America honors service in words, but too often falls short in action. Many veterans return from duty only to be faced with new battles: finding housing, healthcare, and purpose beyond the uniform. It is for these reasons and many more that I didn’t stop serving when I retired from the Army; I simply changed how I serve.
Today, I honor my fellow veterans.
Veterans Day reminds us: the question is not only how we recognize service members in uniform, but how we support them long after they return home. Many veterans transition from the battlefield to civilian life without the network, education, health resources or job pathways they deserve. According to the most recent count from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), 32,882 veterans are experiencing homelessness, a sign that the duty to our troops must extend well beyond deployment.
For me, service doesn’t end when the uniform comes off—it transforms. In recent years, I’ve seen firsthand how that transformation can challenge even the most dedicated among us. One story that stays with me is that of Lita and Jean Tomas, a mother and daughter who both served. Jean, a newly commissioned Second Lieutenant and a promising leader, was severely injured while competing for the prestigious German Army Sports Badge—a voluntary challenge she took on to sharpen her professional edge. The injury left her permanently disabled. Her mother, Major (Ret.) Lita Tomas, spent years fighting to secure her daughter’s rightful diagnoses, treatments and entitlements. Their story is a stark reminder that the struggle for veterans and their families often continues long after active duty ends.
Their perseverance also demonstrates what true service looks like: resilience, love of country, and unwavering duty to one another. I’m proud to count both women as friends—and proud to know that organizations like the Elizabeth Dole Foundation (EDF) are making it easier for families like theirs to find support. EDF’s work through programs such as the Hidden Heroes Campaign and the Dole Caregiver Fellowship has redefined how our nation cares for the caregivers—mothers, fathers, spouses, and children—who shoulder invisible burdens every day. They remind us that service extends beyond the soldier to the family that stands behind them.
Service in the military teaches mission, adaptability and teamwork. But when a service member separates from duty, those same skills don’t always translate smoothly into civilian life. Too often, the infrastructure for reintegration lags behind. That’s why I believe supporting veterans is not a charitable add-on, but a continuation of the same duty we ask of them: to serve and to lead, just in a different uniform.
For instance, while veteran homelessness dropped 10.7% between 2023 and 2024, the fact that tens of thousands still experience it highlights persistent gaps. Veterans often face layered challenges: from injuries like what we saw happen with Jean to housing insecurity, untreated trauma, limited access to education or certifiable credentials, and difficulty entering the workforce. The VA is working to close these gaps through housing and support initiatives, and new legislation aims to expand eligibility and strengthen wraparound services.
Yet even with these national efforts underway, community-based organizations remain essential in filling the human and emotional gaps that policy alone cannot address. It’s why I’m drawn to organizations that meet veterans at the intersection of mental health, stability, and purpose. One such example is Veterans Moving Forward Inc. (VMF), which provides service, therapy and emotional support dogs to veterans and their families at no cost. Through funding a new West Virginia facility, VMF can now place more dogs, cut wait times by nearly two years and deepen its impact on the veteran community. Further, it is critical that our holistic support of veterans also extends to their families—for example, through the Army Scholarship Foundation, which provides educational assistance to the spouses and children of soldiers, to ensure that service and sacrifice are met with opportunity and stability for the entire household.
Too often we treat veterans as separate from the rest of civic life. But veterans are not charity cases; they are fellow citizens who’ve served, and now deserve opportunities to lead in business, nonprofits, arts, academia, and beyond. In this mindset, supporting veterans becomes an investment in our society’s future, not just recognition for past service.
Through partnerships with organizations like Business Executives for National Security (BENS), we’re helping bridge the gap between military experience and civilian leadership. BENS brings together leaders from across the private sector to apply business expertise to national security challenges while also creating pathways for veterans to continue serving through corporate and civic engagement. Similarly, Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) programs provide another avenue for veterans to advance their education and leadership potential, offering scholarships that help them complete or begin college or graduate degrees while earning a commission as officers. By combining their prior service experience with formal leadership training, veterans gain new opportunities to lead both within the military and in civilian life.
By emphasizing skills-based initiatives and leadership development, we ensure that veterans’ discipline, innovation and commitment to mission strengthen not only our national security but also the communities and industries they join.
We must also take into account that honoring veterans isn’t only about accommodating their present needs; it’s about preserving their legacy. This is why it is so important to support our great national military museums—such as the National WWII Museum and the Military Women’s Memorial to name a few. These institutions safeguard the stories of service across generations and branches. Our goal must be to strengthen the connection between military and civilian communities so that, by understanding another’s experiences, we can better support each other and uphold the shared values that define our nation.
Honoring history also means remembering the people behind it—the men and women whose daily sacrifices make those stories possible. Those sacrifices take many forms. For some service members, it’s driving 400 miles round trip for a weekend drill without reimbursement. For others, it’s enduring long separations from family or the constant risk of injury and death—even during training. Every veteran accepts risks few civilians will ever face. And yet, despite those hardships, most would say they would serve again.
I was fortunate to serve, and I’m proud to now lead institutions that honor those who have done the same. But too many veterans are still waiting for the country they served to fully serve them back. That’s why National Veterans and Military Families Month matters, but it isn’t enough. Our duty doesn’t end in November; it begins again every day, in every community, classroom, workplace and museum where veterans seek belonging beyond the uniform. If we accept that duty, we accept that the real measure of patriotism is how we honor service; not just when it is visible, but when it is lived, sustained and integrated into the civic fabric of our country.
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