Today I was able to testify on Alaska House Bill 24. I think I did OK on this one. Used a question posed to me as the theme of the speech which was “Why is a veteran different than a fireman or policeman?”
Here is the type written speech. I did not say it verbatim as I didn’t want to sound “canned” in my testimony, but here it is for all the world to see in it’s entirety. I hope you like it.
Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Members, Ladies & Gentlemen
My name is Karl LeRay, and I am the Chairman of the Alaska Veteran’s Business Alliance and I am here to support House Bill 24.
Recently, as I spoke in support of this bill I was asked “What is the difference between a veteran and a Fireman/Policeman?” and my answer is simple:
A Fireman or Policeman is connected to the community they serve. They are connected to their family and the neighborhoods they live and work in.While a Fireman can be placed in harm’s way, they know the type of harm they encounter.
While a Policeman may come to harm under unusual circumstances, they are not under constant threat of violence in a location hundreds or thousands of miles from home.
The serviceman is taught to overcome obstacles regardless of circumstances. They are taught (most at a very early time in their lives) to relinquish all ties to family, community, and depending upon where deployed – religion. Many of you have heard the saying “If the service wanted you to have a family, they’d have issued you a set.”
Servicemen typically does not connect well with the local community, this is due to the fact that communities typically sees the serviceman as a transient…they will be gone in a couple of years. For the soldier and their families ties to friends get cut as the soldier is reassigned continuing the disenfranchisement.
This tends to create a group of people & families that don’t connect with the civilian populace off base, thus easing their transition from one base to the next.
The disabled veteran typically considers him or her self a failure because the injury received caused them to no longer be part of the mission or the unit they serve with. Also that pain is not easily shared with others (the adage of “suck it up and drive on” is a mantra to the serviceman and woman).
Veterans typically have trouble adjusting to civilian life, I know this myself as I had to cope with working with people who either misunderstood my speaking or needs. It took over a decade for me to be able to work in a corporate environment and not consider myself an outcast. I look back and laugh that I spent two hours in front of the closet going to my first interview because for the first time in my adult life, I had to decide what to wear to work. I was 39 at the time.
If I shared with you that sleeping with a gun at my side is sometimes more comfortable than sleeping with a pillow, and you did not know I was a veteran and PTSD sufferer, what would you think of me?
Now that I’ve said all of this I’d like to point out that I do not feel I’m better than a Teacher, Fireman, Policeman, Nurse and so forth. I feel that it was my duty to ensure that anyone could have a career in any one of those fine fields.
I’d just like to finish again highlighting the community aspect.
On career day, you’ll see schools inviting a Doctors, Nurses, Firemen, Policemen and so on. How many school career days do you see a soldier?
Thank you all for your time today to listen.
Hopefully I was able to shed some light on the differences and help make HB 24 a success for Alaskan veteran businesses.
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