What is real Military Appreciation?

LTC Jason Strickland — Thu, 15 May 2014 08:49:17 -0400

My answer: action. That's how our nation, our community, our colleagues can show appreciation to our military and veteran community. Check out our blog for the rest of my thoughts, then I want to hear yours!

http://projectsanctuary.us/?blog=military-appreciation#sthash.DqYUmPuH.dpbs

Military "Appreciation" - Project Sanctuary

Military "appreciation" blog

Response by MAJ Dallas D. made May 15 at 2014 8:58 AM

MAJ Dallas D. — Thu, 15 May 2014 08:58:15 -0400

I agree action is exactly what is needed. Most Veterans do not want special treatment we only want a chance.

I co-own and operate a staffing agency aimed at reducing unemployment among our fellow Veterans, I will tell you there are a lot of companies out there that will talk the talk but will not walk the walk. They only want the good pub of saying we are hiring Veterans but in reality they hire 1 or 2 "token" Veterans and then parade them out at special events.

Response by COL Jason Smallfield, PMP, CFM, CM made May 15 at 2014 9:09 AM

COL Jason Smallfield, PMP, CFM, CM — Thu, 15 May 2014 09:09:41 -0400

Military appreciation should be integrated, embedded, and systemic into American culture. It used to be but has degraded over time. We could see this via things such as: community support of Memorial Day activities, school events on Veteran's Day, support of and engagement with Veteran's retirement homes. Now, many people think coming up to a Soldier and saying "thank you for your service" is good enough. The long term risk for the nation is that service that is not valued and remembered is forgotten. This lowers the probability that future generations will step up and serve.

Response by LTC Jason Strickland made May 16 at 2014 11:06 PM

LTC Jason Strickland — Fri, 16 May 2014 23:06:04 -0400

Give this blog a quick read, then post your thoughts here!

Response by Col James Zietlow made May 17 at 2014 1:08 PM

Col James Zietlow — Sat, 17 May 2014 13:08:07 -0400

The public responds to support the military in direct response to where we are as a nation in war or conflict. Our nation suffers from GWOT fatigue with war winding down and troops redeploying. Military appreciation wanes in this case when DOD budgets compete with Medicare and Social Security programs. Last comment, we are entering a period where fewer Americans will really appreciate the military and veteran service.