Colorado Senator Michael Bennet says the country is woefully under prepared to handle an influx of military veterans once a massive troop withdrawal in Iraq begins later this year.  The Democrat made the remarks Monday at a forum which coincided with the release of a outlining a number of proposed policy changes aimed at tackling the problem.Sobering Statistics

On average, eighteen veterans from all branches of the military commit suicide every day in America, and veterans are now believed to comprise roughly a quarter of the country鈥檚 entire homeless population; just two of many sobering statistics that formed the backdrop of the forum held in a crowded room at the American Legion Post in Englewood. 

The event was the public鈥檚 first glimpse at a report dubbed 鈥淏etter Serving Those Who Have Served鈥� 鈥� which was written after a series of task forces back in August convened by Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colo).

鈥淚 am absolutely convinced that if we follow up on the recommendations in this report, (and) that it doesn鈥檛 sit on a shelf some place collecting dust, we will be able to say that Colorado is the best place for a veteran to call home,鈥� Bennet told the crowd.

To that end, the report lists a number of proposed policy changes, including programs that aim to better train vets for the workforce, more efficiently streamline access to VA benefits and legislation that the Senator plans to introduce this week that would create a National Veterans Foundation, modeled after the charity goals of the existing public-private .

鈥淥ne percent of our country is currently serving in the military, meaning one percent of our country has born 100 percent of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan,鈥� Bennet said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 time to make sure the other 99 percent of us are fully supporting all of you as we wind down these wars.鈥�

Winding Down

Indeed, there鈥檚 every indication that the challenges outlined in the report will be amplified by two key, looming dates: the end of this year when President Obama has pledged to withdraw all combat troops from Iraq and the end of 2014 when a similar effort is to be completed in Afghanistan. 

Now, veterans have always faced huge challenges returning home, but perhaps never as great as the present, said Bill Conroy, the head of the .

鈥淭hey鈥檙e coming home to very little jobs and an education system that quite frankly is not going to work for a lot of them,鈥� he said.

Conroy wants to see more veteran鈥檚 representatives on college campuses, as well as more congressional oversight on for-profit, online colleges.  Many vets have turned to those institutions as a source of training and support but have also racked up enormous debt and still don鈥檛 have jobs.

鈥淭hose are going to be our new, young, homeless, unless we be proactive,鈥� Conroy said.

Veterans React

The message resonated with forum attendees like John Wall. In 2007, Wall was injured in a roadside blast outside Baghdad.  He successfully had two discs replaced in his back, but today he鈥檚 still grappling with Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

鈥淚 see a lot of hope in that report, (but) still have some questions,鈥� Wall said.

Wall, who works for a Colorado Springs-based program called which helps wounded veterans transition to life beyond the military, said the report could do more to address problems veteran鈥檚 face with potential employers, that is, he said, employers who may not know enough about PTSD or TBI.

Wall added that many veterans simply aren鈥檛 compared to compete yet for private sector jobs.

鈥淚 think one thing that we鈥檙e struggling with is the fact that soldiers are not prepared for an aggressive job market, for having to fight for these positions,鈥� Wall said.

Still, Wall said he鈥檚 hopeful the action items listed in the report will in fact be acted on. 

Polarized Congress

The current divided Congress is no doubt one of the biggest obstacles to this. 

Senator Bennet addressed this cloud of uncertainty in an interview after the forum. 

鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to wait for the Congress to pass legislation, we鈥檙e going to start moving ahead on the recommendations that have been made in this report,鈥� Bennet said. 鈥淭here are things that can be done in there administratively.鈥�

Bennet, who supports President Obama鈥檚 troop withdrawal plan, said he鈥檒l first lobby the president to make administrative changes to the Transition Assistance, or Program, which he said needs to be streamlined so that soldiers have an easier time adapting to private sector jobs.