{"id":79148,"date":"2024-02-29T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-29T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2024\/02\/29\/more-va-health-care-gi-bill-eligiblity-could-keep-vets-out-of-jail\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:45:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:45:22","slug":"more-va-health-care-gi-bill-eligiblity-could-keep-vets-out-of-jail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/education-transition\/2024\/02\/29\/more-va-health-care-gi-bill-eligiblity-could-keep-vets-out-of-jail\/","title":{"rendered":"More VA health care, GI Bill eligiblity could keep vets out of jail"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A pair of former defense secretaries<\/a> are backing plans to enroll all separating servicemembers in Veterans Affairs health care and extend veterans education benefits to troops with other than honorable discharges<\/a> in an effort to curb homelessness <\/a>and incarceration among young veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The recommendations are included in a new report released Thursday<\/a> by the Council on Criminal Justice\u2019s Veterans Justice Commission<\/a>, which also calls for an overhaul of post-military transition classes to better prepare departing troops for civilian life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTransition is still not treated as a priority by the Department of Defense,\u201d according to the report. \u201cThe result is a fragmented and under-resourced system that leaves too many service members ill-prepared for civilian life. This lack of preparation increases their vulnerability to involvement in the criminal justice system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The commission is chaired by former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel<\/a> and counts among its members former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta<\/a>, former Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Alford McMichael, Georgia Supreme Court Justice Michael Boggs, and a host of other retired defense and Veterans Affairs officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\t