Courtesy Adam Legg

Navy veteran Adam Legg said a long jobless spell after tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan left him feeling hopeless and led him to "go weeks without smiling, walking around like a shadow, like you're not there."

By Bill Briggs, NBC News contributor

Hundreds of thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have been flying home to a fresh fox hole: A debt crater that’s sucking in entire military families and could be helping to fuel the veteran suicide crisis.

Courtesy Adam Legg

"I was a watch commander where I had 25 to 30 people working beneath me, in charge of millions of dollars worth of ammunitions, weapons, vehicles, computers," said Adam Legg, a Navy veteran. "And then when I come home, not only can I not find a job, I can't take care of my family."

A bad job market, a long backlog for federal disability benefits, and occasionally unwise spending habits have been conspiring to strain the financial and mental health of many veterans, experts say.

"We keep hearing of suicides rising. How much pressure do you think one person can take?" asks Christopher Fitzpatrick, deputy director of VeteransPlus, a nonprofit that has fielded more than 170,000 calls from ex-service members with imminent financial concerns. 

"No one wants to talk about the fact that there are other reasons, besides PTSD, for suicide at 2 in the morning. You know how we know? We have an online form people use to contact us, and we get those emails — they’re sent at 1, 2, 3, 4 in the morning. People are reaching out, literally: 'Can you please help me? I’m losing everything.'"

It's a problem that could get even worse in coming years, with more than one million service members expected to make the transition to civilian life.

Navy veteran Adam Legg, 30, ran into financial trouble following two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. A jobless and hopeless period that began after his service separation in 2009 led him to "go weeks without smiling, walking around like a shadow, like you're not there," he said.

He couldn't secure a job at his local McDonald's or at dozens of other companies to which he applied in Central Florida. With a wife, Melissa, and a young daughter to feed, he maxed out a credit card that he was able to pay off with money he'd saved during his eight years in the Navy. 

'Very, very dark place'
But bigger bills — like the mortgage — went untouched. After losing his Florida home to foreclosure and two cars to repossession, Legg said he began to consider suicide. 

"When you feel like you can’t take care of your family, feed them, shelter them, it’s a very, very dark place. A feeling of uselessness that maybe they would be better off if you’re not around," Legg said. 

"We've been below the poverty line, absolutely. I was a watch commander where I had 25 to 30 people working beneath me, in charge of millions of dollars worth of ammunitions, weapons, vehicles, computers. And then when I come home, not only can I not find a job, I can’t take care of my family. If it weren’t for my wife, if she was not supportive the way she was, I really don’t think I’d be here right now."

According to VeteransPlus, fewer than 20 percent of their clients have stockpiled a six-month savings cushion while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan despite untaxed, hazardous-duty wages that fattened paychecks.

Some returning veterans planned to live off their credit cards until landing civilian work, even though the veteran unemployment rate is two points higher than the civilian rate, Fitzpatrick said. Some expected to support themselves via VA benefits, apparently unaware that average wait time for that money approaches — and sometimes eclipses — one year.  

The Pentagon urges military personnel and their families to bank some money while in the service. This year, during “Military Saves Week," service members were reminded to “set a goal, make a place and save automatically.” Service members also can take advantage of the Thrift Savings Plan, a federally sponsored retirement savings and investment program resembling a civilian 401(k).

But even some of those who build up savings while serving abroad find their stash exhausted after buying gifts for family and plucking shiny toys, like motorcycles, for themselves when they come home from war, according to VeteransPlus.

"We don’t like using the word ‘entitlement,’ but often that’s what it really is for these young men and women who feel like they’ve served their country and are coming home with some money and ‘now it’s my turn,’" Fitzpatrick said. 

Move west, young man
For Legg, the way out was to escape Florida, not his life. He and his wife packed up their daughter, dog, cat and remaining belongings and recently drove to the Pacific Northwest. Two things lured the Legg family to Baker City, Ore.: a lower cost of living and its proximity to a military-friendly college, Eastern Oregon University. 

He's now a full-time student, living off of his GI Bill and his VA benefits for a diagnosed anxiety disorder (not PTSD), damaged knees, a bad back, and an injured left arm — combat baggage that requires daily Vicodin consumption. They live in a small, rented house.

Melissa was scheduled to deliver their second child last Wednesday. Soon, Legg plans to file for bankruptcy. 

Courtesy Adam Legg

Navy veteran Adam Legg and his family moved to Oregon from Florida.

"I have no choice. We're at that rock bottom line," he said. "I'm not the only one. Of the (veteran) friends I've kept up with, most are struggling." 

Many veterans panic when they face getting kicked out of their homes, or must decide between buying food or diapers, said Kristy Kauffman, executive director of Code of Support, an Alexandria, Va.-based nonprofit that proclaims to "bridge the gap between civilian and military America."

"It happens far too often. We get at least one call, email, or referral every week," she said.

Kaufmann agrees with Fitzpatrick that poverty is one factor behind the veteran suicide rate, adding: "It does increase the risk." 

"The vast majority of those who have worn the uniform," she said, "are imbued with a strong sense of mission and pride in 'getting it done.' For those who have trouble reintegrating into the civilian world — whether due to physical or mental health issues, or lack of employment opportunities — it's that loss of mission that seems most debilitating."

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The math is mean. Post-9/11 veterans lug a steep unemployment rate that's a point-plus taller than the civilian rate. Add to that the 34,000 troops who soon will return from Afghanistan. Bottom line: The existing bulge of ex-military job seekers threatens to further swell in a world where stripes carry no sway. 

How to crack that cold equation? Just a little face time, says unemployed veteran Ruty Rutenberg, who believes that simply standing eye-to-eye with a hiring manager allows former service members to naturally radiate the ocean of intangibles that can only be absorbed in combat. 

"That presence, that aura about military people is very tough to see online in a resume, where (HR executives) are only looking at lines of text," says Rutenberg, 29, who served as an Army medic in Iraq, riding in Black Hawk helicopters. He's been searching for his "mainstay" career for about a year. "Online, it's tough to tell a person's emotions, let alone a person's energy.

Ian Horn special for NBC News

"Online, it's tough to tell a person's emotions, let alone a person's energy," said Ruty Rutenberg, 29, who attended a job fair in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

"But when you get to be right in front of these people and interact with them, there is no trepidation for veterans in those moments. We've been in stressful situations that people can't fathom, that they've only seen in movies," Rutenberg said Tuesday at a job fair in Los Angeles sponsored by Got Your 6, an entertainment-industry-backed, national veterans campaign. NBCUniversal is a partner in that movement. 

On Wednesday, Hiring Our Heroes — a program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation that aims to get veterans back into the work force — is hosting a hiring fair at the 69th Regiment Armory in New York City.

Click here for a list of upcoming Hiring Our Heroes job fairs.

Both events are part of the Got Your 6 "veteran hiring week." Such events, Rutenberg believes, are critical for companies with spots to fill and veterans with bills to pay: "One of the things the military ingrains in us is how to be present and confident in the moment, really in any moment." 

Still, owning that moment may require a touch of coaching, say some career counselors, who have spotted common, repeated flaws in the resumes and in interviewing skills of ex-service members.

Humility 'can be damning'
On paper, the mistakes typically involve the use of jargon: cumbersome acronyms, technical descriptions, and — to many civilians — the complicated system of military ranks. Is a "specialist" special? 

"They feel: 'I've earned this rank. I want to make it prominent on my resume.' But that's one of the biggest complaints we hear from employers. They don't understand what 'sergeant first class' means," says Shareem Kilkenny, co-owner of Veteran Career Counseling Services. She operates VCCS with her husband, Kester Kilkenny, an Army veteran who spent time in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

"What I have to get them to understand is: How do I translate their ranks and skills into the skills that employers are looking for? It might be better, for example, if a resume reads: 'Worked under extremely stressful conditions,' or 'Worked in a deadline-driven environment' or 'Dealt with constant change.' ”

In addition to reading like a foreign language, militaryspeak may just get a veteran's resume tossed, warns Elizabeth Hruska, assistant director of career and internship services at the University of Minnesota. 

"This can be a barrier to a civilian employer who needs to quickly understand the basics of you and your qualifications — and (emphasize) quickly: Employers tell us they spend only 10 to 30 seconds on that initial resume once-over," Hruska says. 

While many veteran candidates may try to pitch themselves as the ultimate team players, some are prone to selling themselves short due to that group-first mindset, says Jason Dozier, veteran transition specialist with Hire Heroes USA, a nonprofit dedicated to creating job opportunities to veterans and their spouses through personalized employment training. 

"Military members are very team-oriented, and the word 'individual' can be a euphemism for those who fail to be a productive member of that team," Dozier said. "And so tasks and accomplishments are more likely to be framed as 'we' rather than as 'I.' Humility is a great virtue, but it can be damning if you're looking to be competitive in the job market."  

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• Home from war, troops face 'white knuckled' first month

Nearly half of the 2.2 million U.S. troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan have struggled to readjust to American life in part because the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs have been sluggish in helping those coming home in droves, according to a sweeping report released today.

After examining veteran suicides and unemployment as well as the military’s handling of sex assaults, women in uniform and same-sex family issues, the Institute of Medicine said returning service members deserve “timely and adequate care,” yet it cited cases in which the DOD and VA are using unproven diagnostic and therapy tools.

"The (federal) response has been slow and has not matched the magnitude of this population's requirements as many cope with a complex set of health, economic, and other challenges," said co-author Dr. George Rutherford. He chairs the IOM’s committee on the assessment of readjustment needs of military personnel, veterans, and their families. The IOM, an independent nonprofit, is the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences. 

"The number of people affected, the influx of returning personnel as the conflicts wind down, and the potential long-term consequences of their service heighten the urgency of putting the appropriate knowledge and resources in place to make re-entry into post-deployment life as easy as possible,” added Rutherford, head of preventive medicine and public health at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine.

Another 34,000 U.S. service members will be flown home from Afghanistan during the next 12 months. The high suicide toll among veterans (22 per day) has drawn recent Congressional scrutiny as have the elevated veteran-unemployment rate and access limits to VA mental health care. Congress requested the IOM study. 

Among the recommendations within the 500-plus page report:

• DOD and VA must “boost efforts to reduce the stigma” associated with service members or veterans simply asking for help to deal with mental-health issues or with substance-abuse problems.
• The tool DOD uses to assess cognitive function following a head injury – Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics (ANAM) — carries “no clear scientific evidence” to show that it works. That’s key because more than 200,000 U.S. troops have sustained traumatic brain injuries since 2000 — most non-combat-related. On March 5, Congressional members sent a letter to the chiefs of DOD and VA seeking data to investigate a new theory linking TBIs with the military’s suicide crisis.
• One of the VA’s “first-line treatments for depression” — Acceptance and Commitment Therapy — similarly “lacks sufficient evidence” to show its efficacy.
• Research has found that curbing access to lethal weapons prevents suicides, however, “DOD policy prohibits restricting that individual's access to privately owned weapons” — even if a service member is known to be at risk for suicide.
• DOD and VA should link their databases so that the health records of all service members are available to track their medical conditions from the moment they enter the service through the day any future treatment is eventually rendered by a VA facility. 

"These (recommendations) are meant to be helpful, meant to be more of a roadmap of how to pursue” these issues, Rutherford said. “These are extraordinary challenges that the systems are facing and they’ve gone to extraordinary efforts to try and work with them.

'Demand is large'
“Yeah, it can all be streamlined. Yeah, (the available help) can be matched better to the demands. Yeah, you can improve this stuff. But they are trying like crazy to make it match the demand,” he added. “The demand is large, and it’s growing.”

Compared to past post-war generations, a higher percentage of returning Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans are using the VA for their health care — 56 percent of that population, according to the VA.

"This report provides VA a better understanding of the difficulties some Veterans face as they readjust to home, reconnect with family members, find employment and return to school," read an email from Josh Taylor, a VA spokesman. "Greater collaboration with the Department of Defense (DoD) in the areas of research, treatment and clinical outcomes will further enhance continuity of care as service members transition from active to veteran status."

Pentagon officials will examine the IOM’s suggestions, said Cynthia O. Smith, a DoD spokeswoman.

“DoD appreciates IOM's hard work and will thoughtfully consider the study's key findings and recommendations,” Smith wrote in an email. She added that the agency’s Deployment Health Clinical Center “will work collectively with the VA to provide a joint response to Congress no later than June 2013.” 

The IOM study reports that 44 percent of veterans have had "readjustment difficulties," 48 percent have dealt with "strains on family life," 49 percent have experienced post-traumatic stress, and 32 percent have felt "an occasional loss of interest in daily activities." Those figures were plucked from an earlier Pew Research Center survey. 

"I’m not surprised (by those numbers), talking to my other buddies that have gotten out. I’ve got several buddies that still can’t find jobs but, to be honest with you, I think it's a factor of (their) motivation" to hunt for work, said Ryan Kriesel, 24, an Army tank operator who served two tours in Iraq. He's now a student at the University of Minnesota. He described his own transition as "pretty smooth." 

When it comes to those younger veterans who report a flagging interest in daily life, Kriesel believes some of that may be due to the loss of the emotional rush that once came with combat. 

"Part of it is being back in the civilian world," he said. "There’s not as much adrenaline going on as when you were overseas, out on combat missions several times a day."

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More than 125,000 military veterans and spouses were hired or trained through a White House partnership with private businesses last year, beating an earlier goal of 100,000 by nearly a year, first lady Michelle Obama announced on Wednesday.

A White House program that started out with just a few companies grew to 2,000 including major corporations, the first lady said.

That has led the White House and the companies involved to set their sights higher — hiring or training an additional 250,000 veterans and military spouses by 2014.

Obama made the announcement at Naval Station Mayport in the presidential campaign battleground state of Florida on Wednesday afternoon.

Related: VA blasted for spending millions on conferences

"I want to send a very clear message to the men and women who are wearing or have worn our country's uniform and to their spouses," Obama said. "When you have finished your service to our nation, you have got 2,000 great American companies ready and waiting to bring you on board."

In addition to the announcement event in Jacksonville, the White House released a new video trumpeting the project on YouTube.

The hiring initiative, called Joining Forces, was first announced last year by President Barack Obama. Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, were asked to lead the effort.

Watch US News videos on NBCNews.com 

The new goal also includes the hiring or training 50,000 military spouses within three years as well as a previously announced effort to help spouses maintain their careers as families move among duty stations. 

"More and more businesses are recognizing that hiring veterans is good for their bottom line, and they are making bold commitments to bring veterans into their ranks," Brad Cooper, executive director of the Joining Forces effort, told The Associated Press.

The White House said the hiring push has helped to reduce unemployment among veterans from 8.6 percent in July 2011 to 6.9 percent last month.

According to U.S. Labor Department figures, the unemployment rate for veterans of the post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was 8.9 percent in July 2012, down from 12.4 percent in July 2011. The national rate of unemployment was 8.3 percent in July 2012, down from 8.9 percent in July 2011.

A list of companies who have committed to hire veterans is listed on the White House website.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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The highest number of U.S. Marines will exit Afghanistan in August compared to any other month in 2012 as a large exodus of American troops continues, U.S. Marine Corps Maj. General David Berger said today in a phone interview from Afghanistan. 

In the country's southern Helmand province — a swath once so volatile that an additional 10,000 Marines were massed there three years ago — the Marine contingent will continue to shrink drastically over the next three weeks, said Berger, commanding general of the 1st Marine Division (Forward). 

"We’re not going to give out detailed numbers on where we’ll end up, but it’s a cut of about two-thirds of the size of strength here (compared to) a year ago, and it will be somewhere between 7,000 and 10,000 Marines when we finish up," Berger said. 

"There will be more Marines and soldiers and equipment moving in August than any other month. All the ones that are deploying from Afghanistan on the Marine Corps side, they’re going back to their home bases on the East Coast, on the West Coast."

Adek Berry / AFP - Getty Images

US Marines from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment patrol in Garmser, Helmand Province on June 29.

The pullout of U.S. forces this year is expected to reach 23,000 total troops. The NATO coalition's combat mission in Afghanistan is scheduled to finish at the end of 2014. Last year, President Obama ordered 10,000 U.S. troops out of Afghanistan.

While shifting more control to Afghan security forces and Afghan police, Berger said he has seen "amazing progress last year into this year," first, in terms of the Afghans' military development and, second, in their available fighting equipment and ability to man those tools.

"The third part is confidence — confidence in themselves and the people’s confidence in them," Berger said, "Each week, they’re more confident in what they can do in the field. The police are more confident. The people can begin to trust them in a way that was really challenging a year and a half ago.

"Now, I think the people (here) see the Afghan security forces as ... really the public face of their government. So the more they see of this, the more confidence people have that the Afghan government can protect them, can take care of them. So from where we sit, it’s absolutely going in the right direction."

However, Berger acknowledged that the massive swarm of Marines headed home — particularly those who will be retiring from the military and trying to enroll in college or land civilian jobs — will only begin that long transitionary phase after they return to the United States. 

"It happens after they leave country for the most part," Berger said. "While they’re over here, they’re pretty much occupied by the reason they were sent here. 

"But those who make the decision to move on into their civilian life, when they get back they’ll go into a formal program that first will lay out all the benefits coming to them. There’s a second part that helps them prepare for everything from doing a resume to doing an interview, to narrowing a field of choice, to getting an education.

"If you had gone through that process of separating from the service to entering the civilian world four or five years ago, you would be very much surprised by the program that’s in place right now — in a good way," Berger said. 

Related: Obama announces 'reverse bootcamp' for veterans

Still, with tens of thousands of service members headed home, that influx will only further tax a huge backlog of disability claims already clogging the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and it could potentially exacerbate a high college drop-out rate and sluggish job hiring now plaguing many veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Slideshow: Afghanistan: Nation at a crossroads

Ahmad Jamshid / AP

More than ten years after the beginning of the war, Afghanistan faces external pressure to reform as well as ongoing internal conflicts.

Launch slideshow

Retired sergeant Thomas Maretich, who in June earned a medical retirement from the Army, said he knows of many service members still in Afghanistan — and some still in Iraq - who "are not letting go those jobs" because they worry that what awaits them in America is simply the unemployment line. 

"They’re afraid. This is the worst possible time for anybody to look for work let alone anybody who has been wounded and has the cards stacked up against them," said Maretich, who was wounded by a car bomb in Iraq in 2009 and has had trouble finding work in his current city, Colorado Springs. "They could retire (from the military) at 20 ...  They just don't see a job in the civilian world that is safe and pays the same."

What's more, "they don't have enough mental health (help available) now at the VA. Many soldiers will need medical care for problems with their neck, back, or knees and the system that is already trying to catch up will be paralyzed again," he said. "Mix in budget cuts and what a mess we will have."

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The proof was in the paychecks: After a review of city records, the mayor of Washington, D.C., has fired 61 people for collecting jobless benefits while also working for the city.

The 61 were among 92 employees suspended last February, when the investigation was first announced.

"We’re not going to tolerate this kind of activity in the government," the Washington Post quoted Pedro Ribeiro, spokesman for Mayor Vincent Gray, as saying Tuesday.

The checks were up to $20,000 per worker since 2009 and totaled about $800,000, the Post reported, citing city officials.

The city expects to fire more employees, the Post added, while three were found to have been unaware that they were getting the jobless benefits. Another returned to work after repaying the money.

The city has said it would refer the names of employees found to have defrauded the city to the U.S. attorney for prosecution.

It also hired an outside auditor to review its jobless program.

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With more questions than answers, the Veterans of Foreign Wars reacted cautiously Thursday to President Obama's plan for a slimmed-down military and its potential ramifcations for future veterans.

Joe Davis, the VFW's director of public affairs, said the press conference and written plan were "extemely light on specifics" and "more of a prelude to the upcoming FY 2013 budget request."

"The president, (Defense) secretary (Leon Panetta) and (Joint Chief of Staff) chairman (Martin E. Dempsey) pledged to preserve the all-volunteer force, to avoid hollowing out the force, and to protect those benefits that are provided right now," Davis said. "This suggests, given all the trial balloons floated recently, that some major changes are coming to the current military retirement system, which in exchange for the immediate receipt of a modest retirement check, requires you to first donate 20 or more years of your youth to the nation.

"The VFW is extremely concerned that requiring those who voluntarily sacrifice the most for our nation to sacrifice even more will spell an end to the all-volunteer force, which is an expense this nation cannot afford to pay," Davis said. "But still, we have to wait until the budget request is released til we know for sure what people and programs are being threatened."

Another veterans group also expressed concerns.

"After 10 years of war, now is not the time to nickel and dime our community," said Paul Rieckhoff of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "Our country paid the price to send troops to Iraq and Afghanistan, and we have a responsibility to protect and support them at home." Rieckhoff said the group will monitor the impact of the new plan, especially on military pay, retirement benefits and healthcare costs.

Reductions in force could mean more service members entering the private labor force, and confronting the nation's persistent high unemployment.

Already, unemployment among veterans is higher than among the general labor force. In November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the national rate at 8.6 percent, compared to 12.1 percent for veterans who have left active duty service since 2001. That figure may understate the probem, though. Businessweek magazine reported that among the youngest veterans, age 18 to 24, the unemployment rate was 30.4 percent in October.

In November, President Obama signed the “VOW to Hire Heroes Act,” which provides tax credits to businesses that hire veterans. The credits vary depending on how long the veteran has been looking for work, and whether he or she has any service-connected disabilities, but can be as much as $9,600. While Congress stalled on most of the president's job package, the hire-a-vet credit received bipartisan support.

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