Veteran Cultural Competence Training
The transition from military to civilian life can be challenging, often creating gaps in understanding between veterans and those supporting them. These disconnects can impact care and connection, especially in professional and clinical settings.
Research shows suicide risk is highest during this transition. Deepening understanding of the veteran experience helps providers and professionals offer more effective, meaningful support.
About the Training
The Veteran Cultural Competence Training is a dynamic, 3-hour online learning experience that immerses participants in the realities of the veteran experience. Focused on the challenges of military-to-civilian transition, it addresses socio-emotional needs, communication strategies, and bias awareness.
Participants gain practical tools to better engage and support transitioning servicemembers. Led by experienced facilitators, the training explores military culture and strategies for building meaningful connections. Veterans share personal stories to foster understanding and community, while interactive breakout sessions and role-playing reinforce skills in a collaborative setting.
Learning Objectives
By the end of the training, participants will be able to:
- Identify personal beliefs and attitudes toward veterans and utilize strategies such as mindfulness, slowing down decision-making, and seeking diverse perspectives to reduce the impact of these biases on professional interactions and decision-making;
- Demonstrate, through role play, communication strategies such as empathy, open-ended questioning, and reflective listening to more effectively engage with veterans and transitioning servicemembers;
- Develop an action plan to implement veteran-inclusive practices in their communication strategies; and
- Differentiate key elements related to military service (military branches and ranks, worldview, values, experiences, and needs).
Who Should Attend
- This training is intended for anyone who currently provides services to, or employs veterans or their families.
- This includes medical or mental health professionals, business leaders, HR executives, administrators, and university faculty and staff.
Please Note: The Veteran Cultural Competency training is an entryway to joining the Onward Ops Veteran Sponsorship program, equipping you with the foundational knowledge needed to effectively support a veteran through their transition. By completing this session, you’ll not only gain valuable cultural competency but also fast-track your onboarding process as a sponsor.
Continuing Education
Attendees are eligible to receive 2.75 Continuing Education (CE) Credits of ACCME, APA, NYSED-P, ASWB, NYSED-SW and NBCC.
Presented By
Become a Veteran Sponsor with Onward Ops
Attendees who are interested in becoming a veteran sponsor to help support transitioning servicemembers are invited to an additional 1-hour sponsorship training session immediately following the Veteran Cultural Competence Training.
The VA Veteran Sponsorship Initiative (VSI) is a VA evidence-based approach aimed at supporting military veterans as they transition into civilian life. This initiative connects veterans with mentors and sponsors in the community.
Before service members transition, sponsors help by listening to their concerns and helping to connect them with valuable resources that will aid in the transition process.
During the transition, sponsors check in with the service member regularly to provide support and introduce them to local veteran’s organizations and resources. After the transition, the sponsor keeps in touch and continues to be a supportive presence. Sponsors are not expected to have all the answers but rather is a source of guidance and support.
A key component of VA VSI is support from Onward Ops, a community-based transition program for military service members powered by the ETS Sponsorship Program (ETS-SP), a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization.
If you are interested in becoming a sponsor and attending the 1-hour training following the Veteran Cultural Competence Training, please complete registration with Onward Ops.
By signing up, you are not committing to becoming a sponsor immediately or at all. You have the flexibility to decide when or if you want to start.
Thank You to Our Esteemed Partners
The Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC) at the James J. Peters VA Medical Center in the Bronx is an internationally recognized leader in understanding, treating, and improving outcomes for Veterans with serious mental illness (SMI).
The Transitioning Servicemember/Veteran And Suicide Prevention Center is a team of researchers, clinicians, consultants, experts, and Veterans dedicated to improving the transition from military service to civilian life for transitioning Servicemembers/Veterans (TSM/Vs).