On Monday, March 19, the CEO of Mission Continues Eric Greiten and the Executive Director of IAVA Paul Rieckhoff appeared on the Charlie Rose Show and spoke about the state of the U.S. military. There's been major strain on American forces after ten years of war, including strain on military families. Less than one percent of Americans have served in Iraq or Afghanistan.
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.
IAVA Founder and Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff was recently featured in the Fall 2011 issue of USAA Magazine. A veteran of Iraq, Rieckhoff has been a leading force in the new veterans movement since he returned home in 2004.
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 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.
IAVA Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff and Membership Intern and Afghanistan veteran Nick Colgin spoke to CNN about President Obama's initiative to improve the private sectoe job outlook for new veterans. You can learn more about his plan here.
Veteran of Iraq or Afghanistan? Join the conversation and share your own experiences with fellow veterans inside Community of Veterans.
IAVA Senior Legislative Associate Tom Tarantino joined Bob Barnard in Washington, DC to discuss invisible injuries on National PTSD Awareness Day. The day is inspired by North Dakota Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Joe Biel, who took his own life following two tours in Iraq. June 27th was Biel's birthday.
