War is hell. War is misery, suffering, pain and anguish. From the days of sticks and rocks to today's high-tech drones and aircraft carriers, one thing above all others has remained the same; war is a terrifying and nightmarish undertaking. Unfortunately for those who fight for their nation, the battlefield does not remain in the distant land where the battle took place. Indeed, those warriors bring that battlefield back, haunting hearts and minds, sometimes long after their uniforms had sat in the closet gathering dust. It should be no surprise that, for a variety of reasons, all stemming from combat experience, many of our nations' veterans will act in unconventional or perhaps even illegal ways in an effort to cope with the stress of their military service. It might be easy for some to say that these men and women, despite their service, are criminals and should be locked up like anyone else who breaks the law. However, if rehabilitation were truly a goal of our justice system, it would make no sense to take a bunch of delinquents suffering from the side effects of combat experiences and throw them in prison, which is still little better than fighting. This is why the advent of veterans courts is so important. Because of their service and the effects that PTSD and other service-related conditions can have on their criminal behavior, veterans courts are not only an honorable way to treat our nation's defenders, but a way to protect them from the negative impact of incarceration. . These courts, which build on drug and mental health courts, are designed to accommodate less serious offenders, whose offenses were linked to their service-related conditions, and keep them out of prison and into treatment (…… half of document ......eterans Affairs, National Center for Veterans Affairs and Statistics (2013). Department of Veterans Affairs Statistics at a GlanceMcGuire, J., Clark, S., Blue-Howells, J., & Coe, C. . (2013) An inventory of veterans' involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan-era veterans' courts, documents and pathways in state and federal prisons. Psychiatric Services, (64(i)), 36-43 Retrieved from www.justiceforvets.orgTravis County Adult Probation Department et al., (2009) Report on Veterans Arrested and Booked in Travis County Jail Retrieved from website: www.justiceforvets.org"Veterans Eligibility:". Np, nd Web. December 2. 2013. .