Agenda 2024: Supporting active-duty military, veterans comes in a variety of forms

Ask most active-duty military service members and veterans in Laramie County if they feel like the community supports them, and you’ll likely get a positive answer. Since Cheyenne is home to F.E. Warren Air Force Base and the headquarters of the Wyoming Army and Air National Guard, that makes sense.

That support comes in many forms, ranging from civilians telling those in uniform or wearing a veteran ball cap “Thank you for your service” to local business owners extending discounts to those who have served or are currently serving their country. The Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce has a Military Affairs Committee dedicated to supporting active-duty service members; there are multiple support organizations here, ranging from a state chapter of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve to the Warren Spouses Club; and Cheyenne is home to a large American Legion post and several Veterans of Foreign Wars posts, as well as nonprofits like Veterans’ Rock.

But that doesn’t mean everything’s perfect and there isn’t more we can do. After all, every person who has ever put on a uniform of any branch of the United States military deserves our utmost respect and appreciation, along with all of the financial, medical and family support we can offer.

It might mean volunteering to serve as an Adopt an Airman host family, opening a part of your life to a member of the F.E. Warren team who’s new to the area and looking for a home away from home. It might mean taking time to organize a group of people in your church to put together care packages for Guard soldiers or airmen deployed overseas. Or it might be as simple as making a financial donation to a group that helps families of those deployed service members with household repairs or emergency situations.

Whatever your support looks like, it is appreciated and vital to protecting the safety and security of this place we call home.

Recruitment, retention challenges

One of the largest challenges faced by active-duty military of all branches is recruitment and retention. According to a 2020 Qualified Military Available (QMA) study by the U.S. Department of Defense, only 23% of youth between 17 and 24 years old are qualified for military service without a waiver. The most common reasons for disqualification were overweight (11%), drug/alcohol abuse (8%) and medical/physical health (7%). Most ineligible young people are disqualified for multiple reasons (44%), and the largest increases between 2013 and 2020 were for mental health and overweight conditions, according to the report.

The result is that fewer than 150,000 people enlisted in the U.S. armed forces in 2020, which was a 59% decline from 1980, according to USA Facts. In 2022, the total number of active-duty service members was 1.3 million, a roughly 6% drop from a decade earlier.

Beyond the physical and medical reasons for disqualification, though, is the way many young people and their parents often view military service these days. The active-duty military and Junior ROTC leaders we talked to this week said a lack of patriotism and a call to serve one’s country are having a negative impact on their ability to recruit those who would otherwise be eligible.

So, what’s to be done? First, young people (and many of their older counterparts) need to understand the difference between patriotism and nationalism. Patriotism, which generally has a positive connotation, means “devoted love, support, and defense of one’s country; national loyalty,” according to Dictionary.com. Although we may disagree with certain things happening in our country at any given moment or those who are leading it, we still have a deep love for the United States of America, along with an urge to defend it at all costs.

Nationalism, which is often incorrectly used interchangeably with patriotism, is a political ideology in which someone’s love for their country is exclusionary. That means it “comes at the cost of foreigners, immigrants and even American citizens who somehow are believed to not belong in some way, often for racial or religious reasons,” also according to Dictionary.com.

Our military leaders are calling for patriots, not so-called nationalists, to step up and answer the call to service. That doesn’t mean checking your skepticism and/or frustration with current policies and ideologies at the door. It’s proving that in spite of our flaws, you still believe that the United States is the best country in the world and deserves to be defended.

Another reason young people aren’t joining the military in larger numbers is the same reason they aren’t reading the newspaper — they haven’t grown up with examples of people doing it. That often means they don’t have a parent or family member with a background of military service, and they’re not seeing service members in their communities on a regular basis.

Even in a place like Laramie County, with as many active-duty military members and veterans as we have, the odds of interacting with a member of the military in a deeper way than passing someone in uniform at the store is relatively rare. We need more opportunities than just during Cheyenne Frontier Days and the Christmas Parade to see the positive role models in our armed services, and to get to know them and more about their service.

Services available

The good news for both active-duty service members and veterans who live here is that those we spoke with this week say there are few places more supportive than southeast Wyoming.

In addition to the Adopt an Airman program mentioned earlier, members of the Air Force and National Guard enjoy the support of many local businesses and individuals.

That support has included not only sponsorship of military activities by the private sector, but also extended to verbal and written support when a few racist individuals have verbally harassed minority airmen and/or their children.

With more than 300 Army Guard members currently deployed and up to the same amount of Air Guard members constantly cycling overseas and back home, there’s always a need for care packages and programs that support families left behind. Thankfully, those exist and are easy to support through the Wyoming National Guard Association.

For those transitioning from active duty to retirement, or those already retired, the state funds eight veterans service officer positions statewide under the umbrella of the Wyoming Veterans Commission. Vicki Osman and her team help veterans of any age and their spouses (or widows/widowers) apply for all of the benefits to which they’re entitled, sometimes including nursing home benefits. And they don’t just tell people how to apply, they actually prepare the application on their behalf.

And although there will always be isolated cases of disgruntled veterans who have had less-than-perfect experiences with the Department of Veterans Affairs, everyone we talked to said the Cheyenne and Sheridan VA facilities have top-notch staff offering high-quality care.

The list goes on and on. There are way more services available in southeast Wyoming than we have time to list, but all it takes is asking a veterans service officer or VFW or American Legion member to get you pointed in the right direction.

What you can do

Which might beg the question “If there are so many excellent services available here already, what do they need me to do?”

First, offer your time or money to those that rely on volunteers and donations. Veterans’ Rock is a relatively new nonprofit on South Greeley Highway that provides a place for homeless vets to shower, and get clothes and food, and provides other resources to better their lives. They need financial support to continue their good work.

Local business owners and individuals need to hire spouses of those serving in the military so they can continue their careers without being stifled by frequently changing locations. Veterans also should be offered employment whenever possible, regardless of their age.

School administrators should find ways to include active-duty military and ROTC members in ceremonies and classroom activities, such as cadets helping with elementary carnivals and units leading flag-raising ceremonies.

State lawmakers will consider several bills in next year’s general session to expand support of service members, including by helping veterans attend the University of Wyoming and community colleges. Tell your legislators you want them to support these efforts.

Support those who have served should they reveal problems in military units. That includes service members who have been sexually harassed or assaulted by their counterparts. Only by making every unit a place worth serving will more people want to do so.

Whenever you hear someone speaking negatively to or about a person in uniform — whether at the high school ROTC level or in the community — step up and speak out against it. Remind them how vital our military is to protecting the freedom we so often take for granted. And when you see those folks, be sure to sincerely thank them for their service and tell them how much you appreciate what they do.

Together, we can continue to be a beacon of support to those who have served and those who continue to serve our country — and not just in May or November, but every single day of the year.