The recent death of former Army medic, Joseph Patrick Dwyer, 31, provides an instructive lesson into the sort of difficulties faced by returning veterans. Unfortunately, the VA can't do it all and there is little evidence that state and local governments grasp the severity of the situation. Social services IT vendors must begin raising awareness behind the scenes.

Former Pfc. Joseph Patrick Dwyer's image was immortalized at the outset of the Iraq invasion. A post-9/11 volunteer, he survived the combat duty. But, it was a lack of adequate mental health support on the homefront that brought him down. Even as the nation debates if and when to begin bringing troops home from the Persian Gulf, the follow-on question as to how these veterans will be reintroduced into society has not garnered significant consideration.

Approximately 1.9 million soldiers will have served in the Persian Gulf since September 30, 2001. More than 308,000 veterans (from all conflicts) are being compensated for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Given the unique strain of multiple and extended deployments (as well as vastly improved medical care in the field that greatly reduced the mortality rate), a higher percentage of these returning veterans will have service-connected disabilities than those who served in the theatre between 1990 and 2001. As the troops (many of them guard and reservists) return home states will want to help them transition back into civilian society. Social services IT vendors, who are already engaged in discussions regarding how to integrate and streamline access to the continuum of health and human services should begin raising the issue of veterans' access to family-preservation, vocational rehabilitation, and mental health programs. At a minimum, this means that state veteran's departments and National Guard leadership will need to be at the table.

For those interested in more data on America's veterans, including their health, educational, and vocational concerns, see the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics.