Veteran Facts

Current Veterans – North Carolina Data 1

  • 147,000 North Carolina veterans enrolled in VHA
  • 12,000 (8%) are OEF/OIF veterans
  • Nearly 10% of all US Active Duty and 3% of all US Reserve military personnel reside in North Carolina 9
  • 80% of the nearly 3000 veterans screened for TBI at the Durham VAMC between April and September 2007 were OIF/OEF veterans
  • Estimated that one-third of TBI-affected individuals will develop chronic symptoms 2
  • Veterans with significant injury that has affected multiple organ systems (known as polytrauma), often resulting in amputations and cognitive deficits accounted for less than 100 at the 4 NC VAMC

North Carolina Facts 3

  • 11.2% (792,646) of NC adults are veterans of the armed services
  • 37% are married with children and 6% are single parents
  • 34% of the Reserve are married with children and 8% are single parents
  • A large majority (32%) of OEF/OIF veterans registered to receive care at NC based VA Medical Centers are between the ages of 25 and 291
  • 61% of OEF/OIF veterans registered to receive care at NC based VA Medical Centers are from the Army1
  • NC Reserve members come from families containing 11,302 spouses and 9,200 children.
  • Currently there are more than 3,000 Reserve service members mobilized.
  • 35% of the NC population are either military, veteran, spouse, parent, or dependent
  • 82,050 military retirees and 9,552 surviving spouses live in NC
  • NC military retirees received $1.75 billion in benefits from the Department of Defense in 2007.
  • 110,000 at military instillations and 25,000 Reservists and National Guard
  • There are currently 8 active military instillations in North Carolina
  • U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs spent $2.6 billion in NC in 2007. Of the $2.6 billion, about $1.7 billion goes directly to veterans, their dependents and survivors.
  • Health care services in NC are provided by 4 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers, 5 Vet Centers, 2 outpatient clinics, and 6 community-based outpatient clinics.
  • 111,000 NC veterans receive VA disability compensation

US Facts

  • 1.4 million service personnel currently serving the US
  • Median age of 39.5 years
  • 86.4% male, 14.6% female
  • 50% married
  • 35% minorities

Current Veterans – National Data

  • 10% (23,425,051) of American adults are veterans of the armed services
  • Veterans are more likely to be white (84.7% vs. 75.0%), have some college education (58.3% vs. 53.8%), and live above the poverty level (94.1% vs. 88.3%) despite having higher rates of disability (26.8% vs. 17.3%). 4
  • 4.4 million veterans of OIF/OEF conflicts 1
  • Traumatic Brain Injury has been estimated to affect  20-30% of OEF-OIF surviving casualties 10
  • 1.6 million US service men and women have deployed at least once since 2001, as part of OEF in Afghanistan and/or OIF in Iraq. 5
  • 20.3% of active duty and 42.4% of reserve component soldiers screened positive for at least one mental health problem during the first 6 months post-deployment. 6
  • VA findings indicate that 41.1% of those OEF/OIF veterans who have presented for VA healthcare have screened positive for a mental health diagnosis. 5
  • 20% of Vietnam Veterans who have ever met criteria for PTSD have presented to VA for mental health services 8
  • VA Medical Records show that, among those receiving a mental health diagnosis, 56% had two or more distinct diagnoses. 7
  • 720,000 eligible to receive health care from VHA2 (47% former active duty troops and 53% Reservists and National Guard)
  • 252,000 (35%) have sought care through VHA (they represent 5% of total number of veterans served by the VHA)
  • 94% outpatient, 6% inpatient 6
  • Most common diagnoses associated with OEF/OIF Veterans:
    • Musculoskeletal (primarily joint and back disorders)
    • Mental health disorders (95,000)
    • PTSD (26%)
    • Nondependent abuse of drugs (21%)
    • Depression (17%)
    • Neurotic disorders (14%)
    • Affective psychoses (9%)
    • Alcohol dependence syndrome (4%)
    • Sexual deviations and disorders (2%)
    • Special symptoms, not elsewhere classified (2%)
    • Drug dependence (2%)
    • Acute reaction to stress (2%)

    “Symptoms, signs and ill-defined conditions”

  • 350,000 (48%) have been seen at least once at a Vet Center (207 Vet Centers in the country)
  1. Goldberg KC. The epidemiology of health problems in returning Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom veterans: A national and North Carolina-based summary. NC Med J, 2008, 69:31-34
  2. The VHA operated 153 medical centers, 207 Vet Centers, and 875 outpatient clinics. NC has 4 VAMCs, 2 outpatient clinics, 6 community-based outpatient clinics, and 5 Vet Centers
  3. North Carolina Division of Veterans Affairs, North Carolina FACTS, April 2008.
  4. Williams JW. Serving the health needs of our military and veterans. NC Med J, 2008, 69:23-26.
  5. VHA Office of Public Health and Environmental Hazards. Analysis of VA Health Care Utilization Among US Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) Veterans. GWOT Quarterly Report: May, 2008
  6. Milliken CS, Auchterlonie JL, Hoge CW. Longitudinal assessment of mental health problems among active and reserve component soldiers returning from the Iraq War. JAMA. 2007;298(18):2141-2148.
  7. Seal KH, Bertenthal D, Miner CR, Sen S, Marmar C. Bringing the war back home: mental health disorders among 103,788 US veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan seen at Department of Veterans Affairs facilities. Arch Intern Med.2007;167(5):476-482.
  8. Kulka RA, Schlenger WE, Fairbank JA, et al. The National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study: Tables of findings and technical appendices, Vol. II; New York: Brunner/Mazel: 1990
  9. Military Family Research Institute. 2005 Demographics Report. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University; 2005.
  10. Taneilian T, Jaycox L, eds. Invisible Wounds of War: Psychological and Cognitive Injuries, Their Consequences and Services to Assist Recovery. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation; 2008.