With the last U.S. forces being pulled out of Iraq in December 2011 and troops expected to leave Afghanistan by 2014, over 1 million members of the armed forces will come off active duty and transition back to civilian life over the next five years.1 Some will have jobs waiting for them and others will join the crowded ranks of the unemployed.
While the unemployment rate for these post-9/11 veterans is improving, dropping from 12.5 percent in February 2011 to 7.6 percent in February 2012,2 their options extend beyond going to work or standing on the unemployment line (or recovering from battlefield injuries). Depending on their length of service, many who served in the military after Sept. 10, 2001 can have the U.S. Department of Defense pay for some or all of their tuition and fees and other expenses at institutions of higher education, including law school.
