Eric Greitens, CEO of The Mission Continues, received the 2009 HOOAH Award from the National Conference on Citizenship. This award recognizes the contributions of a citizen soldier who exemplifies service to country both in uniform and beyond. Eric has released a new book about the importance of service called “The Heart and the Fist,” which chronicles his story of leadership through humanitarian outreach and military duty. NCoC Executive Director David B. Smith recently caught up with him about his views on civic engagement at a recent book release.

David B. Smith: When did you decide you that you wanted to be a soldier? Was it always a childhood dream?

Eric Greitens: If you’d asked me as a child what I wanted to be when I grew up, it’s unlikely that I would have said “soldier” or “sailor.” Like most boys, my brothers and I pretended to shoot each other with Wiffle ball bats and we lobbed plastic bowling pins as pretend grenades. I remember liking the movies Top Gun and Rambo, and I was intrigued by the idea of special operations, but only because I associated it with camouflage. In other words, I was just a boy. I don’t know that as a child I really had any more interest in the military than I did in dinosaurs or outer space or the St. Louis Cardinals.

When I worked in Croatia, however, and sat in a shelter and listened to the man who’d been victimized by torturous militiamen, and when I worked in Rwanda and stood at the open door of a church full of skeletal remains, it became more and more clear to me that all of the articles, dissertations, protests, and policy papers in the world had their limits. Sometimes, talking, negotiating, and volunteering to bring food just didn’t cut it. It took people with courage to protect those in need of protection.

While I continued to study at Oxford, I read up on the SEALs and went to London to meet two SEAL officers. By the time graduation came, I had to choose between teaching at an academic institution, working at a consulting firm, or joining the US Navy. In the end, I decided that the SEALs would be the best way for me to serve. I signed the papers as soon as they were placed in front of me.

DBS: In addition to being a Navy SEAL, you’re a Rhodes Scholar, founded a nonprofit, and somehow found time to write this book. How do you reconcile being a humanitarian, a scholar, and a warrior all at the same time?

EG: For me, what ties together the roles of humanitarian, warrior, or scholar are the underlying values. Over the years, I've been blessed to work with volunteers who taught art to street children in Bolivia and Marines who hunted al Qaeda terrorists in Iraq. I’ve learned from nuns who fed the destitute in Mother Teresa’s homes for the dying in India, aid workers who healed orphaned children in Rwanda, and Navy SEALs who fought in Afghanistan. As warriors, as humanitarians, they’ve taught me that without courage, compassion falters, and that without compassion, courage has no direction. To serve others well, it really does take both the heart and the fist.

DBS: How did you set the balance between the heart and the fist, especially at war?

EG: Courage and compassion as two sides of the same coin. You can see this in the way SEALs and other special operations forces carry out their missions. SEALs are frequently misunderstood as America’s deadliest commando force. It’s true that SEALs are capable of great violence, but that’s not what makes SEALs truly special. Given two weeks of training and a bunch of rifles, any reasonably fit group of sixteen athletes (the size of a SEAL platoon) can be trained to do harm. What makes SEALs special is that we can be thoughtful, disciplined, and proportional in our use of force.

In Iraq, I saw a group of Rangers blow through a door behind which they believed there was an al Qaeda terrorist, take aim at the terrorist, assess that he was unarmed, and then fight him to the ground and cuff his hands behind his back. They did this while other Rangers, at the very same time, in the very same room, positioned themselves over a sleeping Iraqi infant girl to
protect her and then gently picked her up and carried her to an Iraqi woman in another part of the house. As my boxing coach Earl used to say, “Any fool can be violent.” Warriors are warriors not because of their strength, but because of their ability to apply strength to good purpose.

DBS: Having contributed over 2,750 volunteer hours to The Mission Continues, what do volunteering and community service mean to you?

EG: For me, it's just helping the person next to you, whether it's a neighbor in your community at home or your battle buddy in Iraq. I went through SEAL training with many incredible teammates, and two that stood out for me were James Suh and Matt "Axe" Axleson. When Axe was pinned down by the Taliban in a firefight in Afghanistan in June 2005, Suh boarded a helicopter to fly in for a rescue mission. The helicopter was shot down that day and both men died. If you had asked Suh what he was doing, he would have told you that he was going in to rescue a friend.

Through our work at the Mission Continues, we try to live the same values of service because that is the best way to honor the fallen. It's why we do service projects and offer fellowships to wounded and disabled veterans.

DBS: What type of programs does “The Mission Continues” offer to veterans?

EG: The Mission Continues provides opportunities to veterans through two programs-- a Fellowship Program and a Service Projects Program. The Fellowship Program challenges post-9/11 wounded and disabled veterans to serve once again in their communities. A typical fellowship covers 28 weeks, during which the Fellow serves at a local charitable organization for 20 hours per week. Each Fellow receives a monetary stipend to offset living expenses.

The Service Projects Program challenges veterans of all eras and civilians of all ages to serve their country by serving their communities. The Mission Continues engages veterans as leaders of our service projects, mobilizing them as one of our nation's greatest assets. The program also mobilizes civilians to serve alongside veterans, supporting their efforts and showing gratitude for their sacrifices.

DBS: How challenging is recruiting veterans for community service and ensuring they remain volunteers for the long term?

EG: The Mission Continues has found that recruiting veterans for community service is a simple task. Veterans who come home from the war have not lost their desire to serve. They have committed to serving their country, so it is only logical for them to serve in their communities.

In a recent publication by Civic Progress, more than 90 percent of veterans report that serving their community is important to them. The Mission Continues simply makes them aware of meaningful service opportunities and empowers them to utilize the skills and leadership developed in the military here at home. As a nation, it is our duty to recognize veterans as an asset and call them into action in the community.

DBS: How do the communities benefit from volunteer service performed by veterans, and how do the veterans benefit from the opportunity to give back?

EG: Veterans are one of our nation's greatest resources. This country makes an incredible investment in the training of our military men and women, and our communities can benefit from the refined skills and leadership of veterans. By using their strengths through service here at home, veterans become mentors, teachers, nurses, coaches, and citizen leaders for their communities.

Veterans also benefit from service. They are trained to work as part of a team to accomplish a mission and achieve a greater good. Too often, our veterans lack structure and purpose after leaving the military. Many also come home having lost a limb or struggling with PTSD. The greatest injury for a veteran, however, is a loss of purpose. By providing veterans with an opportunity to continue their life of service at home, we can help to renew a sense of purpose.

DBS: This book tells an amazing story of an extraordinary American citizen. What do you hope it accomplishes?

I hope this books provides some ways for people to think about how to deal with the frontlines in their own lives. The frontlines is the place where your hopes and your dreams for yourself and the ones you love come right up against the reality the world presents to you. For some that means trying to find a way to live with purpose, especially after they’ve suffered some kind of setback. In my work at The Mission Continues, I see this every day with wounded warriors or their family members who are trying to reset the direction in their life.

Other times, the frontlines is the turning point where people are trying to figure out their own potential for service and the difference that they can create in the lives of others. I get questions from people who want to know about Navy SEAL training (considered the most difficult military training in the world), people who have decided to take on a big challenge, people who are concerned about veterans, or people who are thinking about doing some kind of service work in their community or overseas.

I hope the book is a good way to put a lot of the stories together in one place where people can find something that’s meaningful for them. It’s certainly not a book on answers, but I do think that the stories of the people that I’ve lived with and worked with provide some clear strategies that can be meaningful to all of us.

DBS: What’s next for The Mission Continues? What’s next for Eric Greitens?

EG: The Mission Continues is at the forefront of changing how we welcome home veterans. After World War II, we figured out how to welcome home a generation of warriors. Veterans came home to create a good peace, and they rebuilt the country we have today. After Vietnam, we failed. We did not do enough to empower them or address their needs (including PTSD). Today, we have an opportunity to welcome home a new generation of veterans returning from the Global War on Terrorism.

Right now, the battle looks uncertain. Veterans returning from war are carrying home the burden of war in more ways than one. Among young men returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, the unemployment rate is 21%. Male veterans are also twice more likely to commit suicide than their civilian counterparts—and according to a government report released in January of 2011, that number is rising quickly. For young female veterans, the rate of suicide is three times as high as their civilian counterparts. In addition, one in five veterans is suffering from PTSD or major depression.

On the positive side, we have a tremendous outpouring of support for our veterans. This support is a crucial part of welcoming home veterans, but good intentions do not guarantee good results. We need to recognize veterans for their strengths and provide them with opportunities to fulfill that potential. If we can combine that outpouring with effective ways of capitalizing on the potential of veterans, I believe we can win this battle. So for now, we at The Mission Continues will keep working towards that goal of ensuring that all our veterans will transition successfully into civilian life and become citizen leaders here at home.