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New Wounded Warrior Project Survey Offers Snapshot Of Injured Vets

Wounded Warrior Project

As the nation reacts to President Barack Obama's announcement of an open-ended campaign against the threat posed by the Islamic State, the Wounded Warrior Project examines the state of veterans injured in combat.

President Obama said in a prime-time speech Wednesday night that the United States will join with "friends and allies to degrade, and ultimately destroy, the terrorist group known as ISIL,” using an alternative acronym for the group that has emerged in Iraq and Syria.

The President stressed this effort will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil.

This news is being welcomed by many, along with sweeping legislation recently passed to improve care for the nation’s veterans returning home from conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan with physical and psychological injuries

At the the same, the Jacksonville-based Wounded Warrior Project has released the results of their Annual Alumni Survey, a snapshot of over 21,000 service members injured since September 11, 2001.

Among its key findings, the survey found that seven percent of Wounded Warrior Project members are permanently housebound, 75 percent report being haunted by upsetting military experiences, and 43 report traumatic brain injuries.

Wounded Warrior Project Metrics Manager Anna Sivonda and Staff Sergeant Erick Millette joined Melissa Ross to discuss the results of the survey and the problems faced by many of the country's injured veterans.

  You can follow Melissa Ross on Twitter @MelissainJax.

Melissa Ross joined WJCT in 2009 with 20 years of experience in broadcasting, including stints in Cincinnati, Chicago, Orlando and Jacksonville. During her career as a television and radio news anchor and reporter, Melissa has won four regional Emmys for news and feature reporting.