Admiral John Harvey, US Navy Retired And Former Secretary Of Veterans And Defense Affairs, Virginia, On Military Appreciation And Transition

ADM John Harvey — Fri, 04 May 2018 13:08:23 -0400

May is National Military Appreciation Month. This includes Loyalty Day, VE day, Military Spouse Appreciation Day, Armed Forces Day and Memorial Day. It is essential to remember that despite where we are in our careers, especially after we transition out of the military, we should demonstrate our appreciation and support for our fellow servicemembers. I believe the main effort we should all deliberately pursue in demonstrating that appreciation is simple: to provide tangible forms of support to our fellow servicemembers as they transition into civilian life.

I am glad to have served in the Navy for 39 years. After retiring, I made the decision to further show my appreciation towards the military community by serving as Virginia’s Secretary of Veteran Affairs. My time serving in the Navy and as Secretary made it clear to me how vital it is that we each take the initiative to show our appreciation to our fellow servicemembers.

We can demonstrate appreciation as individuals, meeting with Veterans who ask for our time to talk about their transition, helping those Veterans we recognize could use it. We should also be proactive, offering to meet Veterans who may not have the comfort to ask for help. For areas we can’t personally provide support, we can suggest resources that fill the gaps we sense are present in another Veterans’ life.

We can also demonstrate appreciation by encouraging the organizations to which we belong to do the same. I have seen a number of organizations step up to go above & beyond the call of duty, including:

Navy Federal Credit Union –Over my career, I have seen NFCU show leadership as an organization in supporting the veteran transition, seen through the educational content they produce to arm servicemembers with good financial sense: https://www.navyfederal.org/life-money/military-transition.php. I knew we had gaps in the financial training that we provided our servicemembers and I was happy to see NFCU use their expertise in their industry to help fill those gaps.

Syracuse University & its Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) – As an organization that connects higher education to a rigorous approach for supporting military Veterans and their families, IVMF is a model for partnership across public and private organizations to innovate and deliver valuable programs to our military community.

Virginia VA – During my time as Secretary, we worked to create opportunities for veterans, servicemembers and their families by expanding access to benefits, employment opportunities, education and many other resources to help them thrive in and out of the military. I am proud to share that we made Virginia the first state to functionally end veteran homelessness.

Military Appreciation Month stands as a reminder that our fellow servicemembers deserve our appreciation throughout the year, and more than just repetitively hearing the phrase “Thank you for your service.” If you feel you do not have the resources or capabilities to deliver the needed support, be the connector to guide them towards the organizations and people who can.

-Admiral John Harvey, US Navy, Retired; former Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs for the state of Virginia, 2014 -2017.

NFCU is our offical sponosr of Military Appreciation Month on RallyPoint. To learn more about their special offers for RallyPoint members, visit - https://www.navyfederal.org/thanks.

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Response by SPC Margaret Higgins made May 4 at 2018 1:47 PM

SPC Margaret Higgins — Fri, 04 May 2018 13:47:28 -0400

You gave me the idea to help my group members; with their transition to civilian life. And, I thank you profusely for your idea, Sir.

Response by SSgt Timothy Prevost made May 4 at 2018 3:34 PM

SSgt Timothy Prevost — Fri, 04 May 2018 15:34:10 -0400

ADM John Harvey Sir, all great topics here. I appreciate how much time and effort you have shown the veteran/ military community both as a Marine Veteran myself and a member of NFCU.

As a leader we often try to help our subordinates manage their money wisely and advise as such based on knowledge and past experiences. I found it very hard to inform my Marines on wise spending when they got to the fleet an after deployment. Each one of those are periods of time Junior Military members see a decent amount of money in their accounts they may not have seen before. NFCU being directly involved with the military as a financial institution. I wonder if there has been developments on improving financial situations of junior military members in the form of guidance given on money management for the active military community. I'll do more research my self accordingly. Thanks for posting Sir.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made May 5 at 2018 11:45 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 05 May 2018 11:45:45 -0400

Thank you for all you have done for us sir!

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made May 7 at 2018 11:16 AM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Mon, 07 May 2018 11:16:16 -0400

Thank you Admiral for the great article.

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Feb 28 at 2022 12:43 PM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 12:43:52 -0500

Excellent and informative share ADM John Harvey

Response by Cpl Vic Burk made Feb 28 at 2022 2:22 PM

Cpl Vic Burk — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 14:22:03 -0500

ADM John Harvey Excellent share sir.