On Saturday, December 17, IAVA Senior Writing Manager Matt Gallagher appeared on CNN and spoke about what the end of the Iraq War means to him and the approximately 1 million veterans who served in OIF/OND. "It's a very surreal time... for all veterans of Iraq," Gallagher said.
On Friday, December 16, IAVA Membership Director Jason Hansman appeared on NY1 and commented on the challenges some veterans face as they come home. Earlier that day, Defense Secretary Panetta attended a ceremony in Baghdad which officially concluded the American war in Iraq.
"The biggest issue that we're seeing right now is veteran unemployment," Hansman said. New veteran unemployment reached 11.1 percent in the month of November, nearly two points higher than the national average.
On Thursday, December 8, IAVA Senior Legislative Associate Tom Tarantino appeared on CNN and spoke about the end of the Iraq War and war's legacy on service members and their families.
"Coming back from combat is a process for everyone," Tarantino said. The vast majority of service members are able to rise to the challenge with the support of family and friends. IAVA's new issue report "Unsung Heroes" is a critical first step in understanding what military families face after the service members come home.
IAVA Board Member Wes Moore and TIME columnist Joe Klein joined Chris Matthews on Hardball to dicuss Klein's cover story, The New Greatest Generation. Moore and four other IAVA Member Veterans were featured on the cover. See the cover here and read the piece here.
Over 500 IAVA Member Veterans and their families came together to attend the Washington Nationals game on Tuesday, August 16th. Available because of IAVA's partnership with Miller High Life, the vets and families were treated to a pre-game event with food and drink, and one member even got to throw out the first pitch. You can learn more here.
IAVA Board Member Wes Moore and TIME columnist Joe Klein discussed Klein's cover story on new veterans being leaders on Morning Joe. RMoore and four other IAVA Member Veterans, including IAVA Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff, were featured on the cover. See the cover here and read the piece here.
IAVA Founder and Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff and TIME columnist Joe Klein joined CNN American Morning to discuss Klein's cover story on new veterans being leaders. Rieckhoff and four other IAVA Member Veterans were featured on the cover. See the cover here and read the piece here.
IAVA Member Veteran Jonathan Raab joined Last Call with Lawrence O'Donnell to discuss veteran unemployment. One of the main topics of discussion was Jonathan's recent New York Timespiece highlighting his own experiences with job struggles as a veteran. This fall, Jonathan will redeploy to Afghanistan.
IAVA's Senior Policy Advisor Todd Bowers, a Purple Heart veteran who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and Nick Colgin, an Afghanistan veteran and currently working in IAVA's Membership Department, joined Rachel Maddow to discuss veteran unemployment and Nick's story being shared by the President. You can see the President's speech on combating veteran unemployment here.
