Military members are known for their extreme drive to support and protect Americans at home and abroad, as well as their unwavering commitment to the civilians in their communities upon returning stateside from service overseas. Veterans play a crucial role in many communities and, because there has been so much work to be done to improve the livelihood of all Americans in the past few years, they have been invaluable in many local areas across the nation of late.
"The job of a veteran is never truly finished."
The job of a veteran is never truly finished, and the training received while going through boot camp and serving in combat can be easily applied to some of the demanding jobs that need to be covered in civilian life. One group of veterans is working to contribute to the improvement of certain areas in one major city through simple projects, and this is expected to have a relatively large impact on the municipality's residents in the near future.
Rebuilding a broken city
Military Times recently reported that Operation Motown Muster, a deployment of sorts involving volunteers who served in the military, was launched by a Missouri-based nonprofit called The Mission Continues to help revitalize underserved areas of Detroit. According to the news provider, this current project has the biggest scale of any launched by the group, and includes dozens of veterans who will contribute to construction, beautification and rebuilding projects in some of the toughest areas of the Motor City.
"When you're not part of something that's bigger than yourself, you lose that identity. You become isolated, and a lot of us tend to go to dark places," Denver resident and post-September 11 veteran Ben Eichel told Military Times. "So, The Mission Continues was there and got me involved in the community. It helped me reintegrate in civilian society effectively, because I learned that I'm not just a veteran."
The source pointed out that the deployment aims to clear out empty lots, beautify certain parks and create an art gallery out of a dilapidated classroom in the city, while individuals involved in the project will spend several days completing the projects.
"We believe very strongly that military veterans are really uniquely poised to help try to solve some of these community challenges all over the country,"one of leaders of The Mission Continues and former Marine combat engineer Mary Bruggeman told Military Times.
Reciprocating the assistance
The Times-News reported that one community in Burlington, Vermont, has pulled together to work on a construction project that will give a veteran who lost his ability to walk while serving in Afghanistan a new home. This is just one of countless stories in which communities work to support veterans in their area, and shows the value of reciprocating the support and assistance military members give to civilians throughout their careers and long after retiring.
Veterans and civilians working together to complete projects can help to unify communities and assist in the process of re-acclimating service members to their lives at home.