Given the spike in suicides among servicemembers over the past decade, there has been ample speculation that deployment played a role. However, a new study from the Naval Health Research Center questions the link. Researchers say that, much like in the civilian population, common conditions such as depression, substance abuse and mental illness are the biggest factors contributing to suicides in the military.

Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the findings are based on extensive analysis of more than 145,000 participants from every branch of the military. Study authors found that of the 78 participants who took their own lives during the seven-year study, the rate was double among subjects with depression and about four times higher in those who had bi-polar disorder. 

"The findings from this study are not consistent with the assumption that specific deployment-related characteristics, such as length of deployment, number of deployments, or combat experiences, are directly associated with increased suicide risk," the authors wrote.

The Department of Defense has made significant efforts to combat mental health issues among troops in recent years. Specifically, there has been an increasing number of mental health professionals at military clinics, The Associated Press reported.

As the war in Afghanistan winds down, a greater focus will surely be placed on the issues facing wounded veterans over the next several years. The substantial backlog vets face when applying for benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs is one of the most significant of these challenges. In an effort to address these concerns, President Barack Obama is set to speak to the Disabled American Veterans on Saturday, according to an announcement from the organization.

What will he say?
While no transcript has been released, Obama will likely touch on what efforts are being made to address the significant backlog. Specifically, the VA has about 797,000 pending claims to address, but it's not just the number that's raising the largest amount of concerns. About two-thirds of those claims have had to wait longer than 125 days to have their claims processed, while some have to wait a year. 

"A central discussion will be what actions the VA and Congress are implementing to eliminate the backlog for delivering benefits to veterans," the DAV said.

What has been done?
The White House has already taken some steps to help bring down the backlog. Most recently, officials proposed a 13.6 percent increase to funding for veterans benefits in the hopes that it would make the process go a bit more quickly. However, the White House, as well as the VA and the Department of Defense, has been focused more intently on developing a paperless claim system to not only help curtail the backlog, but also to improve record keeping. The hope is that it will be in place by 2015, according to The Hill.

Addressing the backlog and helping wounded veterans is going to be especially important in the coming months and years as thousands of troops return from Afghanistan. By 2012, more than 50,000 servicemembers had been wounded over the last decade-plus of war, according to the DOD.

Just one stop?
While Obama will speak at the DAV meeting, it's not the only time he plans to open discussions with servicemembers. On Thursday, he is expected to visit Camp Pendleton in California to visit the active duty troops stationed there, according to his press secretary. 

In 2009, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the White House pledged to end homelessness among veterans by 2015. In the years since, they have funneled a considerable amount of energy and funding into the initiative, and there has been a 17 percent decline in the number of homeless veterans since. Despite the improvements, there is still some work to be done and the VA in particular has asked local businesses and organizations to help out, Military Times reports.

More than just a home
One of the biggest challenges facing the White House and VA is that, while they can help vets find housing, they can't assist them with other necessities such as furniture, utilities, supplies or paying rent. VA officials are encouraged by the decrease in the number of homeless vets, which has fallen from about 300,000 in 2003 to 60,000 in 2012, but without any furnishings in their residence, their quality of life will still suffer. Lisa Pape, director of homeless programs at VA's Veterans Health Administration, said private industries and businesses need to lend a helping hand.

"If you can prevent a veteran from falling into homelessness or being in at-risk situations, you can head off various other issues like addiction and health problems," Matt Carey, director of the District of Columbia Office of Veterans Affairs, told the news source.

Local communities helping out
Some organizations have heard the calls for help from the VA and have pitched in to improve the lives of veterans. In Washington, for instance, The Bellingham Housing Authority, Opportunity Council and health department recently took advantage of several grants to spur positive changes in the state, according to The Bellingham Herald.

Challenges lay ahead
Even as progress is made in the fight against homelessness, the need will likely continue in the coming months and years as thousands of troops return from Afghanistan. Additionally, an estimated 300,000 servicemembers are expected to separate from service each year for the near future. These challenges may be compounded by the budgetary constraints formed by sequestration. The across-the-board budget cuts have already had an impact on  certain programs. According to ThinkProgress.com, approximately 100,000 homeless or formerly homeless people will no longer have access to helpful programs. 

Veterans have a variety of options at their disposal when it comes to managing the long-term psychological challenges they face. Some choose to follow artistic pursuits while others may benefit from therapy. Now, a new study suggests that outdoor activities may offer the greatest benefits. Researchers from the University of Michigan found that vets who participated in group recreation outdoors exhibited a significant improvement to their mental health.

Positive responses
The study was performed thanks to the Sierra Club, which operates the Military Family and Veterans Initiative in an effort to provide servicemembers and their loved ones an opportunity to access outdoor recreation. Specifically, the organization was interested in determining whether their program had a positive impact. To measure this, U-M researchers surveyed veterans before and after hiking and camping. They found that participants showed improvements in measures of psychological well-being, social functioning and positive outlook.

"The Sierra Club knows anecdotally the mental, emotional and physical benefits that come from spending time in nature, particularly for returning service members for whom the outdoors can be integral to their reintegration," said Stacy Bare, Sierra Club mission outdoors director. "The results of the University of Michigan's study reinforce these beliefs and support our efforts to make these types of experiences available to more people."

Opportunities abound
There are a wide variety of outdoor activities available to veterans, and a growing number of them have taken advantage of these unique programs. One of the most successful of these initiatives was launched by Maj. Mike Erwin and his brother Mark in 2010. Known as Team Red, White and Blue, the organization is dedicated to getting veterans involved in their communities through both physical and social activity. In just three years, the program has helped a large number of vets transition to civilian life, including Eddie Carmona, who turned to Team Red, White and Blue and running to improve his mental health. 

The organization has also helped launch some unique programs, including an equine therapy program in rural Sharon, Conn. Run by Samantha Case, a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology, the therapy is designed to help vets who are managing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the Litchfield County Times. Case, who is doing her doctoral dissertation on the subject, says there needs to be more empirical evidence on the benefits of equine therapy for veterans. 

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki has certainly faced his fair share of challenges during his time in office. Tasked with eliminating a lengthy disability claims backlog, tackling veteran homelessness and improving vets' access to services, he has often encountered a considerable amount of criticism. However at the recent Veterans of Foreign Wars conference, he spoke about the progress his department has made in recent months, Stars and Stripes reports.

Perhaps most significantly, Shinseki touted the considerable progress made in the fight against homelessness. The number of veterans living on the streets has dropped by about 20 percent over the last three-plus years. Additionally the VA has funneled approximately $500 million into an ongoing effort to make contact with hard-to-reach veterans. However, the backlog issue still needs work, but Shinseki touted the Veterans Benefit Management System, which will make sure claims do not sit in limbo. As it stands now, approximately 67 percent of pending claims are older than 125 days.

"We said all along it would take time to solve this correctly," he told the gathered crowd. "And we're not going to leave this for another secretary or another president to wrestle with. The president wants this fixed and we are on track to eliminate the backlog in 2015."

Shinseki also touched on several other initiatives launched by the VA. According to Stars and Stripes, there will be a 21 percent boost to funding for traumatic brain injury and a 51 percent increase to funding for prosthetic research. 

Many veterans plan to head back to the classroom once they've separated from service, but sometimes there are obstacles in their way. Despite having the benefits afforded to them by the Post-9/11 GI Bill, sometimes it can be difficult for them to know exactly what they're entitled to. That may soon change, however, as a bipartisan measure known as the Veterans Education Transparency Act is making its way through Congress. The proposed bill would allow colleges to access what benefits each student is entitled to in the hopes that it can help institutions offer better counseling, according to Military Times.

Less confusion
One of the most important goals the bill's crafters hope to accomplish is removing any confusion associated with exactly what benefits veterans can have. This uncertainty can cause a number of issues, including forcing vets to pay unexpected tuition rates. Rep. Rick Larsen, of Washington, is the bill's chief sponsor, and he says providing schools access to this information is an easy fix to an often bothersome issue. 

"Too often, veterans and colleges have incomplete information about their GI benefits, resulting in unexpected tuition bills for student veterans and their families," Larsen said. "The VET Act will fix this problem by letting colleges directly access information on veterans' GI benefits, letting them give the best educational guidance to their students."

Support from schools
Veterans are not the only ones who support the proposed law, some schools have also come out in favor of the legislation, including the University of Washington. Specifically, the school expects the changes will make it easier for its counselors to guide veterans through the complexities of their education. It can also better equip them to show veterans what kind of services are at their disposal, whether it be the benefits themselves or financial aid programs. 

"The Veterans Education Transparency Act would improve this flow of information and help student veterans meet their educational goals," said Kay Lewis, the assistant vice president of student life and director of student financial aid and scholarships at the school.

Significant impact moving forward
If the VET Act is signed into law, it could have a substantial effect on veteran life in the near future. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, an estimated 300,000 troops will separate from service each year over the next several years. 

When veterans develop post-traumatic stress disorder, one of the last things they want to do is think about the painful experience that affected them so greatly. However, processing traumatic memories on a repeated basis may be one way to help former servicemembers overcome PTSD, according to a new study.

Exposure therapy could ease the pain of PTSD
The study, which was conducted by researchers from the National Center for PTSD, VA Palo Alto Health Care System in California, found that prolonged exposure therapy may be a big help to veterans struggling with PTSD, Reuters reported. For those who have this mental condition, the idea of tackling their memories head on is far from desirable. However, this action could prove to these individuals that they still have control.

"One of the important factors in chronic PTSD is avoidance – avoiding thinking about the trauma and avoiding going to places that remind you of the trauma or are similar," Edna Foa, head of the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as a developer of prolonged exposure therapy, told the news source.

Essentially, in prolonged exposure therapy individuals with PTSD repeatedly process painful memories. At the same time, they approach situations that typically create feelings of anxiety in a safe way. All together, these techniques have the potential to reduce PTSD symptoms.

"They realize they can talk about this event, and they don't fall apart," Foa said. "It gives them a sense of control over the memory, rather than the memory controlling them."

A major problem
While prolonged exposure therapy may not work for every veteran, it does not hurt for members of this population to consider their options. PTSD has become a major problem in a time when so many American troops have been fighting overseas. Experts believe that this condition develops among 11 to 20 percent of veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

With so many American veterans returning home with PTSD, it is essential for these individuals to receive the care they deserve. Former servicemembers may be able to rely on their veterans insurance to help them cover the cost of treatments that can drastically improve their quality of life.

Having to pick up and move is a well-known part of life for servicemembers. Not only can this be a stressful endeavor, but as many veterans are finding out, it can be costly. A growing number of troops have encountered hefty tuition bills because their service took them out of their home state, and when they sought to return to school, they were charged out-of-state tuition rates. In many cases, this added up to thousands of dollars a year, McClatchy's Washington Bureau reports.

Rules vary considerably
The biggest issue is that states have significantly different rules on whether or not their public institutions can offer tuition waivers to out-of-state students. Currently, 13 states have legislation in the works to create some form of waiver, 14 have no waivers and the remaining states offer waivers to some veterans and not others. This was especially frustrating to Navy veteran Ted Spencer, who was stationed in California and was denied in-state tuition at North Carolina State University despite growing up there and paying income tax there while he serving.

"It's mind-blowing to me that North Carolina – a state that is known for being extremely military friendly and home to the largest military base in the United States – would be so difficult when it comes to military veterans who want to call this state home," he told the news source.

Proposed changes
This lack of consistency has not gone unnoticed by legislators in Washington. Earlier this year, lawmakers introduced H.R. 357, otherwise known as the G.I. Bill Tuition Fairness Act, which would require public in-state universities to offer veterans the in-state tuition or risk losing the federal funding they receive from the G.I. Bill. They would be required to do so by Aug. 1, 2014. 

"The men and women who served this nation did not just defend the citizens of their home states, but the citizens of all 50 states," said Rep. Jeff Miller, the chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

A number of schools have expressed concern about the timeline associated with the bill. According to McClatchy, schools say they are bound by the state laws, which sometimes move very slowly. Additionally, others have raised issues about the impact it could have on their financial stability. 

Soldiers face a number of obstacles upon returning home from the battlefield, and some of the most significant are behavioral health challenges. In an effort to help servicemembers overcomes these difficulties, the Army and Department of Veterans Affairs are teaming up, Army News Service reports.

Army officials have made sure that the branch's health centers place an added emphasis on behavioral well-being. This includes a number of different areas ranging from sleep and nutrition to brain health. As for the VA, officials are continuing to focus on transition assistance, especially as the war in Afghanistan draws to a close and thousands of troops separate from service. The VA has also been trying to facilitate cooperation between its operations and the Pentagon's.

"One of the areas we've been working very hard on is to make sure there is alignment between DOD programs and VA programs, so we can seamlessly move people across," John Medve, the executive director of the VA/DOD Collaboration Service, told the news source. "We have federal recovery coordinators who work to ensure families understand all the dynamics they need as they transition."

Veterans encounter a wide variety of mental health challenges, according to the VA. For instance, post-traumatic stress disorder affects an estimated 20 percent of post-9/11 veterans.

Upon separating from service, troops take a wide variety of paths, but many plan on making use of their education benefits and heading back to the classroom. While earning a degree is a popular activity for veterans, it is not without its fair share of challenges. Servicemembers often encounter problems assimilating into college life because their experiences separate them from younger, civilian students. However, many schools go to great lengths to make sure their unique needs are met, The Buffalo News reports.

Different priorities
One of the biggest issues veteran students encounter is the fact they have considerably different priorities than other students. Many veterans are at least several years older than others on campus, and some have families. Additionally, they want to get their degree as quickly as possible, which can make it hard to relate to others in the classroom. Additionally, veterans may also miss the strictly regimented routine offered by the military.

"The thing I struggled with for the longest time was, you no longer have your senior NCOs and stuff like that giving you orders," Matt Ziemendorf, a student at Niagara University, told the newspaper. "You're kind of figuring this out on your own."

Schools take action
With the influx of veterans separating from service as the U.S. winds down operations in the Middle East, many schools have been proactive in helping veteran students feel at ease. At Canisius College, where there are nearly 100 student veterans, there are services specifically designed to help former troops navigate many of the common challenges they face including registration issues and obtaining benefits from the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

Of course, western New York isn't the only region where veteran students are heading back to the classroom. In Vermont, for instance, schools have hired counselors who are veterans themselves in an effort to provide students who have been servicemembers with an outlet that understands where they are coming from, The Associated Press reports.

Increase expected
The number of veterans making use of their GI Bill benefits has increased in recent years. Statistics from the Veterans Affairs Department show an estimated 500,000 people used the benefits in 2012, which was up about 13 percent from 2011, according to Military Times.