After defending our country in locations all around the world, many veterans find more battles await them when they return home. A new initiative was announced today to support and ease the reintegration of returning service members, veterans, and their families as they search for jobs and support services.

Retired Gen. George Casey, former chief of Staff of the Army, and AmeriCorps Director Bill Basl joined officials from Points of Light, ITT Exelis, and a coalition of 55 veteran and military service organizations, nonprofits, and government agencies from across the country to announce the Community Blueprint launch.

The Blueprint's mission is to improve the outcomes for the more than 1 million military members who will come home during the next five years as they seek access to services and support that will enable them to become future leaders and problem-solvers on the homefront. The idea for the initiative sprang from a 2010 gathering involving a coalition of military support organizations, and its goal is to establish 200 cities and towns as Community Blueprint communities by 2014.

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is proud to support this effort, and Basl attended the event to lead this year's class of the Veteran Leader Corps (VLC) in the AmeriCorps pledge. The VLC currently operates in seven states and its members serve in volunteer centers and workforce development nonprofits while they enhance their leadership skills by supporting America's soldiers.

This just one of the many veterans' groups CNCS is supporting with $6.2 million in AmeriCorps grants this year alone. In addition to the 27,000 veterans involved in national service, CNCS programs serve 600,000 veterans and military families in more than 200 communities nationwide. Some of the services CNCS provides include employment placement, behavioral health counseling, community rehabilitation, homeless veteran support, and financial literacy.

“Today we welcome even more veterans into the AmeriCorps program as part of Points of Light's Veteran Leader Corps,” said Wendy Spencer, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. “We are honored to work with our partners in the military and nonprofit communities to create economic opportunities for veterans and their families.”

In the spring of 2011, a Marine stood on the porch steps of his new home in Annapolis, MD. He was not thinking about the beautiful row house that he would now share with his wife and four children, but was looking down at the porch that he helped build with his own hands. He was contemplating his spirit of service with a renewed vigor and hope.
 

Paul Reickhoff, president and CEO of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, has an idea about a great, untapped American resource. He believes national service models based on AmeriCorps to harness and leverage the skills of military veterans and can “help people think about us as the cavalry, not as a problem."
 

As we celebrate the 4th of July, we celebrate our patriotism and the millions who have shown their love of country by wearing the uniform. There are a few Veterans among us -- 16,000 so far -- who came home and volunteered for a second time and served their communities though AmeriCorps.
 

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) just announced a tremendous commitment to support veterans and military families at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service. From expanded grants to increased “people power” in areas of need, we are ready to stand with our soldiers to provide opportunities that will help them continue their service here at home while we serve their special needs.
 

For an aging individual coping with the loss of mobility, lack of proper foundations in and around a home can lead to difficulties remaining independent and mobile. This is especially true of our nation's veterans and as a nation, we have a duty to take care of these individuals how have sacrificed so much for our country.
 

My grandmother lived in Texas, and she would remind me that everything was bigger there -- including their hearts. The work of one person, empowered by a Corporation for National and Community Service program, demonstrates how thousands of people are making a Texas-sized impact on the lives of our nation's veterans.
 

African American History Month has ended, and while the official celebration is over, our contributions to society don't end on any given particular day. Likewise, our African American service members continue to contribute and make history, even after they take off their uniforms for the last time.
 

Service has many meanings. To a member of the Armed Forces, service is duty, pride, and honor. Those of us who wear – or have worn – the uniform have a deep sense of conviction and purpose.
 

Today, a group of young men and women, many of them veterans, will stand up and pledge to “get things done for America”. They will join a legion of more than 750,000 Americans who have served in AmeriCorps and become the first class to also serve as VetCorps members.
 

Helping homeless veterans get off the streets feels like work Duane Magee was made to do, and his tireless quest puts him behind the wheel for thousands of miles each year to find them. He is living proof to vets that recovery from homelessness and incarceration is possible because their story is his story, and his quiet mission to assist them led to his nomination for a 2012 Martin Luther King Drum Major for Service Award.
 

Of the 130,000 veterans in Idaho, more than 30,000 are registered with the Idaho Department of Labor to receive employment resources and job training. However, budget cuts have put this program in jeopardy.
 

Many years ago, I stepped off a plane from Iraq and onto the tarmac at Pope Airfield in Fort Bragg, NC. The scene was filled with open arms, cheers, the sound of muffled grunts of joy as weeping kids jumped into the arms of their parents, and spouses' soft cries of love and longing. The sounds of reunions were deafening as they bounced off the high walls of the hangar -- it was a sound that I welcomed, and remember to this day.
 

As America's heroes return from war zones and transition back into civilian life, many are facing challenges finding work. Last month, more than over 857,000 veterans were unemployed, and the jobless rate for post-9/11 veterans is 13.1 percent.
 

As America's heroes return from deployments abroad and transition back into civilian life, many are facing challenges in finding employment. With the unemployment rate among recently returned veterans hovering around 12 percent, these men and women who volunteered to courageously serve our country should not have to return home with bleak opportunities in sight.
 

Madison Street Veterans Association began about three years ago with a group of homeless veterans living in an emergency shelter in Phoenix. The veterans decided that they should band together to improve the conditions in the shelter for themselves and any veterans who showed up in the shelter. What a difference they made!
 

The mood was merry when Dr. Jill Biden hosted a fourth-grade class from White Oaks Elementary School in Burke, Virginia at the Vice President's Residence on Monday, Dec. 12. The festive event focused on helping children understand the challenges faced by military families during the holiday season.
 

Operation Honor Card has successfully collected 14,000,000 pledged hours of service from Americans who want to honor military families and veterans through acts of kindness, big and small, showing appreciation for their sacrifice.
 

When our armed forces return from combat, the impact it has on their lives is lasting, though not always evident. For many, they are returning with invisible wounds, that left untreated, can turn into scars.
 

On the National Service blog, the past few weeks have been dedicated to veterans. We've shared stories of WWII and Gulf War vets, of vets inspiring and helping young people, and of vets serving their country on the battlefield, and off.
 

Veterans Day should remind us that our veterans deserve much more than our thoughts and kind words. The transition from the battlefield back to civilian life is never easy, but long and multiple deployments and a weak job market make this one of the most difficult times ever to be a veteran.
 

Supporting our nation's troops, veterans, and military families is critical to our national security and to strengthening our communities. It is also a top priority for of Corporation for National and Community Service, stemming from the bipartisan Serve America Act.
 

Among the milestone events that have marked our nation's history, World Word II is one everyone knows of but few remember. The heroes of that war, their shared sacrifice and their continued dedication, shows they truly are the greatest generation. Montana's Bernard Mulder, 89, is one of these heroes.
 

Veterans Day is a time to reflect on the sacrifice that veterans have made for our country and an opportunity to create a more meaningful experience for the veterans in your community. One way you can create a lasting memory of service is to record the story of a veteran in your life and contribute it to the Veterans History Project.
 

Veterans Day is a time to reflect on the tremendous sacrifices that military service members and families have made while protecting our nation.
 

On Veterans Day, November 11, we honor the brave men and women who have selflessly served our country and risked their lives to protect our freedoms. There are many ways to give back to the more than 23 million vets who have sacrificed so much.
 

It's no secret that personal attention in the classroom can deliver big results on a report card. For children of military families, that extra kindness can be even more crucial.
 

Chuck Hundley, a Marine Reservist throughout college was never deployed overseas because his skills as an AAV Technician were needed back in the states. That didn't stop him from trying however, “I wanted to go so badly and support my fellow troops, but I got the orders to stay back.”
 

Todd Schnittke proudly served his country during the Gulf War as a Multiple Launch Rocket System Technician from 1989-1993. Yet, he had a will to continue his service to the United States that never disappeared. Now, he proudly serves under another title – AmeriCorps member at the AMVETs Career Center in Mansfield, Ohio.
 

As Veteran's Day nears, we look to honor those of the "Greatest Generation" who so valiantly served our country during World War II. Today, these heroes are still serving today – tutoring and mentoring at-risk youth, serving veteran and military families, and helping fellow seniors stay independent in their own homes.