Iraq and Afghanistan vets more likely to become homeless

Due to the nature of the wars in Iraq and Aghanistan more military personnel are likely to see or experience combat trauma, sufffer from mental illness and become homeless. Read more from CNN

Officials say many more Iraq and Afghanistan veterans suffer post-traumatic stress disorder than veterans of previous wars. The government says PTSD is one of the leading causes of homelessness among veterans.

“They come back, and they are having night trauma, they are having difficulty sleeping. They are feeling alienated,” says Peter Dougherty, the director of homeless programs for the VA.

The VA says 70 percent of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan saw some form of combat, either through firefights, rocket attacks or the most common strikes on troops — roadside bomb attacks on their vehicles.

That is three times the rate of combat experienced by Vietnam veterans, according to the VA.

As a nation we cannot allow our veterans to fall victim to bureaucratic entanglements or lack of care. We have to take care of our troops when they come home.