Asked to describe why, in their own words, slightly more than a quarter said it was because of employment-related issues, such as adjusting to a civilian-run workplace. A similar percentage said the principal challenge involved the profound differences between civilian and military life. Among those still in the military, 43 percent expect a difficult transition to civilian life.

“There are those that are very much in need of help, but the majority — the vast majority — are less in need of a handout than simply a handshake, an opportunity,” said Joint Chiefs Chairman Dempsey.

Hagel said the military needs to do more to educate business leaders about the skills veterans can provide to U.S. corporations. “There’s where we’re not doing enough,” he said. “We need to keep working at it.”

Overall, two-thirds of vets feel they possess the skills and education required to be competitive in the civilian job market. But there is a significant difference in views between officers, who are required to have at least a bachelor’s degree, and enlisted personnel, most of whom do not have college degrees. Almost a quarter of current and former enlisted troops think the skills they have acquired in the military have no use in civilian employment; only 2 percent of officers feel the same way.

Enlisted vets also report more severe economic challenges. Forty-three percent of them have taken an extra job or worked additional hours because they need the money, compared with just 16 percent of officers. A quarter of enlisted members have had trouble paying their rent or mortgage; only 11 percent of officers say the same.

Upon leaving the Marine Corps in 2012, April White figured she would find a steady job to support herself and her then-7-year-old son in North Carolina. Although enlisted, she had been a sergeant with supervisory experience, and she had military logistics skills, honed during a 2007 deployment to Iraq. She sent out a raft of applications for secretarial jobs and transportation-related work. She landed just one interview, with an employer who was seeking someone with a college degree, which she lacks.

After four months on unemployment assistance, she signed up for the only option she could find — as a contractor in Afghanistan. “I thought once I got out [of the Marines], life was going to be normal,” she said. Instead, she had to explain to her son that she was going away again. “I told him, ‘I don’t want to go to Afghanistan, but I need a job.’ ”

Now back in Jacksonville, N.C., White has opted to take advantage of the G.I. Bill to remain close to home, pay her bills and attend a nearby college, where she is taking engineering classes. The VA-administered program, which pays for tuition and provides a stipend for books, school supplies and housing, has been used by almost half of all Iraq and Afghanistan vets. For many, it has served as a hyperbaric chamber to adjust to civilian life, allowing them to stay busy and avoid poverty as they set out to find a post-military career.

“The days of getting out of the military and getting a job — a good job — right away are over,” White said. “You have to study, and you have to be patient — and you have to be lucky.”