Veterans Day

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

From Secretary Eric K. Shinseki, Department of Veterans Affairs:

Today, at the 11th hour, on the 11th day, of the 11th month of 2011, we will pause to honor America's Veterans and celebrate their contributions to our way of life. Few have given more to our Nation than the men and women who have served in our Armed Forces in peace and in war.

Generation after generation—from Bunker Hill and Bennington to Baghdad and Abbottabad—protected, defended, and preserved the principles and ideals that define our democracy. Across that remarkable sweep of history, today's America was shaped at Lexington and Concord, Antietam and Gettysburg, in the skies over Midway, on the beaches of Normandy, in winter's grip at Chosin Reservoir, in the heat of Ia Drang Valley, from the Persian Gulf into Afghanistan and Iraq by those who wore our Nation's uniforms. Over twenty-two million living Veterans today embody our exceptional character and values as a people—each a line in our Nation's history, but together many chapters towards today's future.

We can't wait to help our veterans, because no veteran who fought for our nation should have to fight for a job when they come home. 

From Secretary Hilda Solis, Department of Labor Best ways to honor our veterans: Pitch in, volunteer, employ them:

Today, our nation pauses to celebrate the sacrifices of the men and women who put their careers on hold, leave their loved ones behind and embark on dangerous missions across the world to protect our daily freedoms.

As U.S. secretary of labor, I believe that Americans who risk their lives to fight for our freedoms should not have to fight for a job when they come home.

This week, the Department of Labor unveiled a series of new tools designed to address the fact that the unemployment rate for the post-9/11 generation of veterans has climbed to 12.1 percent- more than 3 percentage points above the civilian unemployment rate.

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This week, President Obama announced a new website – MyNextMove.org/vets – from my department where a veteran can enter one of 900 military occupational codes and "translate" it into a civilian job category. The site includes information about job opportunities, salaries, apprenticeships and institutions that provide skills training employers require.

It can help connect transitioning service members in Tucson with a variety of real jobs in transportation, warehousing and logistics and in health care – jobs that local employers are currently looking to fill.

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The administration's new "Veteran Gold Card" initiative – also unveiled this week – will provide post-9/11 veterans with six months of intensive job search, job coaching and job placement assistance.

Veterans can download their gold card on the Department of Labor website (dol.gov) and bring it to their One-Stop Career Center.

Veterans can find their local One-Stop through www.servicelocator.org

An employment specialist will help them find career opportunities and write a résumé that captures the transferability of their military experience.

Our nation established a holiday known as Armistice Day to commemorate the day when fighting ceased during World War I. That moment came on Nov. 11, 1918-on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of the year. Back then, we honored our veterans with ceremonies and parades.

Today, on 11/11/11, we call this holiday Veterans Day, and I have no doubt there will be a few parades. But there's something more that all of us can do.

Let's make this Veterans Day a "day on" – instead of a day off – and make a personal commitment to show our vets how much we care. Getting involved with your local USO or Vet Center is a good place to start.

To learn more about these resources, see Resources | The White House.

And this year, our men and women serving in Iraq will finally be coming home in time to spend the holidays with their families. Promises made, promises kept.