Wounded Warrior Careers
Under a Memorandum of Understanding with the US Army, NOD is helping severely injured veterans to move forward on career paths—and documenting the approaches that work.
Watch the following video to hear these veterans' stories and learn what NOD is doing to help.
Thanks to OnSlot Creative for producing this video.
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- Background
- Strategy
- News & Reports
- Supporters
Background
Since 2001, more than 500,000 military personnel have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan with disabling conditions, many of them severe enough to be life-altering.
These disabilities often demand a long and difficult period of recovery and adjustment — but they need not be a barrier to civilian employment, income, and independence. Too often, seriously wounded service members lack the training and resources to adapt their military experience and new disabilities to successful civilian careers. The waste of their talents and abilities, and its impact on thousands of military families, is a completely preventable national tragedy.
In 2007, the US Army asked the National Organization on Disability (NOD) to design a solution. The result of this collaboration is the Wounded Warrior Careers Demonstration, in which hundreds of the most severely injured veterans and their families have begun planning and preparing for careers, enrolling in school or training programs, taking jobs, and moving ahead.
In three years, the Army and NOD have built a scalable model and helped hundreds of veterans and their families successfully reintegrate. This effort is further detailed in NOD’s Wounded Warrior Careers Demonstration Program brochure.
Strategy
The following are the key elements of the Wounded Warrior Careers demonstration program:
- Intensive Career Supports: NOD Career Specialists help veterans and their family members explore career options, including education and training, to ensure that veterans have every chance to become a successful member of society.
- Proactive and Prolonged Personal Engagement: NOD does what it takes to connect with veterans and families. We know every soldier on our caseload and reach out to them to help plan and attain economic self-sufficiency and career fulfillment.
- Evaluation and Best Practices: The demonstration collects data to learn what works best to ensure career progress for veterans and their families, and to make those lessons more broadly known.
- Family is the Unit Served: The AW2 program was designed by the Army to serve the family. NOD’s Career Specialists help veterans and their families meet their career goals so that the family unit can be strong and effective.
News
Pittsburgh Run for Wounded Warriors Supports NOD’s Veteran Career Program
Pittsburgh, PA, November 15, 2011 — The 2011 Run for the Wounded Warrior was held on November 12 in Pittsburgh, PA. 600 participants honored the brave men and women who have served our country and returned home with service-related disabilities.
NOD Facilitates Veteran Employment Discourse
Washington DC, September 28, 2011 — NOD hosted a convening of 30 senior members of the military, public agencies, service providers, and employers Wednesday to discuss the career supports that work most effectively to assist veterans with severe disabilities in obtaining employment. This is a growing population, with over 110,000 veterans in this category since 2001. The convening included a presentation by NOD, as well as a discussion of ways in which agencies can work both individually and together to provide the necessary supports.
NC Funder Applauds NOD’s Wounded Warrior Careers Program on Memorial Day
CHARLOTTE, NC, May 30, 2011 — Mary Piepenbring, Vice President of The Duke Endowment, applauds NOD's program as "providing hope for hundreds of [veteran] families." Her comments appeared in the Memorial Day edition of the Charlotte Observer, as well as in the Department of Defense blog.
More News
For more information, contact Bill Lockwood.


