For many Americans, the phrase “justice-involved veteran” feels like a contradiction. Military service is commonly associated with discipline, sacrifice, and public honor. Yet for decades, thousands of veterans have cycled through jails and prisons in the United States. Their presence in correctional institutions is not a minor footnote in criminal justice history. It reflects a long-running intersection of war, trauma, addiction, mental health struggles, economic instability, and uneven access to treatment. At the same time, it has forced courts, policymakers, and veterans’ advocates to confront a difficult question: what should justice look like when criminal behavior is connected to military service and untreated wounds?