Spending a weekend with heroes!

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

Congratulations to SPC Guy Mellor, Army Guard Soldier of the Year!!

There's Specialist Mellor in the middle....what a huge accomplishment for him to make Soldier of the Year! Since he's right here in my backyard (the Utah National Guard is headquartered in Salt Lake City), I had the opportunity to meet him at the presentation ceremony where all the Soldiers of the 1st Battalion recieved their post 9/11 interactive historical records.

To earn this great achievement, SPC Mellor competed at Fort Benning with all other Guard representatives...the 3 day event pushed competitors with ruck marches, written tests, marksmanship events and other tasks...all back-to-back with few breaks and very little sleep...averaging about 3 hours a night! Great job to all of you competing!

Photo above, L to R: MG Brian Tarbet (TAG, NGUT), SPC Guy Mellor, Sharlene Hawkes

Women's History Month at NCIS

What an honor to be asked to speak to the NCIS team at the Navy Yard in DC this past Tuesday! In celebration of Women's History Month, Ralph Blincoe (Dep. Director) asked me to speak about balance and service, and to prepare, I got the chance to meet some really amazing women. These women are really making the rest of us look good...they're smart, tough, fun, and really work hard at balancing their professional and personal lives. Special agents Cate Smith and Heather Baines told me about some of their more interesting undercover experiences...and they both couldn't say enough about the great work that JAG lawyer Mindy Siefer does to make sure they get all the support they need. My sister Janet happened to be in town so it was wonderful to have her there to experience the day at NCIS. Director Tom Betro has obviously established a workplace where not only professionalism is at the highest levels, but there's a strong sense of family, and unity, and a celebration of diversity. Kudos to NCIS! It's a privilege for Remember My Service to have been part of that event.