Posted on Feb 27, 2018
COL Miguel Howe from George W. Bush Institute here 3/6/18 for a Q&A. Q&A has Ended.
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Colonel Miguel Howe, USA, Ret. is the inaugural April and Jay Graham Fellow of the Military Service Initiative at the George W. Bush Institute. As an endowed Fellow, Colonel Howe represents the Bush Institute's work to improve the transition of post-9/11 veterans to civilian life, and to foster veteran leadership to enhance our businesses, communities and nation. In this role, he advocates for post 9-11 veterans and builds awareness for the issues that affect their transitions, with a focus on employment, education, and health and wellbeing.
Colonel Howe retired from the United States Army where he served for over 24 years in a myriad of command and staff assignments to include in Iraq and Afghanistan. He deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom as the commander of the Afghan National Army Special Operations Advisory Group, Camp Morehead Afghanistan. He also deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as the Chief of Staff for the NATO Training Mission in Al Rustamiyah, Iraq. A Special Forces Officer, he has commanded special operations forces on numerous deployments throughout Latin America with the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne). Colonel Howe served as the Special Assistant to the CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and commanded the U.S. Army Southern California Recruiting Battalion. He began his Army career in the 25th Infantry Division as a Rifle Platoon Leader.
Colonel Howe was selected in 2006 by President George W. Bush to serve as a White House Fellow. He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy and earned a Master of Arts in National Security Studies from Georgetown University. He is married with two children.
COL Howe is here to discuss these topics:
· Transition issues, including employment and wellness, specifically the invisible wounds of war
· 21st century challenges and the need for continued leadership from our nation’s veterans and military families
· Bridging the civilian-military divide
Colonel Miguel Howe, USA, Ret. is the inaugural April and Jay Graham Fellow of the Military Service Initiative at the George W. Bush Institute. As an endowed Fellow, Colonel Howe represents the Bush Institute's work to improve the transition of post-9/11 veterans to civilian life, and to foster veteran leadership to enhance our businesses, communities and nation. In this role, he advocates for post 9-11 veterans and builds awareness for the issues that affect their transitions, with a focus on employment, education, and health and wellbeing.
Colonel Howe retired from the United States Army where he served for over 24 years in a myriad of command and staff assignments to include in Iraq and Afghanistan. He deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom as the commander of the Afghan National Army Special Operations Advisory Group, Camp Morehead Afghanistan. He also deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as the Chief of Staff for the NATO Training Mission in Al Rustamiyah, Iraq. A Special Forces Officer, he has commanded special operations forces on numerous deployments throughout Latin America with the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne). Colonel Howe served as the Special Assistant to the CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and commanded the U.S. Army Southern California Recruiting Battalion. He began his Army career in the 25th Infantry Division as a Rifle Platoon Leader.
Colonel Howe was selected in 2006 by President George W. Bush to serve as a White House Fellow. He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy and earned a Master of Arts in National Security Studies from Georgetown University. He is married with two children.
COL Howe is here to discuss these topics:
· Transition issues, including employment and wellness, specifically the invisible wounds of war
· 21st century challenges and the need for continued leadership from our nation’s veterans and military families
· Bridging the civilian-military divide
Posted in these groups: 
Government Administration
Leadership Development
George W. Bush Institute
Q&A
Government Administration Leadership Development George W. Bush Institute Q&A
Posted 7 y ago
Responses: 20
Thanks to team Rally Point for this opportunity to spend some time with all of you and to share a bit about President and Mrs. Bush’s leadership, and our work at the Bush Institute to foster a successful transition and reintegration from military service to civilian life. As President Bush says often, and would tell you himself, there is not much he misses about being President, but he does miss being Commander in Chief, and he misses looking in the eyes of the men and women who serve and saluting them and their families.
When we serve in uniform our mission is clear – to fight and win our nation's wars in order to ensure our freedom, security and prosperity. President Bush has challenged us that when we take off the uniform we have a new mission – to continue to contribute to the security, economy, and sustained health of our democracy as veterans. Our work at the Bush Institute’s Military Service initiative is designed to help foster that new mission by setting the conditions for a successful transition. We’ll talk more about that today, but I encourage you to check out our website to learn more and see our veteran resources on transition issues: http://www.bushcenter.org.
When we serve in uniform our mission is clear – to fight and win our nation's wars in order to ensure our freedom, security and prosperity. President Bush has challenged us that when we take off the uniform we have a new mission – to continue to contribute to the security, economy, and sustained health of our democracy as veterans. Our work at the Bush Institute’s Military Service initiative is designed to help foster that new mission by setting the conditions for a successful transition. We’ll talk more about that today, but I encourage you to check out our website to learn more and see our veteran resources on transition issues: http://www.bushcenter.org.
George W. Bush Presidential Center: Home of the Bush Library and Museum and Bush Institute
The George W. Bush Presidential Center is home to the Bush Presidential Library and Museum and the Bush Institute.
COL Miguel Howe - Thanks for joining us. Knowing your team has spent a lot of time studying the primary issues affecting veterans finding employment, education and adequate healthcare, what do you think the major roadblocks are here and how can we as a community help address them?
COL Miguel Howe
Thanks for the question Brandon. While every transition is unique (there are over 21M vets, of whom ~3M are post-9/11, and over 200K of us leave service every year), we know there are three common elements to a successful transition – leveraging meaningful education opportunities; leveraging meaningful employment (or entrepreneurship) opportunities; and optimizing our health & well-being. Key roadblocks (& opportunities) include: Not being ready for civilian world – language, culture, values, & operating parameters; loss of identity – purpose and belonging; not having a plan; translating knowledge, skill sets, abilities, and experiences; and for some addressing wounds, injuries and illnesses inherent with military service and war. These issues impact not only us but our families as well. Some keys to addressing these challenges start with owning your transition: 1) have a plan and 2) conduct thorough preparation; 3) own the process – before, during, and well after your separation; 4) know and leverage available opportunities, resources and services; 5) pursue the best opportunities for you and your family; 6) if you have them, address the visible and invisible wounds of war; 7) Succeed and thrive – you must set the tone for those that follow, and we need your continued leadership out of uniform on our campuses, in our businesses, and in our communities.
Col Howe, welcome to Rally Point! I recently completed a study on The Transition Experiences of Post 9/11 Women Warriors: A Sociocultural Perspective and most of the women reported they were not adequately prepared for the emotional separation from their military family. What recommendations do you advocate for to better prepare veterans before they leave the service beyond the failing TAP programs?
COL Miguel Howe
Rebecca - we would love to read your study, please share with us at [login to see] . Our post-9/11 Women Warriors have not only been critical in Iraq, Afghanistan, and throughout the globe, but are also changing (and improving) the veteran landscape. Many transitioning service members and their families struggle with a loss of self-identity, loss of mission and loss of community – all critical factors in our overall wellness. That is true for both men and women. We know that connecting with a new community – through volunteer service or joining an affinity group can help. That is one reason we have include several very reputable veteran peer based organizations in our Warrior Wellness Alliance (WWA):
http://www.bushcenter.org/warriorwellnessalliance Kacie Kelly is our Program Director for all of our work on Health and Wellbeing, and leads the WWA. She is following along the conversation and may chime in.
TAP is currently being reviewed by VA, DOD, DOL, SBA and thought leaders in the veteran space. TAP is just one part of the transition process. While it can always improve, it’s not a failing program, but it will never be possible for it to meet the unique needs of 200,000 transitioning service members. We do advocate resources like our own Veteran Employment Transition Road Map https://www.vetroadmap.org/. We also recommend transitioning service members and vets leverage organizations like Hire Heroes USA, the US Chamber's Hiring Our Heroes, USO Transition 360, IVMF's O2O - Onward to Opportunity, America Serves, America's Warrior Partnership, Corporate America Supports You, Student Veterans of America and others to help plan, prepare and leverage critical resources. Jeff Cleland is our Program Manager for Economic opportunity and has our best insights.
http://www.bushcenter.org/warriorwellnessalliance Kacie Kelly is our Program Director for all of our work on Health and Wellbeing, and leads the WWA. She is following along the conversation and may chime in.
TAP is currently being reviewed by VA, DOD, DOL, SBA and thought leaders in the veteran space. TAP is just one part of the transition process. While it can always improve, it’s not a failing program, but it will never be possible for it to meet the unique needs of 200,000 transitioning service members. We do advocate resources like our own Veteran Employment Transition Road Map https://www.vetroadmap.org/. We also recommend transitioning service members and vets leverage organizations like Hire Heroes USA, the US Chamber's Hiring Our Heroes, USO Transition 360, IVMF's O2O - Onward to Opportunity, America Serves, America's Warrior Partnership, Corporate America Supports You, Student Veterans of America and others to help plan, prepare and leverage critical resources. Jeff Cleland is our Program Manager for Economic opportunity and has our best insights.
Warrior Wellness Alliance | George W. Bush Institute
Connecting best-in-class healthcare providers and peer veteran networks. Find a member organization in your community today.
Kacie Kelly
Yes, I echo Miguel's interest in your work, Rebecca. I look forward to reviewing your study, as just today, I was actually talking with someone about how much opportunity there is for learning more about the "sociocultural" space. Thank you in advance for your work.
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