Successful Veterans Braintrust Event Draws Hundreds

Press Release

Congressman Charles Rangel hosted his annual Veterans Braintrust forum last month, bringing together members of the Obama Administration, two of today's highest-ranking Black military officers, and a crowd of over 200 veterans, civilians, and caseworkers, to discuss the importance of addressing soldiers' transition from military to civilian life.

"As a veteran of the Korean War, I have experienced the difficulty of transitioning to the real world after a tour in combat," Rangel said. "I went from being a respected and decorated staff sergeant while in the military to being viewed as nothing more than a high school drop out. I was able to navigate my way using the GI Bill to obtain my undergraduate and law degrees, but not everyone is as fortunate."

The Sept. 25 forum, titled 'Coming Home: Transition from Military to Civilian Life,' addressed the thousands of veterans who negotiate family life, jobs, education, and healthcare after discharge from the military. The Congressman has introduced legislation, H.R. 1963, that seeks to ease that transition by offering servicemen and women the vital training and information they will need to assimilate successfully upon discharge.

"Although we have a very effective Department of Veterans' Affairs, thousands of today's veterans are falling through the cracks. Most of those who flounder are simply not aware of the assistance available from the VA and other service organizations," Rangel said. "Our vision was that any veteran who walked into this session lost or disillusioned about the future − after hearing our speakers − would walk out feeling that the VA was there for him or her."

The event, also hosted by Reps. Corrine Brown and Sanford Bishop, featured a keynote from President Obama's Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, the first four-star general of Asian descent in U.S. military history and an early critic of the flawed strategy in the lead-up to the Iraq War.

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Two of the morning's featured speakers touched on their experiences as high-achieving minority members of the military, including General William 'Kip' Ward, today's highest-ranking Black military officer and only the fifth African American ever to be promoted to the rank of four-star general. He serves as the first-ever commander of the newly formed U.S. Africom, one of six geographic commands within the Department of Defense tasked with training African soldiers and delivering aid and resources to the continent's residents. Rear Admiral Michelle Howard also dazzled the crowd with her stories as the first African American woman to command a ship in U.S. Naval history. She led the highly publicized effort to rescue U.S. cargo ship Captain Richard Phillips, who was captured by Somali pirates last April.

The event closed with a panel discussion featuring distinguished scholars and representatives from the federal agencies, educating the audience on the benefits available to veterans in the areas of education, mental health, employment, and housing.

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