Perspectives of Veterans With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury on Community Reintegration: Making Sense of Unplanned Separation From Service

Many military members struggle with the reintegration into civilian life, especially when this transition was unplanned due to mild traumatic brain injury. This study interviewed eight Veterans with mild traumatic brain injuries to better understand their experiences of leaving the military and reentering civilian life. Some participants reported the need to distance themselves from their military identity while others felt they needed to maintain their military identity throughout civilian life. All participants perceived reintegration as a crisis equal to that of their injury.