Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., speaks to reporters Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Stephanie Scarbrough/AP)

WASHINGTON — The military and other federal agencies need to better address a perception by young adults that service in the armed forces “puts their lives on hold,” Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., said Wednesday during a hearing about resources for troops transitioning to civilian life.

“We need to be sharing the message about the incredible honor it is to serve. I’m a veteran who took my time in service in the U.S. Navy, training to be a pilot, and then I was a combat pilot,” Kelly said at a joint hearing of the Senate Armed Services and Veterans’ Affairs committees.

Kelly, a former Navy combat pilot and NASA astronaut and now a member of the Armed Services committee, said there needs to be greater focus about training opportunities in military service and the assistance available for retiring and separating service members trying to connect with jobs, health care and resources in their local communities.

The senator said findings from an Army survey on military service showed nearly 25% of young adults polled believed enlisting would put their professional lives on hold.

“This could not be further from the truth,” Kelly said, referring to his own military training followed by college education in engineering that put him on a trajectory to become an astronaut.

“A successful transition to civilian life requires a lot of time and support,” he said. “Thinking about professional development early in their military careers is critical. Those conversations need to begin early on to set them up for success.”

Most of the hearing focused on transition assistance programs administered or delivered by the departments of Labor, Defense and Veterans Affairs. Senators heard about opportunities and challenges connecting departing and retiring service members with jobs, internships and careers, among other services.

Speakers at the hearing — some of whom are military veterans or work with veterans — said active-duty troops and veterans often are not fully aware of the resources or how they can help.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., who is a member of the Veterans Affairs committee, said she has heard from veterans raising concerns about the quality of resources.

“They hand me a VA book and say all I need to know is in there” was among the comments that Blackburn said she has received.

Ryan Gallucci, executive director of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, testified Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, before senators about the importance of successful transitions to civilian life for departing and retiring service members. (Screenshot from hearing)

“A solid transition sets up veterans for success,” Ryan Gallucci, who directs the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Washington, D.C., told lawmakers. Gallucci is the first post-9/11 veteran to hold that position, according to the VFW.

Gallucci said service members who have problems transitioning from military to civilian life might experience “devastating consequences,” such as unemployment, food insecurity and homelessness.

While transition assistance programs include a range of services, from skills assessments to apprenticeships, Gallucci and others testifying Wednesday said programs are not fully utilized.

Blue Star Families, an advocacy group founded by military spouses to empower military and veteran families, is another resource highlighted. The organization provides support, events and other resources at the local level for active-duty service members and veterans.

Tom Porter, vice president for government affairs at Blue Star Families, said programs that extend to marital support will help veterans and their families deal more effectively with the transition to civilian life.

A Government Accountability Office report in 2022 found only 30% of active-duty service members participated in transition assistance programs in the year prior to leaving the military, as required under law.

Kevin O’Neil, an Air Force veteran, is a success story.

He testified about his own transition from the military to civilian life. O’Neil began thinking about and planning his career after realizing that his peers were not preparing for their futures outside the service, he said.

Hearing them talk about their own uncertainties led O’Neil to consider his own future and plan for it.

“I started thinking about the path that I would take following my military career,” said O’Neil, a policy associate with the American Legion.

Anne Sprute, founder and CEO of Rally Point Six and 62nd Airlift Wing honorary commander, speaks at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., in February 2017. Sprute shared her experiences in the military and spoke on the importance of starting the transition process out of the service sooner than later. (Divine Cox/U.S. Air Force)