Since 2017, July 25th has been observed as National Hire a Veteran Day. Marine Corps veteran Dan Caporale founded the day to raise awareness of veterans transitioning to civilian life and the skills and benefits they can bring to non-military jobs.

Every year, some 200,000 military people leave the uniformed services and seek new careers. Competing for a civilian job can be daunting at first, but many organizations and companies throughout the United States have programs in place to help them recruit and hire veterans. During their military service, veterans acquire many valuable skills and areas of expertise that can provide tremendous value to organizations in the civilian sector.

Here are just a few of the many reasons to hire veterans:

-Vets are used to following schedules and rules while remaining flexible and adapting to rapidly changing situations.

-Vets have been trained to plan for and deal with unforeseen events.

-Vets are resilient and can perform well in situations where there is uncertainty and stress.

-Vets are skilled at working in different types of environments, from an office to being out in the field or on deployment. They have experience working in highly challenging settings.

-Due to their previous training and experience, vets are able to learn new skills and take on new responsibilities quickly.

-Vets tend to have more training in different types of advanced technology than their civilian peers.

-Vets are skilled at building and being part of a tightly cohesive team.

-Vets have already been employed in a culture that puts tremendous importance on accomplishing missions, developing oneself personally and professionally, and cooperating with others. They bring those values to any role they take.

-Vets gain leadership skills early in their service, and those skills and leadership responsibilities increase as they advance through the various ranks of the military. By the time they leave active service and are ready to transition into the civilian workforce, vets are skilled and experienced leaders.