Maryland
Maryland, the nation's 7th state admitted to the Union, is in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Maryland's neighbors include Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. One of the nation's smaller states, Maryland encompasses 12,407 square miles. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates Maryland's 2009 population at 5,699,478 residents, with 461,162 civilian veterans. Civilian veterans are those who previously served in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps. The Coast Guard and National Guard are classified as veterans only if they were called to active duty.
The state capital of Maryland is Annapolis, while the largest city is the City of Baltimore. Baltimore, and the surrounding suburbs are home to the majority of Maryland's population. The Chesapeake Bay almost halves Maryland, and the communities east of the bay are known as the Eastern Shore or the Delmarva Peninsula. The Delmarva Peninsula region also includes the entire State of Delaware, and Virginia's shoreline. Maryland has a long, proud history of citizens willing to defend their country, dating back to 1634, while the nation was still a colony of England. Among the first European settlers there were two militia captains who organized a professional armed force. In 1774, the Maryland militia was revitalized, and the Maryland Army National Guard traces its origins directly back to the Maryland Militia.
Today, the Maryland Army National Guard serves the state during times of a natural disaster or civil disturbance. In addition, the Maryland Army National Guard serves overseas alongside the active armed forces. A total of nine Maryland National Guard units were activated during Operation Desert Storm, and the Maryland Army National Guard aided local law enforcement after Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi and Louisiana.
There are eight active military installations in Maryland. Andrews Air Force Base is located just 10 miles southeast of Washington, DC. Andrews is home to the VC-25A, known as "Air Force One" whenever the President of the United States is aboard. There are three Army Posts: the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Aberdeen, Maryland; Fort Detrick in Frederick, MD; and Fort Meade. There are four Navy bases in Maryland: Naval Air Station Patuxent River, also known as Pax River; Naval Station Annapolis, across the Severn River from the the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis; National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda; and the United States Naval Academy.
The Department of Veteran Affairs State Summary lists the number of veterans in Maryland as 480,000 in 2008. Also in 2008, 7,102 veterans received inpatient care in VA health care facilities, and 2,236 MD veterans received post-conflict care from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan at either the Aberdeen, Baltimore, Cambridge, Elkton, or Silver Springs Veterans Readjustment Counseling Centers. The VA has special programs for those returning from service in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF).
Not all military service-related issues end when people are discharged from active duty. About 54,000 Maryland veterans are receiving monthly disability compensation. Nationwide, about 43 percent of the total number of men and women leaving military service from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have sought VA health care since returning stateside.
