Historically among the most cost-effective inducements for recruiting military personnel, the Montgomery GI Bill has helped thousands to serve and pursue a college education following their term. Congress recently has proposed several changes that would bolster the bill's provisions and hopefully boost recruitment during an era when youth are increasingly choosing college alone.

In recent years, military recruiting has become more difficult while college enrollments have risen dramatically. As more youth pursue college, the military increasingly relies on college benefits to attract recruits. College costs have grown enormously at the same time that youth interest in college has grown. These two trends have called into question whether the military's primary college benefits program, the Montgomery GI Bill, provides a large-enough benefit to enable veterans to meaningfully cover their college costs. In 1999, the Montgomery GI Bill provided a maximum monthly benefit of $528 for up to 36 months to individuals who satisfactorily complete their military service obligation, who participate in an approved educational program, and who agree to contribute $100 per month during their first year of active service.

As U.S. military forces appear overcommitted and some ponder a possible return to the draft, the timing is ideal for a review of how the American military transformed itself over the past five decades, from a poorly disciplined force of conscripts and draft-motivated "volunteers" to a force of professionals revered throughout the world. Starting in the early 1960s, this account runs through the current war in Iraq, with alternating chapters on the history of the all-volunteer force and the analytic background that supported decisionmaking. The author participated as an analyst and government policymaker in many of the events covered in this book. His insider status and access offer a behind-the-scenes look at decisionmaking within the Pentagon and White House. The book includes a foreword by former Secretary of Defense Melvin R. Laird. The accompanying DVD contains more than 1,700 primary-source documents-government memoranda, Presidential memos and letters, staff papers, and reports-linked directly from citations in the electronic version of the book. This unique technology presents a treasure trove of materials for specialists, researchers, and students of military history, public administration, and government affairs to draw upon.

As the United States? wars in Afghanistan and Iraq continue, increasing numbers of students who experienced combat will enroll in colleges and universities. There is mounting evidence that these veterans will require support unique to their needs beyond the processing of financial aid paperwork from the Veterans Administration. Obviously, combat frequently inflicts injuries, both physical and mental, that will require attention, but veterans are a unique population in other ways as well. Soldiers experience extraordinary bonding in wartime, and colleges can provide opportunities for that fellowship to be a source of support and connection. Female veterans will bring a new, nontraditional perspective to campus, and student service organizations should pay careful attention. There is also a significant group of students who leave for service and return?under the best of circumstances, they need accommodation to succeed. Institutions of higher education traditionally have responded to the needs of special student populations by developing programs and offering services. This volume contains information about programmatic initiatives that can help create a welcoming environment for veterans, one that encourages serious, creative involvement. The authors bring broad experience and deliberate consideration to bear on questions that are only becoming more important to the entire spectrum of American colleges and universities. This is the 126th volume of the Jossey-Bass higher education quarterly report series New Directions for Student Services, an indispensable resource for vice presidents of student affairs, deans of students, student counselors, and other student services professionals. Each issue of New Directions for Student Services offers guidelines and programs for aiding students in their total development: emotional, social, physical, and intellectual.

The United States is in the midst of the largest military demobilization in its history. This is leading to an increase in the demand for mental health clinicians who can provide services to hundreds of thousands of military veterans and members of the military. Nearly two million Americans have been deployed to the wars in the Middle East, and thousands of them have been deeply affected, either psychologically, physically, or both. Projections suggest that 300,000 are returning with symptoms of PTSD or major Depression; 320,000 have been exposed to probable Traumatic Brain Injuries; and hundreds of thousands are dealing with psychological effects of physical injuries. Other veterans and members of the military without injuries will seek treatment to help them with the psychological impact of serving in the military, being deployed, or transitioning and reintegrating back into the civilian world. As an example, hundreds of thousands of service members are also leaving the armed forces earlier than they anticipated and will need to quickly adjust to life as civilians after assuming that they would have many more years in the military. Many will be leaving the military because of demobilizations and downsizing due to budget cuts. Current proposed cuts will shrink the military force to the same size it was in 1940. The Pew Center reports that 44% of veterans from the current wars are describing their readjustment to civilian life as "difficult," and many of them are and will be turning to civilian mental health and primary care clinicians for assistance. The Handbook of Psychosocial Interventions for Veterans and Service Members is a "one stop" handbook for non-military clinicians working with service members, veterans, and their families. It brings together experts from the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, veteran service organizations, and academia to create the first comprehensive guidebook for civilian clinicians. In addition to covering psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD, this book also offers information about psychosocial topics that impact military personnel and their loved ones and can become part of treatment (e.g., employment or education options, financial matters, and parenting concerns), providing the most recent and cutting-edge research on the topics. Chapters are concise and practical, delivering the key information necessary to orient clinicians to the special needs of veterans and their families. The Handbook of Psychosocial Interventions for Veterans and Service Members is an essential resource for private practice mental health clinicians and primary care physicians, as well as a useful adjunct for VA and DOD psychologists and staff.

Recruiting an all-volunteer military is a formidable task. To successfully enlist one eligible recruit, the Army must contact approximately 120 young people. The National Research Council explores the various factors that will determine whether the military can realistically expect to recruit an adequate fighting force-one that will meet its upcoming needs. It also assesses the military's expected manpower needs and projects the numbers of youth who are likely to be available over the next 20 years to meet these needs. With clearly written text and useful graphics, Attitudes, Aptitudes, and Aspirations of American Youth offers an overview of important issues for military recruiters, touching on a number of important topics including: sex and race, education and aptitude, physical and moral attributes, and military life and working conditions. In addition, the book looks at how a potential recruit would approach the decision to enlist, considering personal, family, and social values, and the options for other employment or college. Building on the need to increase young Americans' "propensity to enlist," this book offers useful recommendations for increasing educational opportunities while in the service and for developing advertising strategies that include concepts of patriotism and duty to country. Of primary value to military policymakers, recruitment officers, and analysts, Attitudes, Aptitudes, and Aspirations of American Youth will also interest social scientists and policy makers interested in youth trends.