Guest opinion: Welcome home, citizen soldiers
This Memorial Day, we honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice so that we may live freely. Let us also use this day of remembrance to appreciate those who courageously answered the call to defend a nation and have returned home.
As a nation, we ask the youth among us to serve our country voluntarily. We ask them to fight for a people regardless of background, race, gender, religion or political ideology. We ask them to leave their family and friends, their hometowns and their careers to risk their lives, so that we may continue to prosper and enjoy our cherished civil liberties. Indeed, the notion of a citizen soldier resides at the very core of our national philosophy.
Recruited by the various branches of the military from all walks of life, billions of dollars are spent annually to transform these brave men and women into warriors. The process of this transformation, this notion of a citizen soldier, has guarded our nation well throughout history.
But what happens when the soldiers return home, hang up their uniforms and return to their lives as citizens? As our soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen return to civilian life, in some cases abruptly and unexpectedly, they often no longer “fit” easily into their old lives. Their socialized view of the world and their experiences represent a markedly different perspective. These men and women returning from deployments and combat face a complex transition from soldier to citizen that can affect several aspects of their lives, from maintaining relationships with family and friends to rejoining the work force. This transition is compounded when you consider those who will live forever with the lasting imprint of combat – the physically or psychologically disabled.
The military and the Veteran’s Administration work hard to provide many worthwhile transition assistance programs that help veterans find jobs or train for new careers, but we as the citizens they fight for must do more to re-assimilate our soldiers back into our communities. As a society, we must understand that the post-military transition is not just a job for the military and the Veteran’s Administration; it is our responsibility as citizens. We have asked these men and women to become the warriors of our nation; we must embrace their return with action.
As the director of the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans program at The Florida State University, I urge us all to search our own lives for ways we can ease the transition for those returning home. I urge businesses to open their doors to provide jobs and job training. I urge organizations to promote their programs to veterans returning home, whatever their service may be, to help re-assimilate our soldiers. I urge communities to participate in and support programs that aid veterans through involvement and funding.
Most of all, on this Memorial Day, I urge every citizen to open his or her heart and welcome home those who have answered the call to defend our home, our liberties and our freedom.
For more information, contact Randy Blass at (850) 644-7859 or at rblass@cob.fsu.edu.
Randy Blass, PhD, is an assistant professor in organizational behavior at the Florida State University College of Business and serves as the program director for the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans program. Blass served in the U.S. Air Force for 25 years and earned his doctoral degree at Florida State, where he now teaches. After retiring as a lieutenant colonel, he was instrumental in bringing the boot-camp program to the Florida State University campus. The program, which was begun at the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University, is an educational initiative that offers training in the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and business ownership to U.S. military members disabled as a result of their military service in post-Sept. 11 conflicts.