America's Warrior Partnership (AWP) extends the Community Integration Model into businesses through the Corporate Veteran Initiative (CVI), which helps companies and military-related employees by connecting them to specific veteran resources that are available to help resolve a variety of issues. With a wealth of services available for veterans at nearly 45,000 nationally, it is a daunting undertaking for any company that desires to improve its veteran affairs program and employee resource group. CVI helps alleviate these issues by partnering with companies that strive to provide the best working environment for veterans. The CVI program has a 90% success rate in resolving requests for military connected employees. This is accomplished quickly, efficiently, and on a one-on-one basis to meet each military connected employee’s unique needs. This is a beneficial partnership for the company and its diverse employees. For example, Fiserv, a global provider for financial services, is one of the companies leading the charge in veteran advocacy. Fiserv requested CVI to participate in an Employee Resource Group (ERG) virtual presentation focused on how CVI can support its military connected employees. During the ERG meeting, AWP’s honored partner and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, Clint Romesha, shared his unique transition story.
Clint Romesha is an Army veteran and author of "Red Platoon: A True Story of American Valor." Romesha’s transitioning story is different than other Medal of Honor recipients because he was not formally recognized for his bravery and leadership during the Battle of Kamdesh in Afghanistan until two years after his transition. Clint left the military in 2011, and like most transitioning veterans, his focus was on finding employment. Transitioning out of the military after a lifetime of dedicated military service into the civilian world is a daunting process for anyone. Clint explains how after serving 12 years in the Army, without other work experience, he found himself working at an entry level position with an oil and gas company in North Dakota.
Thanks to his military skills and leadership, he achieved quick success and recognition in his career. However, even while he succeeded in his civilian job, Clint still struggled to find the right point of contact regarding getting his medical records post service or where to start looking for other VA benefits. He contacted the VA, his old unit, and finally was guided by an old commander to reach out to a local VA liaison officer. In total, it took Clint a year and a half before he received these military medical records after leaving the Army. Clint did not have a resource like CVI to help him navigate the Department of Veterans Affairs and access his military medical records. Situations like this is where CVI excels as an advocating resource for veterans and their families. CVI becomes an empowering resource that can remediate veteran issues quickly with a proven track record of success.
Two years after transitioning out of the Army, Clint received a call from a G1 Colonel working in the Pentagon to ask him to come to Washington D.C. Clint had not known that his medal had been upgraded until he was physically flown to the Pentagon to receive the news. Although how he learned that he was receiving a Medal of Honor story is incredibly unique, the process of his transition out of the military is not.
One does not have to be a veteran to advocate for a veteran.
Having heard Clint Romesha’s veteran story, many Fiserv employees were inspired and asked how they could take advantage of CVI and help spread the word to make a difference for veterans. One does not have to be a veteran to advocate for a veteran. Being aware of the resources available or highlighting AWP’s CVI can make a difference. CVI is a resource one-stop-shop for veterans that benefits companies across the country, as Clint eloquently put it. Listening to a veteran’s story like Clint’s can create a call-to-action for many veteran and non-veteran employees. It creates an environment of support, empowerment, and acknowledgement for what the veteran went through, and continues to go through, even after transitioning out of the military. One important factor for any company to understand is that transitioning out of the military is a continuous process, as Clint stated. Any veteran and any company that has veteran employees, needs to recognize the importance of taking advantage of resources like CVI, which can help tremendously in advocating, representing, and helping improve the lives of veterans and their families.
About the Corporate Veteran Initiative
America’s Warrior Partnership’s Corporate Veteran Initiative (CVI) empowers businesses to develop and implement workplace solutions to enable veterans to thrive in their careers and become valuable assets to their employers. The Corporate Veteran Initiative accomplishes this by providing businesses with insights, guidance, and training to improve engagement of veterans in the workplace through a three-phase approach: Assess a company’s current workplace culture; Serve veteran employees through a customized veteran-engagement program; and Retain veteran employees by providing long-term guidance and support for both the company and employees.
For more information about CVI, contact Josh Wilson, 706-306-1283 or jwilson@americaswarriorpartnership.org