Today, I was introduced to the article by Capt. Meehan, Ret., US Army, A Parade? One Vet's Dissent. Please take the time to read it.
Capt. Meehan is right that the media and the politicians portray Veterans in extremes by "either emphasizing [their] heroism beyond comprehension or their propensity to erratic violence."
The Rambo image of the broken hero was selling movie tickets back in the 80's and still does today; that is why journalists and politicians embrace this over and over.
If we look at the Military as a peacekeeping force whose priority is to provide safety for the local population...
If we go further and empower the Veterans to explain the positive experiences associated with their peacekeeping operations overseas...
If we listen to the Veteran's ideas, get inspired by their experiences, and create veteran owned business opportunities...
...we will remove a large part Rambo's broken hero image and replace it with an inspirational image.
I would have very few questions for Rambo while I had a lot of questions for the 18 Marines we interviewed. They fired my creativity for building new businesses such as schools in Afghanistan and supporting the education system in Afghanistan by building Internet points in high schools and secondary schools.
I see a Veteran as an experienced, hands-on scholar in the Afghan and Middle Eastern culture and a mentor to great business ideas. He can tell a much better lesson than one given at a class at NYU or Columbia.
Lets give our veterans the business the credit they deserve. That is why we established (G.I.V.E.) Global Initiative for Veteran Entrepreneurship.
Join the conversation and check more the Veteran Blogs here.
Francesco Rulli
follow me @rullifrancesco
