Command surgeon delivers Veterans Day speech

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (Nov. 10, 2011) "Our veterans are coming home and are unemployed at a higher rate than the rest of the community. We have to fix that. We've got to make opportunities for those Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines to get jobs," the U.S. Army Forces Command's command surgeon, Brig. Gen. Brian Lein, told the almost 500 people attending the Fayetteville-Cumberland County Chamber of Commerce's annual Military Affairs Council luncheon here today.

Naming several recent outreach efforts, Lein acknowledged how exemplary the Fayetteville, Cumberland County and surrounding communities have been for a long, long time in supporting its service members and their Families: "You are the community that supports the Family that supports the Soldier that is the key to the Army."

With regard to the new generation of veterans, he emphasized that "those veterans getting out are going to come back into the workplace and are going to be representatives of us in uniform now. So, we have to be able to pave the road to give them a smooth take-off as they transition from their current careers into their civilian ones."

He noted that thanks to pushing better first aid practices down to the troop level, the speedier evacuation of wounded and the incredible advances in medical and behavioral health care, there are many veterans who are alive today who wouldn't have survived in the past. "They need to be welcomed back into our community and given the resources they need for short-term and long-term care," Lein said.

After his address, the general took a variety of compliments and questions from the audience that ranged from personal experiences on the military's superior care to efforts and organizations devoted to helping veterans.

"Every day is Veterans Day to me," Lein concluded, adding that wherever he goes and is thanked for his service, he knows that it's really thanks for all of America's men and women who have served their country.