JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, and Rajiv Chandrasekaran, author and noted war correspondent with The Washington Post, talked with soldiers and family members as they signed copies of their book "For Love of Country: What Our Veterans Can Teach Us About Citizenship, Heroism, and Sacrifice" at the Fort Lewis Post Exchange Nov. 17.
Schultz said the book is an attempt to elevate the national conversation on veterans and to reintroduce a swath of the American public to the military and veteran population - whom both men felt had been painted with a broad brush.
Schultz has pledged that Starbucks will hire at least 10,000 veterans and spouses over the next five years and has hired more than 1,000 in the last 10 months. Shultz travels the country meeting with small and large business owners to discuss the benefits of hiring veterans.
"I have seen firsthand the value, how much [veterans] bring: their leadership skills, integrity, ethics and problem solving -- all things that a business needs," said Schultz. "Everyone we've hired has either met or exceeded our expectations and added so much to our company."
Schultz said the key to recruiting and retaining veterans has been to employ veterans in the human resources department and to encourage mentor relationships to form within the Starbucks Armed Forces Network.
He also said Starbucks and other companies are partnering with the Department of Defense Transition Assistance Program to work with service members as they transition out of active duty service rather than waiting until afterward.
For recently retired Lt. Gen. Michael Ferriter, the previous commanding general of Installation Management Command, organization is the key to helping veterans transition. Present at the event, he thanked Schultz for his leadership and commitment to the cause.
"I believe that now more than ever [it's time] to infuse our veterans' character and integrity into America. Every time one of our veterans goes and gets a job somewhere, the place where they land, or their spouse lands, gets better that day," Ferriter said.
He said employers will quickly realize that these service members understand how to work hard and are excited to have an opportunity to prove themselves.
"The number of people who need jobs and careers is finite. It's calculable. We can figure it out," he said.
As part of the larger campaign to foster understanding between the one percent of citizens who serve and the rest of society, the book discusses the heroism of service members on the battlefield and the contributions they make on the home front.
"These are stories that years ago would have been shared around dining tables in America but because so few serve, there are so many people who have become disconnected from the military spirit," said Chandrasekaran.
"[They] are not by any stretch of the imagination the extent of the heroism and valor demonstrated in these wars. We see them as [representative] of the remarkable actions of this generation of service members," he continued.
Proceeds from the sales of the book will be donated to the Onward Veterans fund.
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