America’s military veterans and their families have a unique perspective on how service helps create a sense of common purpose in our nation. How can their experience and example help us strengthen that purpose to build a more unified democracy? Ellen Gustafson, Executive Director and Co-Founder of We the Veterans and Military Families, and Cory Johnson, Co-Chair of the Travelers Military/Veterans and Allies Diversity Network, joined Janice Brunner, Group General Counsel and Head of Civic Engagement at Travelers, to explore the rewards of civic service and engagement.

What did we learn during the webinar?
Here are the top takeaways from Discovering Common Purpose: Veterans and Military Families on the Rewards of Civic Engagement. Watch the full webinar replay here.

Military life can create a culture of unity. Gustafson was inspired to found We the Veterans and Military Families after a challenging experience raising three young kids during a pandemic while her husband was deployed: “My best assets were my fellow military spouses, many of whom I had nothing in common with on paper. We were not from the same places. We didn’t have the same backgrounds. We didn’t have the same politics.” The unity that emerged from such a disparate group got her thinking, “What else could happen if this community got together in the way my small unit did?”

Military service is a natural bridge to civic service in communities. Johnson noted that people join the military for many reasons, but no matter why you join, the military helps create common ground surrounding service to your community. “Something that is amazing about the armed forces is that regardless of the reason why you joined the military, when you’re done, you’re always going to have this innate sense of patriotism. That’s actually one of the reasons I joined my local school board,” Johnson said. “I got out of my 14-year career in the military, and I still had a need to give back.”

Veterans and military families offer a unique skill set. “Skills that you learn in the military, like being able to listen and talk with people regardless of their background, can really be an asset when you’re moving into a civic engagement role,” Johnson said. Veterans and military families also often need to be adaptable. “I think an amazing skill is the ability to bloom where you’re planted and see what’s best in different areas of the country,” Gustafson said.

Community is key. In the Travelers Military Veterans and Allies Diversity Network, employees with many different connections to the military come together with a common goal. “We support military veterans, military-connected employees, spouses and family members. What’s interesting is 60% or more of our members at Travelers are allies, or what we consider maybe not a directly military-connected employee,” Johnson shared. “One thing we do as a diversity network is to help veterans and military-connected families in the community.”

There are many ways to make a positive impact. If you’re looking to strengthen a community, Gustafson suggested that helping to support and connect with military families can be a great place to start. “No matter what sort of things you’re interested in or passionate about, there are military family and veteran groups connected to them,” Gustafson said. “The other thing is cross-cultural collaboration. I think the bridging of the civil/military divide is just as important.” Johnson said that offering an individual perspective can also be very helpful. He added, “There are many opportunities to give back to your community. School boards, counties, cities, townships and states all have advisory councils where they need input from people that want to donate their time to talk about real issues.” He also shared some advice: “If you’re out there right now thinking: I want to give back. I want to be more civically minded. Should I do that or not? I would say yes, you should, and you can start now.”

This dialogue is part of the Travelers Civic Conversations series in which Citizen Travelers – Travelers’ industry-leading, nonpartisan civic engagement initiative – and the Travelers Institute are teaming up to host discussions examining critical questions among leading thinkers in civic engagement and learning. We look forward to showcasing more fascinating and important convenings in the months ahead. Stay tuned and thank you for supporting the important work of the Travelers Institute and Citizen Travelers.

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