Combined Arms, as an idea, in not new. Veteran leaders in Greater Houston have discussed the concept of a veteran collective as a “one-stop-shop” for Houston veterans going back to at least 2008. What was different about 2016 which enabled the transition from abstract idea to concrete model?
The short answer is “many things were different,” but I won’t describe the full suite of differences in this blog post. I do want to highlight one significant differentiator; actionable information.
Two recent studies on Veteran Transition and Reintegration produced common findings & recommendations in two distinct metropolitan areas (See Figure below). “The State of the American Veteran: The Los Angeles County Veterans Study” by the USC School of Social Work and the “2016 TVCA Veteran Community Report” by Deloitte provided the information which substantiated the basis for the creation of the Combined Arms model.
As we continue to execute on the vision of our founders, those paying attention will notice how the common results produced from these two studies are woven into the fabric of the Combined Arms model.
