In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

According to a new report, All Volunteer Force: From Military To Civilian Service, a significant percentage of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan would be interested in volunteering in disaster relief efforts here in the U.S..

The report, written by Civic Enterprises, indicated that 91% of veteran respondents would like to address the issue of “disaster relief” as a volunteer (second only to “helping wounded veterans”) and 88% of veterans said that disaster relief was “important” to them.

The report was commissioned as part of Service Nation’s Mission Serve initiative which aims to more closely bond the U.S.’s service and military communities and better use the skills and talents of veterans to address the nation’s problems at home.

The disaster relief finding is just one aspect of the overall report whose central message, according to Civic Enterprises, is:

“…that a new generation of veterans is returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan without sufficient connections to communities, is enthusiastic to serve again, and points the way forward for how our nation can better integrate them into civilian life. Although the 1.8 million veterans are from every corner of our nation, they are strongly united in their perspectives regarding civic responsibilities and opportunities as they return home.

What’s more, the findings show that OIF/OEF [Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom] veterans are underutilized assets in our communities, and their continued service is likely to improve their transition home. We believe there is significant potential to increase volunteering and civic engagement among this generation of veterans.”