PBS Looks at the Transition to Civilian Life in 'Veterans Coming Home'

As part of the network's Stories of Service initiative, PBS has just launched Veterans Coming Home, a 10-part digital-first series that aims to help veterans and communities understand the opportunities and challenges faced during the transition to civilian life. PBS also wants to bridge the military-civilian divide and help Americans understand the sacrifices made by the men and women who serve.

Episode 1, "For the Benefit of the Team," is now live. The video profiles Elizabeth Hash, a Kansas City Army National Guard recruiter. She says being in the military fulfills her in a way she hasn't found anywhere else. That realization came after a peacekeeping deployment in Kosovo. "When I came home I was missing that and trying to find where I belonged.” Hash feels she found it in roller derby.

The series explores themes common to veterans reintegrating to civilian life, including how veterans continue to seek the close bonds of a military unit after their transition. Veterans Coming Home also examines the how veterans share and express their stories through art and comedy, and looks at the notion of public and community service in civilian life.

Episode 2 will feature an activist and artist in New Orleans who was inspired by his veteran father. New episodes, each four to six minutes long, will premiere twice a week through the Fourth of July and will be available to watch on PBS.org and across all platforms and devices that support PBS video streaming apps, including Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire, and Chromecast, as well as Android, iOS, and Windows 10 mobile devices.

Veterans Coming Home is made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), with additional funding from Got Your Six. “CPB-funded Veterans Coming Home is digital first with the potential to connect and engage with this new generation of veterans and their civilian peers,” said CPB President and CEO Pat Harrison. “We are hopeful that this series will promote a greater understanding of both military service and reentry into civilian life.”