Veterans, Energy and Job Growth

From Apollo Alliance --

This Wednesday was Veterans Day, and to honor our veterans and their service to our country, the Apollo Alliance published a feature story about veterans’ role in the green economy. The article profiled two green jobs programs—Veterans Green Jobs of Colorado and the Veterans Conservation Corps of Washington state—and the recently launched “Operation Free” campaign that has veterans touring the country to call for federal action on climate change.

Veterans Green Jobs runs a 9-week “Home Energy Auditor Training” (HEAT) for veterans, using a rapid, hands-on “military” style of training and a curriculum that was developed in collaboration with community colleges and industry organizations. Upon completion of the training, graduates receive college credits as well as a home energy efficiency certification. The first class of trainees graduated in June, and another class just began in October.

“We think veterans are uniquely qualified to lead the environmental restoration here at home,” said Kirsten Maynard of Veterans Green Jobs. “Not only have they seen environmental destruction across the world; they also have technical skills and other kinds of work skills that allow them to do the really tough work that needs to be done - like go into homes and crawl in the attic and the basement. They’ve been trained by the military to do it, and they actually feel comfortable being in that kind of environment.”

The Veterans Conservation Corps, which is run out of the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs, puts veterans to work on habitat restoration and protection projects across Washington state. The program has been in existence for four years but has faced challenges recently because state budget cuts eliminated the stipends the program paid veterans for their conservation efforts. The Veterans Conservation Corps has also inaugurated a new program, called Veterans Corps, which is modeled on the AmeriCorps program.

“It’s a revitalization of a mission they had in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Mark Fischer, who runs the Veterans Conservation Corps. “Once they left the military, that mission is gone, and it’s a big loss. When they lose that purpose it can be disheartening and disorienting. We try to create a meaningful job - for a purpose-driven life.”

Operation Free is a new campaign by national security and veterans organizations to draw attention to the national security threat created by climate change. “The reason why national security organizations are taking this as a serious threat is that not only are we [the United States] dependent on oil, but the conflicts that arise from famines, floods and droughts [caused by climate change] multiply the threat of current conflicts and create instability,” said Alex Cornell du Houx, an Iraq war veteran and participant in Operation Free. Operation Free held an inaugural event in Washington, D.C., in September, which was followed by a bus tour by veterans in October.

To read the full article and learn more about these green jobs and climate change advocacy efforts by veterans, visit the Apollo Alliance website.