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The men and women who serve in the armed forces are "the best and brightest our country has to offer," Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao said today.

At the Labor Department's Salute to Veterans ceremony, Chao said veterans' "patriotism, sense of duty, commitment and sacrifice make our freedom and way of life possible."

Those same traits make servicemembers ideal employees, she said.

Charles S. Ciccolella, assistant labor secretary for veterans' employment and training, said there's a myth that U.S. servicemembers choose the military because of limited employment opportunities. "I think you can look around and see that's absolutely flat wrong," he said. "Today's servicemembers are not only smart, they are well-educated. They are very highly motivated, and they are part of the best military this country has ever seen."

He said servicemembers are valued and revered by the American people, and that when they leave the military, employers seek them out. "They have the characteristics that matter the most: courage, honor, integrity, loyalty and leadership," Ciccolella said.

Chao said all Americans owe veterans a profound debt of gratitude and that her organization is proud to play a role "in helping these courageous men and women access the resources and services to succeed in the 21st century work force."

Chao spoke about the agency's role in regulating and enforcing the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994. This legislation protects the rights of veterans returning to the private sector after active duty. New easy-to-read implementing regulations have cut the number of complaints under the act by 31 percent. Chao urged all servicemembers to learn their rights under this legislation.

Chao also spoke about the Veterans' Employment Training Service, which helps servicemembers transition to civilian jobs, and the Labor Department's HireVetsFirst campaign. "Next week, the department will hold the first-ever National Veterans Employment Summit in Norfolk, Va.," Chao said. "This one-day summit will bring together America's top employers and senior government officials."

In addition, the summit will feature a HireVetsFirst job fair with 65 companies participating.

"The men and women who serve in our armed forces make our freedom and way of life possible," Chao said. "Our country is free and a better and safer place because of them. We owe each of them a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid. They are there for us; we need to be there for them."

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It's too bad some of our other politicians don't realis this.

I wish that EVERY SINGLE AMERICAN knew this absolute fact. I feel very fortunate to have been born and raised in a city that literally grew together with a very old and respected Army Base. We have been together so long that we combined our names. I live in Lawton Fort Sill, Oklahoma. The military represents our best and most law-abiding citizens, and we feel very fortunate that many thousands of retired military people decided to stay here. Our police officers stand at attention and salute returning veterans, and they also get police escorts to the homecoming events on base. I'm very proud to live in a city where we always try hard to show proper respect and appreciation for those who preserve our freedoms and way of life. The city has really tried in many ways to adopt them and treat them like our own sons and daughters, and some of them are our own sons and daughters. We are very proud of them and try hard to never take them for granted.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Matthew 4:4 NASB  But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'"

I still say that Lawton Fort Sill sounds like my kind of place.