Five hundred people, including business and military leaders, gathered at Liberty Station Conference Center for the fifth annual San Diego Military Summit on Tuesday, Aug. 5.
This year’s workshops, speakers, and exhibitors focused on transitioning service members who face unique challenges entering civilian life.
San Diego as permanent home
Despite being put on by the North San Diego Business Chamber, its chief executive officer, Chris Thorne, emphasized that the conference is more than a job fair. It is meant to be a connection point on multiple levels to keep transitioning service members in the region.
“Our biggest problem from the industry side is that when the 20,000 plus who leave service every year from Navy area bases and their time in service, San Diego is a tough place to stay if you don’t already have the connection to the community, the job set up, the things that make sure that you can survive in a community like this,” Thorne said.
In addition to business and military leaders, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria was present to kick off the event. He shared that all of his grandparents served. Gloria expressed a desire to keep veterans in the city so that the duty to country could turn into the duty to community.
To that end, the mayor touted his efforts to build housing and improve affordability so the military can thrive here. “We are building a community that honors your service and supports your future,” he said.
With many defense contractors recruiting at the event, Gloria also noted that the industry contributes $63 billion to the region’s economy.
Most of the information was geared towards service members and veterans, but sessions also helped employers, nonprofits, and families learn how to support transitioning service members. A key part of that was to find purpose in service as a way to improve mental health outcomes.
“We are all here to support you and your effort and your successes in finding your purpose and making a difference in this world. Because we need you more than ever. San Diego needs you more than ever,” said JD Dickson, director of military affairs at Wave Neuroscience, during a panel on managing stress during transition.
Employment opportunities
To the employers looking to hire veterans, Rear Admiral Rich Jarrett, Commander of Navy Region Southwest, noted that service members have a global perspective, know how to navigate bureaucracy, and have been taught many technical skills. These administrative and technical skills are transferable for those who seek jobs at city hall, as Gloria suggested, or in the private sector.
Some companies with strong programs to hire veterans sponsored the event, including Lowe’s, Cushman & Wakefield, and National Electrical Contractors Association San Diego Chapter.
San Diego-based National University also sponsored the summit, as a college focused on flexible continued education for adults juggling work, family, and other responsibilities.
The summit comes amid the highest veteran unemployment rates since COVID-19, 3.7% in June, blamed partially on a national hiring freeze and mass reduction in force federally. Audience members noted that the veteran spouses’ unemployment is not tracked by the government and is likely much higher.
Congressional listening session
Jackson Haney flew in from Washington, D.C. for a listening session at the summit. He admitted that veterans must depend on the private sector to step in amid federal employment cuts.
Haney is a legislative assistant on the US Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs for ranking member Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. Haney shared some of the committee’s wins, including passing an exemption so military spouses can work remotely for the federal government amid back-to-office orders.
Other issues, like the complex bureaucratic transition process and workforce reductions at the Veterans Health Administration, remain.
During the listening session, audience members raised several issues, although the lack of resources and support for military spouses as soon as a service member became a veteran was echoed.
One person advocated for the passage of the Major Richard Start Act, which would improve disability benefits for medically retired veterans who served less than 20 years. Another veteran, Chelsea Gray, shared her experience of difficulty accessing her benefits to treat MST (Military Sexual Trauma). She said other women veterans faced similar issues.
Outside the doors of the sessions, halls were filled with people chatting and meeting each other. The networking continued at Stone Brewing through an evening hosted by Veterans Beer Club with Cushman & Wakefield buying the drinks.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
