It’s no secret that transitioning back to civilian life after military service can be a huge challenge for many veterans. From finding employment to reconnecting with family to receiving compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs for a war-related disability, veterans across the country routinely encounter obstacles, both personal and institutional, after returning home from battle.

As Phil Bronstein, executive chairman of the Center for Investigative Reporting, highlighted in a story produced with Esquire, even the Navy SEAL who killed Osama bin Laden has found himself with no job, no pension and inadequate health care after retiring from service.

With those problems in mind, reporters at CIR wanted to hear about the major obstacles you, or someone you know, might have faced after leaving the service. Please take a few minutes to share your experiences with us by filling out the form below. You can also contact Cole Goins, associate manager of distribution and online engagement, with any insights or questions at cgoins@cironline.org. Everything you share within the Public Insight Network is confidential unless you give us explicit permission to publish it.

 

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Cole Goins is the director of community engagement for Reveal, where he cultivates partnerships that blend in-depth journalism and creative public engagement. He has built and supported distribution networks, spearheaded arts-based initiatives such as the Off/Page Project, led social media and audience strategy, and facilitated statewide media collaborations. He was a senior fellow in the 2015 USC Annenberg Health Journalism Fellowships, mentoring five journalists on approaches to community engagement. Previously, Goins was the engagement editor at the Center for Public Integrity, where he led audience development initiatives and multimedia features for award-winning investigative projects. He earned a degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he worked as music director for WXYC, the student-run radio station. He is based in Reveal's Emeryville, California, office.