NATIONAL PETITION

To:  The Office of The President of the United States, Congress and The U.S. Military

Petition Objectives:

Lower the rate of suicide and accident deaths during re-integration among Veterans; and to help Veterans and their families better prepare for the trials of homecoming and transition from military to civilian life.

Tenets of the Petition:

Petition Part 1 

Veterans -

• A Petition to mandate the Department of Defense (DOD) to develop and implement a program of re-integration preparedness training for all military personnel prior to and immediately following separation from military service with special care for combat and combat related job specialties.
• Just as ”boot camp” and basic training transforms a civilian into member of the Armed Services of the United States, this ”homecoming preparedness training” must be thorough, professional, tested, and effective.

Petition Part 2

Family  -

• Working with the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop and implement a nationally standardized and readily available homecoming preparedness training for families, employers and caregivers of Veterans.
• This training will have particular emphasis on families developing an understanding of the needs of Veterans with visible and invisible wounds from exposure to combat and extreme experiences.

To view the Colorado State Resolution: Click Here

To view the modification of the resolution content for future states: Click Here

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

1. Sign the petition

2. Encourage your state to file a state resolution in support of the petition (see below)

3. Like us on  Facebook  |  Follow us on Twitter  |  Subscribe to us on YouTube

In lieu of Federal action, several states have registered their support for the tenets of the petition via state resolutions.

A special thank you and tribute is given to Adam McCabe who worked on the initial stages of the petition project, Adam is a former Marine and OIF Combat Veteran who became a passionate advocate early on and led a grass roots petition signature drive based from Carbondale Colorado. He was a driving force in getting out the message and awareness of the petition through a series of community projects, speaking events and Rotary presentations. Adam and legislators for the State of Colorado drafted a resolution using the talking points authored by Purple Star Co-Founder and OEF Army Combat Veteran, Danny Facto and his father. In February of 2014 The State of Colorado passed a resolution to officially adopt the Purple Star Veterans and Families Petition to the President.  As a result, Colorado became the first state to officially pass such a resolution, and consequently, Purple Star volunteers and advocates in many states are now proposing similar state resolutions.