Yesterday was Veterans Day. Today’s newsletter highlights a selection of RAND publications and expert insights focused on supporting veterans' social, economic, and physical well-being.
Family members play a crucial role in supporting U.S. service members during and after their time in the military. However, the Department of Veterans Affairs lacks the authority to provide care or benefits for the bulk of veteran families. The agency also knows relatively little about veteran households.
A new RAND study aims to address this gap, using survey data to create a demographic and economic profile of America’s veteran households. Here are some of the key takeaways:
Veteran households account for around 11 percent of all U.S. households.
Veteran households are more likely to be headed by a married or partnered couple than nonveteran households.
Nearly 10 percent of marriages involving at least one woman veteran are same-sex marriages, compared with 0.4 percent of marriages involving at least one man veteran.
Military and veteran populations are becoming more diverse. Approximately 17 percent of post-2001 service members and veterans are female, and 40 percent belong to a racial minority.
Overall, veteran household incomes are higher than those of civilian households. Veteran households are also somewhat better protected against potential employment shocks.
These findings could begin to address the lack of attention paid to veteran families—and help inform policies and programs that support them. For example, demographic data could be used to create targeted awareness campaigns to help get the word out about benefits available to veterans.
More than 2.3 million veterans have had less than fully honorable discharges since World War II. These individuals have had limited or no access to Veterans Affairs health care, education, or employment benefits. According to RAND's Ryan Haberman, it's time for this “outdated and often unfair” system to change. Currently, individual commanders have outsized discretion in determining discharge status. This leaves those who serve “needlessly vulnerable to bias.” Instead, Haberman says, the Pentagon should consider a new system that has fewer types of discharge, uses objective metrics, and rewards time of service. Read more »
Each year, more than 150,000 active-duty service members transition out of the U.S. military. When looking for civilian jobs, many of these veterans turn to transition programs for support. Although the government invests more than $13 billion annually in such programs, little is known about how effective they are in improving veterans' career outcomes. New RAND research analyzes the support system available to transitioning veterans and identifies opportunities for federal and nonprofit programs to enhance their services. Read more »
RAND Recommends
Now's a good time to revisit this recent Q&A with RAND experts. They discuss some of the high-profile issues facing veterans and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Last week, a number of state ballot measures related to drug policy failed. Speaking to the New York Times, RAND's Beau Kilmer says it’s important to avoid making sweeping generalizations based on these results. “You have to look at what happened in each place.”
Are you a graduate student? Do you want to help tackle the world's toughest policy problems? Applications for our Summer Associate Program are now open. Apply by December 2nd for an opportunity to spend summer 2025 at RAND.
