We are good at recognizing the moment a veteran puts on the uniform. We celebrate enlistment, deployment homecomings, and the day a servicemember earns the title “veteran.” We are less prepared, however, for what happens when that uniform comes off. The schedule changes. The unit disperses. The structure that once shaped every day is suddenly gone. And for some veterans, something else is gone, too: a sense of purpose, identity, and belonging.

Military service provides more than a job. It gives people a mission and a sense of purpose. It creates deep bonds with the people they serve beside and a clear understanding that what they do matters. When that experience ends, the transition to civilian life can be about far more than finding a paycheck. It can mean figuring out who you are when the role that defined you is suddenly behind you.

There are invisible wounds of military service that are real and deserve serious attention. Veteran mental health challenges can extend far beyond the trauma of combat. Sometimes the struggle is harder to name. It can be the loss of connection, structure, and purpose that comes with leaving military life. We cannot simply tell veterans to “move forward and leave the past behind.” We can ask, “How do we help you find a new path, new connection, and new purpose?” We can come alongside and help create roads that lead to healing and hope.

Meaningful work can be part of a veteran’s new mission. So can community, mentorship, volunteering, faith, and the simple experience of being needed by other people. None of these things replaces professional mental health care when it is needed. But they can give someone reasons to keep going, people to count on, and a sense that their contribution still matters.

October’s focus on mental health is a good reminder that checking on our loved ones, friends, and teammates does not require us to diagnose them; it requires a conversation. It starts with noticing when someone seems different, picking up the phone, inviting them to dinner or asking a question and being willing to listen to the answer. We cannot always tell who is struggling by looking at them, and we cannot wait for everyone who needs help to ask for it.

We would do well to consider more broadly what support looks like. Sometimes it is clinical care. Sometimes it is a veteran organization helping someone navigate resources. And sometimes it is an opportunity to put hard-earned skills to work in a place where those skills have tangible meaning.

That is the thinking behind the new Veteran Workforce Development Program launched by the Airpower Foundation. In partnership with organizations including the Four Sixes Ranch, Pitchfork Ranch, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, and the Texas Veterans Commission, this program is connecting veterans with employment opportunities on farms and ranches across America.

At first, putting veterans to work on farms and ranches might sound like an unusual workforce strategy. But think about what those jobs require. You have to work as part of a team, solve problems when things don’t go according to plan, and, you once again take up the responsibility of caring for our country — this time by providing food for our tables. It’s finding purpose in a new mission. Those are not foreign concepts to someone who has served in the military.

Agriculture also offers something increasingly rare in modern work: a tangible connection between effort and purpose. You can see what you accomplished at the end of the day. You can see the people, animals, and land that depend on you. Research backs up that connection. A peer-reviewed study examining an agricultural program designed for veterans found improvements in areas including mental, physical, and emotional health, vocational skills, and community connectedness. Research also shows that veteran-focused agricultural programs can help address veterans’ desire for community and connection while introducing them to an industry facing its own workforce challenges.

There is something powerful about that idea. These men and women spent years protecting the American people. Now they can help feed them.

The mission has changed. The instinct to serve has not.

That is why supporting veterans after their military service should not be limited to thanking them for what they did yesterday. We should help them find meaningful ways to contribute tomorrow. And that responsibility belongs to more than veteran-service organizations. Employers can open doors. Communities can create connections. Friends and family can check in. Farmers and ranchers can recognize the skills veterans bring with them. All of us can help make sure that leaving the military does not mean leaving behind a sense of purpose and belonging.

The Airpower Foundation is working to build those bridges, connecting veterans and their families with resources, relationships, and opportunities that can help them move forward. To learn more about Airpower’s programs, including its Veteran Workforce Development Program, and to find out how you can help support those who have served, visit airpowerfoundation.org.

Melissa Kithas is the executive director of the Airpower Foundation. She leads programs and partnerships focused on honoring, supporting, and empowering military servicemembers, veterans, and their families through innovative solutions, strategic collaborations, and meaningful community engagement.