NOD News
Standing Up For Veterans: A National Security Imperative
Washington, DC, November 11, 2011 — America is now more than ten years into our longest war and our national security faces a new threat. The threat is to the health of our all-volunteer military.
Only one percent of our nation serves in the military today. The burdens being borne by so few bring to mind the cautionary words of George Washington: "The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war... shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation." It is imperative, therefore, to the future of our national security, that we do more than honor their service; we must ensure young Americans will continue to serve by securing their futures when they return home.
Veterans deserve more than just our respect; they need our support in gaining entry into the civilian workforce. They need a handshake across the interview desk; and an opportunity to apply their extraordinary logistical, analytic and leadership skills. As Veterans Day draws near, we can deliver on our debt to these veterans—and bolster our national security—by enacting legislation that expands programs that help them succeed in civilian careers.
The challenges of veterans of Vietnam and other wars, many of whom still struggle today, are well known. We can and must commit to addressing the needs of this current generation of veterans in order to prevent the difficulties so many veterans of previous wars still face.
The long-term social costs of failing to help these veterans and their families are far higher than investing in them now. Our nation needs its veterans to have jobs, support their families, pay taxes and participate fully in their communities. As with generations of veterans before them, we can and should expect them to become leaders in many walks of American life.
Today's all-volunteer force is a longer-serving and more technically proficient force than ever. Most wounded warriors are 10 years older than earlier generations and three times more likely to have families and children under 18. Yet often their skills and years of experience are not easily understood by civilian recruiters. Most need to retool—through education and training— for civilian career paths. As a result, both veterans and their families are "at risk."
While all veterans deal with this transition, the picture is far more stark for those who have been injured in their service to our country. One in four post-9/11 veterans—more than half a million service members—are already living with diagnosed service-connected disabilities. Unlike their fellow service members, wounded veterans don't get to choose when they will end their military careers; their injuries choose for them.
Because of their injuries, these veterans are uprooted from both their military careers and their military communities. Upon returning home, they must completely rebuild their lives, and often need assistance to help them transition through education and training into good jobs.
To their credit, our military leaders have made progress in these areas. For example, the U.S. Army has collaborated with the National Organization on Disability (NOD) to develop new approaches to support disabled veterans as they transition to civilian careers. With support from forward-thinking philanthropic funders, NOD's Wounded Warrior Careers program has implemented and proven new and holistic methods of assisting veterans and their families as they transition to civilian careers and self-sufficiency. And NOD is also working with corporate leaders, such as Sam's Club, to showcase the benefits of welcoming employees with disabilities – including veterans – as part of a diverse workforce. But as the number of returning veterans continues to grow, government leadership and public funding is needed to broaden the reach of career services to the thousands of severely disabled veterans without access to them.
This work has been lauded in Washington and legislation to apply these approaches on a national scale is now being considered by Congress as the FY2012 National Defense Authorization Bill is finalized this month. This legislation, which has the support of many key government leaders, cannot be enacted too soon.
The cost to expand the program is estimated by the Congressional Budget Office to be about $10 million per year. In comparison, our military spends about $5 million per day in recruitment efforts. Surely we can allocate two days' worth of recruiting costs toward efforts to restore dignity and purpose to the lives of those who have secured our nation through their service. Again, this is one of many veterans' efforts and programs to help our veterans. We must become more aggressive and urgent about seeing success in all of them.
On the battlefield, every moment and action counts. Off the battlefield, the need for victory is now just as great. This Veterans Day, may we honor the service of all of those men and women who have worn the United States uniform. And may we stand up for them in a way that will have lasting meaning – by asking Congress to find the funds to help those who have fought for our freedom.
A Vietnam combat veteran, Tom Ridge served as the first U.S. secretary of homeland security and governor of Pennsylvania. He is currently president and CEO of Ridge Global and chairman of the National Organization on Disability.
