In 1993, I witnessed my father transition out of the Army after 21 years of service. As an Army Brat, I had always celebrated my father’s career by proudly attending holiday gatherings, attending DOD schools, and celebrating change of commands. But during that summer, I witnessed something different. He no longer put on his military uniform, and instead left the house in civilian attire. He had transitioned into the private sector workforce. It wasn’t easy. But he hustled everyday to make a name for himself at his new company. It was a side of my father I’d never seen before. One where there was a huge uncertainty about how the company would receive him, and more importantly would they understand all the value he could add? And now instead of his team backing him up, it was my mother helping as he prepared for a project in our home office. There was an obvious shift in how his work life had evolved.

16 years later, we discussed what had occurred and what he went through during his transition. He had taken a pay cut, was set up at a cubicle next to the copy machine, and the company thought he was overqualified. This Retired LTC was in a major state of shock but at age 43, he wasn’t ready to “really retire”. He still had so much to offer—contributions the private sector needed, but just didn’t know how to utilize. And so here we are, two years into GuideOn, where we translate military skills and jobs into terms most civilians will understand. We’ve launched an open community LINE1.org to facilitate training and guidance to prepare for transition. And we work with companies to better understand what our veterans can do in the workplace, even with a lack of industry experience. We open eyes every day. Those of employers who never considered veterans for specific roles; and those of veterans themselves who are transitioning and unsure what careers are a match.

This veterans Day, we want to focus on honoring our veterans beyond a day. Let’s bring awareness to companies and organizations to support veteran employment all year round. From recruiting, to hiring, to on-boarding and then retention; companies have a lot to learn about the US Military Culture. A culture of hard work, loyalty, leadership, technical skills, problem solving, and job skills from Human Resources to Business Analytics; just to name of few.

No longer can companies just commit to making statements about hiring veterans. Statements are not enough. To really drive change, we need to ensure that veterans find the right jobs, those that truly match their skills. We need to ensure the companies understand the capabilities and talents each service member develops over their career. And we need to ensure that veterans are empowered to learn about companies and find the best career path they want.

We can't solve this in one day, but through #BetOnVets, a movement to help veterans transition into the workplace, it's clear people want to help and want to change how the private sector approaches veteran hiring. If you’re a veteran, if you’re a company who wants to hire veterans, or if you want to see veterans succeed in their next mission, join #BetOnVets starting today and keep spreading the word beyond November 11 to support veterans as they find their post-military career. Together we can make the transition easier from military to civilian life.