Today is Armed Forces Day, an occasion to express gratitude and respect for those men and women making the sacrifice to serve our country in uniform. This year, I can think of no better way to honor their commitment to duty than to give those reentering civilian life a shot at gainful employment.
Few people truly understand how hard it is to transition out of the military. In uniform, your mission is clear. Your role is defined. You live with structure, purpose, and a sense of belonging. But when service ends, the system that trained you offers little preparation for what comes next.
Sadly, this transition is often treated like a final administrative task rather than the critical life shift it truly is. You get a checklist, a few briefings, and a polite nod toward civilian life. But those things do not prepare you for the deeper shift — how to rebuild your purpose, your identity, and your worth in a world that operates differently.
When the structure and rhythm of military life disappear, veterans are suddenly confronted with a vacuum. The transition programs that are supposed to help prove unproductive because they are still led by people who don’t understand what it takes to succeed after service.
Our servicemen and women get stuck with outdated processes that are heavy on structure and light on relevance, leaving them unprepared for today’s fast-moving economy. If we continue with this approach, we will keep losing people after the fight is over.
And it isn’t just veterans who are suffering. The economy is feeling the strain as well.
Industries from tech to logistics to healthcare are scrambling to find people who can build teams, make decisions, and lead under pressure. They spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to find qualified candidates, only to be disappointed because they don’t have the grit and follow-through to overcome the challenges faced by today’s organizations.
Hiring managers complain that new workers are entitled, lazy, and don’t take initiative. They say they’re tired of seeing the same resumes and hiring employees who don’t move the needle. But they overlook the group that can address these problems and more: veterans.
Veterans have developed leadership skills, adaptability, and mission-driven focus through years of training and real-world experience. Simply by enlisting, they demonstrated that they are willing to work for something bigger than themselves and make the sacrifices necessary to achieve it.
I have seen how the military trains men and women to lead, build teams, persevere, and thrive under pressure — traits companies claim to need. Yet too often, there is a disconnect. Too often, veterans are overlooked because they do not have the “experience” or necessary qualifications.
These things are undoubtedly important, but should not be the only consideration. When they are, two catastrophic things happen: companies miss out on thousands of uniquely qualified candidates, and veterans are left to suffer.
What could be a wonderful partnership becomes another statistic of veteran unemployment and corporate leadership struggles.
It’s not that veterans are not capable or that companies don’t care. The system was simply not built to align the two sides properly.
But that just isn’t good enough for our economy — or our veterans.
We need a new way forward, one that recognizes the immense, ever-changing challenges today’s organizations face while simultaneously valuing the skills veterans have developed through their service — even if they don’t show up on the job experience section in a resume.
It’s time for companies to consider veterans’ unique skills and experiences. They might be exactly what the economy needs because, right now, America isn’t short on workers — it’s short on leaders.
Translating that experience into civilian terms is not simple. But it is possible.
For me, education was part of that process. I chose to study at Pepperdine University, where I was challenged to think differently, expand my leadership skills beyond the military, and see the civilian world not as foreign ground but as a new mission to master.
These years reminded me that growth does not stop when the uniform comes off. It simply changes form, morphing into another kind of challenge. And it’s one I believe veterans are perfectly suited to meet.
The solution, however, isn’t more hiring initiatives, which soon become quotas and occasions for empty virtue signaling. Instead, we need deliberate pathways that match veterans’ capabilities and values with organizations willing to put leadership potential to work.
It is not about charity. It’s about putting proven leadership where it belongs — in the fight, making an impact. This can and does lead to real careers, authentic leadership, and incredible results.
If you are serious about building a team that can survive and thrive in the real world, stop overlooking veterans. We don’t need favors. We need opportunities. And the world needs what we have to offer. So this Armed Forces Day, America’s companies can show their gratitude by trusting those who have already proven they can lead.
Kenny Spratt is the founder and CEO of TalentBase, a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business specializing in connecting highly-skilled veterans to meaningful career opportunities across the private sector.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
[#item_full_content]
[[{“value”:”
Today is Armed Forces Day, an occasion to express gratitude and respect for those men and women making the sacrifice to serve our country in uniform. This year, I can think of no better way to honor their commitment to duty than to give those reentering civilian life a shot at gainful employment.
Few people truly understand how hard it is to transition out of the military. In uniform, your mission is clear. Your role is defined. You live with structure, purpose, and a sense of belonging. But when service ends, the system that trained you offers little preparation for what comes next.
Sadly, this transition is often treated like a final administrative task rather than the critical life shift it truly is. You get a checklist, a few briefings, and a polite nod toward civilian life. But those things do not prepare you for the deeper shift — how to rebuild your purpose, your identity, and your worth in a world that operates differently.
When the structure and rhythm of military life disappear, veterans are suddenly confronted with a vacuum. The transition programs that are supposed to help prove unproductive because they are still led by people who don’t understand what it takes to succeed after service.
Our servicemen and women get stuck with outdated processes that are heavy on structure and light on relevance, leaving them unprepared for today’s fast-moving economy. If we continue with this approach, we will keep losing people after the fight is over.
And it isn’t just veterans who are suffering. The economy is feeling the strain as well.
Industries from tech to logistics to healthcare are scrambling to find people who can build teams, make decisions, and lead under pressure. They spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to find qualified candidates, only to be disappointed because they don’t have the grit and follow-through to overcome the challenges faced by today’s organizations.
Hiring managers complain that new workers are entitled, lazy, and don’t take initiative. They say they’re tired of seeing the same resumes and hiring employees who don’t move the needle. But they overlook the group that can address these problems and more: veterans.
Veterans have developed leadership skills, adaptability, and mission-driven focus through years of training and real-world experience. Simply by enlisting, they demonstrated that they are willing to work for something bigger than themselves and make the sacrifices necessary to achieve it.
I have seen how the military trains men and women to lead, build teams, persevere, and thrive under pressure — traits companies claim to need. Yet too often, there is a disconnect. Too often, veterans are overlooked because they do not have the “experience” or necessary qualifications.
These things are undoubtedly important, but should not be the only consideration. When they are, two catastrophic things happen: companies miss out on thousands of uniquely qualified candidates, and veterans are left to suffer.
What could be a wonderful partnership becomes another statistic of veteran unemployment and corporate leadership struggles.
It’s not that veterans are not capable or that companies don’t care. The system was simply not built to align the two sides properly.
But that just isn’t good enough for our economy — or our veterans.
We need a new way forward, one that recognizes the immense, ever-changing challenges today’s organizations face while simultaneously valuing the skills veterans have developed through their service — even if they don’t show up on the job experience section in a resume.
It’s time for companies to consider veterans’ unique skills and experiences. They might be exactly what the economy needs because, right now, America isn’t short on workers — it’s short on leaders.
Translating that experience into civilian terms is not simple. But it is possible.
For me, education was part of that process. I chose to study at Pepperdine University, where I was challenged to think differently, expand my leadership skills beyond the military, and see the civilian world not as foreign ground but as a new mission to master.
These years reminded me that growth does not stop when the uniform comes off. It simply changes form, morphing into another kind of challenge. And it’s one I believe veterans are perfectly suited to meet.
The solution, however, isn’t more hiring initiatives, which soon become quotas and occasions for empty virtue signaling. Instead, we need deliberate pathways that match veterans’ capabilities and values with organizations willing to put leadership potential to work.
It is not about charity. It’s about putting proven leadership where it belongs — in the fight, making an impact. This can and does lead to real careers, authentic leadership, and incredible results.
If you are serious about building a team that can survive and thrive in the real world, stop overlooking veterans. We don’t need favors. We need opportunities. And the world needs what we have to offer. So this Armed Forces Day, America’s companies can show their gratitude by trusting those who have already proven they can lead.
Kenny Spratt is the founder and CEO of TalentBase, a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business specializing in connecting highly-skilled veterans to meaningful career opportunities across the private sector.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
“}]]
