For the last 5 weeks, I think I have been home 2 days. Washington DC twice, Idaho twice, almost two weeks exploring England and Scotland with the family, and an incredible 4 days in the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana with veterans from the Army Wounded Warrior program (AW2). We navigated the rapids of the Salmon River, rode horses, ate a five star mess three times a day, and even eliminated a little over 200 pesky gophers and 3 badgers on the Shining Mountain Ranch (with a bunch of AR-15s and 8mm Magnums on hand, those critters didn’t stand a chance—the ranch owner was deeply grateful to these retired special ops and snipers). Before this group even arrived for the weekend, I emailed them and asked them to prioritize what they care about. It’s not healthcare—that was actually last. First on the list was JOBS, and second, EDUCATION/TRAINING.
So here’s my take-away from hanging out with 11 Soldiers and 7 of their wives--all heroes: We need to do more. We—the community—needs to do more to support them in the areas that matter most to them: Jobs. Careers. I’m not talking about more websites and more fundraisers, although those can be very helpful. I’m taking about bottom line, veteran-specific, veteran-priority channel to jobs. I really believe that if America’s private sector had an easy, clearly structured way to reach our veterans, they would. I just had a conference call with the President of Macy’s department stores and they eagerly committed to work with the National Center for Veterans Studies to have a place for student veterans to land into jobs. Macy’s isn’t the usual defense contractor, obviously—they’re "just" an American retail icon. And they see the huge asset that Veterans are—they were looking for a place to plug into, and get started. As of right now, it’s up to online searches, and employers have to wait for veterans to navigate through “the circle of death” (as one veteran at this Montana weekend called it) to find them. So whose job is it to link up veterans and employers? The Department of Defense can certainly cooperate, and in the Army Reserve there has been the biggest push with the Employer Partnership Initiative. What about VA? Well, their mission isn’t to help with jobs. What about Veterans Service Organizations? It’s no small task for any one group to accomplish, but it’s not a hard concept that can certainly be done within a cooperative effort of these organizations. And while this doesn’t necessarily relate to my “day job” with Remember My Service, it’s one that I’m completely engaged in as the National Center for Veterans Studies begins to coordinate, organize, structure, and execute for the sole purpose of better positioning our veterans for employment. We’ve taken it on.
Sharlene
I'm currently working on the 3rd Infantry Division's: 26 Brigade Support Battalion. The pictures I have received for their Historical Records, truly show how hard those men and women work while on deployment.
I've also been able to meet with the Oklahoma Army National Guard. While we won't begin our projects with them until early next year, I am excited to be working with our service members from OK.
This Friday I'll be kicking off our projects with the Nevada National Guard, and once again I can't wait to get started. It will be amazing for me to share in the experiences of all the states and units that I'm scheduled to help in making their memories into a legacy that they can share for years!
