
New Mentorship program to link generations of vet leaders
Former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, right, speaks to fellows with HillVets during a reception near the White House. A new leadership program being launched by the group will pair young veterans with mentors like Hagel to learn about leadership. (Courtesy of HillVets)
Capitol Hill advocates are hoping to help ready the next generation of national veterans leaders by having them learn from the current ones.
Officials from HillVets this week announced a new mentorship program that will feature big names from the world of veterans and national security policy: former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel; House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Phil Roe, R-Tenn.; former Air Force Secretary Deborah James; and former Army Secretary Patrick Murphy, among others.
Group organizers in recent years have worked to increase the number of veterans working on Capitol Hill in a variety of policy and support roles. The new effort, they say, is the next step in that work, helping to find leaders from that group of professionals who can shift their focus to even broader policy and messaging work.