Post-9/11 Veterans Are Proud to Serve, But One-Third Think Iraq and Afghanistan Are Waste of Time: Poll

A new poll shows that while post 9/11 veterans are proud of their service to this country, one-third think that fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan is a waste of time.

The Pew Research Center polled 1,853 veterans, of which 712 served in the military after Sept. 11, 2001. The Center also conducted a second poll of 2,003 civilians.

The report, War and Sacrifice in the Post-9/11 Era: The Military-Civilian Gap, was released on Tuesday.

Ninety percent or more of soldiers polled are proud of their service and said that serving made them more mature and gave them more self-confidence.

But not all military views were positive, and results were even worse for soldiers who saw combat. The study noted that post-9/11 veterans were more likely to report difficulty when going back to civilian life after military service.

This may be due in part to the fact that post-9/11 veterans are much more likely than those who served before them to have seen combat, the study noted.

Seventy-two percent of veterans said they felt more prepared for a job/career.

Forty-eight percent of veterans felt strain in their family relations, while 47% reported feeling angry or irritable.

Forty-four percent said they had problems returning to civilian life and 37 percent reported suffering from post-traumatic stress (PTS).

And many question whether the government has done all it should to support them, the report read.