Veterans Day & Marine Corps Birthday
Today, November 10, marks the Marine Corps’ 251st birthday, tracing its founding to the Continental Congress’s authorization of two battalions of Marines in 1775. Tomorrow, on Veterans Day, we honor those who have served across our armed forces. For me, as a Marine Corps Veteran, these consecutive days bring together pride in the Corps and a broader responsibility to the people who have worn our nation’s uniforms.
The birthday offers an occasion to reconnect with fellow Marines and reflect on the experiences that continue to bind us. Veterans Day extends that recognition across generations and branches of service. We attend ceremonies, exchange messages, and thank Veterans in our communities. Those gestures matter. They acknowledge a commitment that can shape an entire life.
I also think about what follows that recognition. When November 11 passes, how well do our workplaces, schools, and public institutions understand the people they have just honored? Do we recognize their experience when reviewing an application, evaluating a qualification, or deciding who deserves an opportunity to advance?
A recent RAND report, Examining the Evolution of Veteran Labor Market Outcomes, provides an encouraging finding. Using linked Census Bureau data from 2005 through 2019, researchers followed civilian earnings over eight years. Among the post-9/11 Veterans studied, earnings began slightly lower but grew approximately 10 percentage points more than those of comparable non-Veterans, after accounting for observed differences. That measures a difference in earnings growth; it does not mean every Veteran earned 10 percent more.
The study’s boundaries are worth noting. Its sample included approximately 13,000 Veterans who entered the labor market between ages 23 and 35 and had earnings in each subsequent year studied. Federal employment was excluded, and the data did not cover every state. These findings cannot describe all Veterans, particularly those unable to establish or sustain employment. Nor do they establish that military service itself caused the stronger growth.
For me, the findings raise a practical question: How can we help more Veterans build a working life in which their abilities are recognized and developed?
An employer reviewing military experience should be prepared to ask what the applicant actually did. What people did they supervise? What equipment did they maintain? What decisions were they responsible for making? What happened when a plan failed, resources ran short, or circumstances changed? The answers can reveal qualifications that a job title or unfamiliar acronym leaves unexplained.
Veterans have a responsibility to explain their experience clearly. Employers should share the work of understanding it. A hiring process that requires applicants to translate every aspect of their background without an informed listener risks overlooking capable people.
That responsibility continues after hiring. A company that promotes itself as welcoming to Veterans should examine whether its employees receive useful mentoring, fair evaluations, appropriate training, and opportunities for promotion. Counting hires offers one measure of activity. Following employees’ progress over several years offers a better basis for judging whether the effort is working.
Colleges and workforce programs should ask similar questions. Does the education lead toward the work a Veteran wants to do? Are prior skills evaluated carefully? Is someone available to help when a student encounters a problem that threatens completion? These are ordinary institutional responsibilities with consequences that can extend well beyond graduation.
We should also be careful about making employment the measure of a Veteran’s worth. Some Veterans are retired. Some are caregivers. Others live with conditions that limit or prevent paid work. Their service deserves the same recognition, and their access to care and support should never depend on an earnings comparison.
The proposals here are my own conclusions about what meaningful recognition should require. RAND’s research offers a reason to examine Veterans’ civilian careers over time, while leaving room for the experiences its sample could not capture.
As we celebrate the Marine Corps birthday and observe Veterans Day, I hope we make that longer view part of our observance. Attend the ceremony. Call someone you served with. Then consider a responsibility within your own reach: understand an applicant’s experience, mentor a colleague, help a student navigate a difficult semester, or follow through on a request for assistance.
To my fellow Marines, happy birthday and Semper Fidelis. To Veterans of every branch, thank you for your service. May the recognition we share this week be reflected in how we treat one another throughout the year.
Read RAND’s Examining the Evolution of Veteran Labor Market Outcomes for a closer look at Veterans’ civilian earnings and the questions that remain.
What helped you after military service—or what do you wish had been available? Share your experience in the comments. Your perspective may help a Veteran preparing for that transition or an employer seeking to understand it.
Comments