By Julie O’Rourke, WTC Stratcom

The Honorable Juan M. Garcia, III, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs offered perspective on the closing day of the Wounded Warrior Federal Employment Conference Thursday.  “We have a lot of wounded warriors now that previously would not have lived,” he said.  “In WWII, for every 100 combat injuries, 33 were fatal.  Now only 6 are fatal.  It’s historic, it comes with a charge, a way to successfully reintegrate a cadre of wounded warriors we haven’t seen before.”  These decades of perspective give new meaning to BG Williams’ charge that each agency official commit to hiring at least one wounded warrior.

It hurts me when I see a Soldier that has been hurt.  Given their sacrifice, helping Soldiers find jobs after their medical retirement seems like a very small commitment to me.  Secretary Garcia’s comments put wounded warriors’ employment needs into perspective and helped me understand why we have difficulties finding them all jobs.  Wounded warriors are a blessing.  They’re a resource that America might have lost without today’s advanced medical technology.

During these two days, we learned about a number of different tools agency officials and Soldiers can use to get Veterans into jobs.  In the end, however, success for these programs will come from driven people: Soldiers who get up every day and work hard to look for jobs and agency officials who interview with patience and an eye towards the future.   

VADM Kevin McCoy, Commander of the Navy Sea Systems Command, closed the conference with a call to action for each agency represented: “When you leave here, you need to decide whether you’re in or you’re not.  If you’re in, it will be incredible.”