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Eric Greitens, the founder of a nationally acclaimed organization that helps seriously wounded soldiers find renewed purpose in civilian life, urged local officials to help foster the potential of veterans in their communities.
Speaking during the closing session of the MMA Annual Meeting on Jan. 22, Greitens said, “As public leaders, we not only have to challenge [wounded veterans], but we have to support them in the right way.”
Greitens co-founded The Mission Continues in 2007 after returning from service in Iraq as a Navy SEAL. The nonprofit helps place and support severely wounded or disabled veterans in meaningful jobs or volunteer work.
Drawing on a compass metaphor, Greitens described the aim of The Mission Continues as helping veterans alter their lives “by just a couple of degrees, so that they can find a way to continue to live with purpose here at home. … The promise that we make them is that if they are willing to do that, we will find a way for every single one of them as citizens to continue their lives of service.”
Among the challenges that injured veterans face, according to Greitens, is learning a different version of courage.
Soldiers who “made the decision to put on their body armor, load their rifles, get into a Humvee, drive into a place like Fallujah, blow through a door behind which they believe are Al-Qaeda terrorists, are men and women of unquestionable physical courage,” he said.
“And yet the fact is that when they come home, they’ve lost a limb, they’ve lost their hearing, they’ve been burned,” Greitens continued. “Many of the men and women spend 18 months, perhaps two years, inside of their homes, because they are afraid of what people might say when they come out. They are afraid that they will not be able to find a way to live with purpose again.”
Following a new path requires the courage of perseverance, Greitens said.
“For any wounded or disabled veteran, there are going to be moments when they fail,” he said. “What we have to do is let them know that the challenge remains.”
Greitens told the story of one veteran who was presumed dead after a grenade tore through him. The veteran spent several years in rehabilitation, and he now teaches karate to low-income children in an after-school program.
A former humanitarian aid worker, Greitens has also published a book of photo essays about recent global trouble spots, including Bosnia.
“Think about in your cities and towns how difficult it is to ensure that every child gets a quality education,” Greitens told local officials. “Now think about how difficult it would be in a refugee camp.”
In the Bosnian camp where Greitens served, community leaders worked with their neighbors to ensure that the children in the camp would receive some schooling.
“Everyone came together because they had leaders who were truly willing to challenge people,” Greitens said.
In response to a question about post-traumatic stress disorder, Greitens said, “When men and women go out and begin to serve again, the symptoms start to abate. It’s not an injury that’s permanent.”
Greitens also challenged municipal officials to embrace his compass metaphor and dedicate themselves to changing direction if it is necessary to improve their lives or to build stronger communities.
For more information about Greitens’ organization, visit www.missioncontinues.org. In closing remarks, MMA President Josh Ostroff, a Natick selectman, said the MMA will work with Greitens’ organization to get information out to cities and towns.