Always learning, always serving

Happy Veterans Day to all of my friends, battle buddies, and colleagues! Our shared experience in service to our country is like no other.

I love connecting and reconnecting with fellow veterans as there is an unspoken kinship to what we've experienced. We've participated in humanitarian aid missions, traveled the globe, learned how to manage remote teams across multiple countries, and bring diverse perspectives together to accomplish a common goal.

We need more veterans and public health experts in elected office, now more than ever. Check out my interview on Cincinnati's Local News 12 this morning to learn more.

Why run for office?

Are you an advocate or subject matter expert in your field? Are you frustrated by policies that impact you, your family, or your community, and you want to improve them so others have a better experience?

I decided to run for Congress in 2016 for all of those reasons. I fell through many loopholes in the laws that are meant to serve as a social safety net for veterans returning from deployment.

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act often referred to as USERRA, is great, in theory, but is it actually enough in today's operational tempo and rapid deployment schedule?

If we look to news articles and fact sheets, it seems obvious that we need to push our lawmakers and newly elected officials to close the loopholes in the laws to better serve our reservists as they transition in and out of civilian life, over and over again during their careers. The lag in obtaining medical care, orders, and VA disability ratings can not only delay veterans' ability to receive the healthcare they need but also put them at risk for job and income loss.

I speak from experience.

I deployed in 2012 and needed one service-connected surgery. It took a Congressional Inquiry, that employees at the VA counseled me strongly against, and 2.5 years to get that surgery approved. Because of the delay, I found myself in the hospital, having emergent back surgery on Veterans Day 2014.

The original surgery was finally approved and scheduled for February 2015. I sent an email, notifying my employer of my surgery in December of 2014. In January of 2015, two weeks before my final service-connected surgery, I was notified that my position was being eliminated and I was being laid off--indefinitely.

Here's the kicker and what many reservists face every day. As a reservist, I wasn't on orders at the time and therefore USERRA didn't apply. How do I know? I filed a complaint with the Department of Labor.

My medical orders arrived two weeks after my surgery.

Orders are also how reservists get paid.

No orders, No income.

No orders, No Job Protection.

I use this example only to clearly illustrate where some seemingly small and insignificant details in the eyes of policymakers can have really profound and unsettling outcomes for veterans and members of our military.

What Can I Do?

This has been the most powerful question to positively direct my mind each day. Rather than focus on the injustice or the problem, instead of being frustrated by what hasn't yet happened or what can't be done, I ask, What Can I Do? It's amazing how asking this one simple question can help find positive solutions so quickly.

Every morning and evening I also ask, what can/did I learn and how can/did I serve today?

Asking these questions has led me to take meaningful actions toward positive change.

With encouragement from a mentor, I founded the Midwest Women Veterans Coalition earlier this year. It's not another dues-paying membership organization. We are a grassroots network of women veterans and allies, who serve to be a deployable asset to advance legislative priorities, promote change, and create awareness about issues of importance to women veterans.

If you identify as a woman veteran or ally, I invite you to join our fast-growing community across the Midwest and as far-reaching as D.C., Texas, Florida, California, and Puerto Rico -- all are welcome!

If you or a friend are interested in running for office but aren't sure where to start, send me a message or get a copy of my new book, Candidate Survival Guide - Leadership for the Campaign Trail.

We need more veterans and public health experts in elected office, now more than ever. Be a part of the solution and ask, "What Can I do?"