April 2023 by American L.
With a couple of my young Veteran cousins, I recently met VIQTORY, a military Service-disabled Veteran-owned small business, at The G.I. Jobs Virtual Career Expo, and The Military Friendly® Virtual Career Event, which are virtual recruiting events. It owns and operates Military Friendly®, a designation that creates better outcomes for Veterans. By setting a standard, then promoting it, Military Friendly® provides positive reinforcement for American organizations to invest in programs that improve the lives of Veterans. That's good for Veterans, good for the organizations and good for America. Military Friendly® is a standard that measures an organization's commitment, effort and success in creating sustainable and meaningful benefit for the military and Veterans community.Military Friendly® believes we live in an era when the value of military Service in the business world is unquestioned and unmatched. Our nation's military members more often than not perform highly skilled jobs using state-of-the-art high-tech equipment in the most challenging situations around the world. They develop real-world experience and global diversity. They are leaders who work well in teams and are truly mission-oriented. Veterans are graduates of the premier training institution in the world. VIQTORY likes to call them "military alumni."What a change from when I was Honorably Discharged during the Viet Nar war. One moment I was Active Duty overseas on an American base, and the next I was Honorable Discharge on a plane heading stateside to my country that openly didn't like its US Armed Forces Service-members or its Veterans. I was and remain of the opinion I had done my Duty and that people should have been angry with the politicians who sent we GIs to the wrong war as the military doesn't start wars, politicians do. And usually politicians who hadn't Served. I myself ended up against the Viet Nam war and had joined Sir! No Sir!, the very large GI movement to end the Viet Nam war.Military Friendly® believes government, employers and colleges know this change, which is why they compete to attract military and Veteran candidates as employees and prospective students. What this means is that Veterans have countless opportunities on where they can put their skills and benefits to use.A business having an Active Duty and Veterans Discount is Military Friendly is clearly an easy and inexpensive way, and a Patriot way, o create a positive impression of the business among people in and outside of the Military and Veterans Community. Over and over 95% of current and past Military Personnel and their families say that they notice when companies are Military-Friendly and Veteran-Friendly; and that an Active Duty and Veteran Discount is what gives an immediate and positive first and lasting impression to any business. That also means 95% of current and past Military Personnel and their families notice when companies are NOT Military-Friendly or Veteran-Friendly and when companies DON'T have an Active Duty and Veteran Discount and that gives an immediate and negative first and lasting impression to any business.Today, 22 April, is Earth DayU.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson, U.S. Army WWII Veteran Lieutenant who had Served overseas in the Okinawa Campaign, a Democratic junior Senator from Wisconsin, had long been concerned about the deteriorating environment in the United States. He grew up and was educated in the local public schools. In 1939, he received a Bachelor's degree in Political Science at what is now known as San Jose State University in San Jose, California.In January 1969, Nelson and many others witnessed the ravages of Union Oil's massive oil spill off Santa Barbara, California.Inspired by the student anti-war / pro-Peace movement, Senator Nelson wanted to infuse the energy of student anti-war / pro-Peace protests with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution. Senator Nelson announced the idea for a Teach-In on college campuses to the national media, and persuaded Colonel
