troops the greatest financial issues. Approximately 20 percent related to concerns surrounding credit cards while 4 percent related to student loans. Officials say that about 10 percent of these complaints resulted in troops receiving some form of financial assistance. 

As the Armed Forces draws down operations in Afghanistan, the need to address mental health concerns comes more into focus. Suicide prevention and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are among the most pressing matters in the military community, and one senator from Indiana has proposed a new way to address the issue. Senator Joe Donnelly has crafted the Jacob Sexton Military Suicide Prevention Act, a bill designed to require yearly mental heath assessments for active duty troops and reserve members, Military Times reports.

Need for broader approach
Donnelly says that while there are helpful programs available to many servicemembers, sometimes some people fall through the cracks. Furthermore, he says behaviors that could signal someone who is struggling with the effects of PTSD can be missed by peers, coworkers and family members so it's important to have a professional screenings on a regular basis.

"If problems or risk factors are identified, servicemembers would be referred to behavioral health specialists," Donnelly told Congress, adding that these regular screenings could provide servicemembers with a record they can take with them after they've left the Armed Forces to improve their healthcare once they've reached veteran status.

Focus on transition grows
While Donnelly's proposed bill would be a nationwide effort, there are also initiatives taking place on a much smaller scale. For instance, the Army recently opened Embedded Behavioral Health clinics with each brigade on post, reports CBS affiliate WTVF. The program has been particularly effective at Kentucky's Fort Campbell, where the clinics have given soldiers the chance to visit with mental healthcare professionals without having to wait for an appointment.

A substantial need
Whether through proposed legislation or programs on base, addressing the mental health of servicemembers is critical, especially as thousands of troops are expected to separate from service in the coming years. Suicide prevention came to the forefront in 2012 after statistics revealed a record number of servicemembers took their own lives. According to NBC News, more than 349 troops committed suicide last year, a figure which was higher than the total number of servicemembers killed in action. Furthermore, with an estimated 20 percent of troops affected by PTSD, addressing mental health is one of the most important issues facing the community.