Middle Tennessee State University’s senior adviser for veterans and leadership initiatives wants to change the narrative embracing those who have served in the U.S. military.

Keith M. Huber, who served 38 years in the U.S. Army and retired as a lieutenant general, is planning an information-exchange conference titled “Veterans in Motion” for Rutherford County leaders. It will be held Thursday, Jan. 24, at the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau, 3050 Medical Center Parkway in Murfreesboro.

Keith M. Huber, retired U.S. Army Lt. General and senior adviser for MTSU veterans and leadership initiatives, addresses the crowd at a 9/11 Remembrance ceremony. (MTSU file photo by Andy Heidt)

Huber said he knows some veterans face homelessness, endure horrific injuries, battle drug and alcohol addictions, and many commit suicide. He’s also aware that there’s an even larger segment of veterans who are moving forward through additional education and expanded careers.

Huber said he plans to invite more than 30 county leaders in hopes that the session will help veterans find a pathway of continued service in community and business.

“This is an information exchange with the leaders and officials who set the conditions for veterans and their family members to enter the next chapter of their life, still with the desire to continue to serve,” Huber said.

Bill Ketron

Mike Krause

“This narrative is for the vast majority of our veterans who are not in a crisis action situation,” Huber added. “These are successful, well-established military and their family members who now find themselves in a completely different environment than when they served. … They seek sources of accurate and unbiased information to describe opportunities not only for them to give back, but for them to enter the community and employer leadership.”

In addition to Huber, speakers are expected to include:

• Bill Ketron, Rutherford County mayor and an MTSU alumnus.
• Mike Krause, Tennessee Higher Education commissioner and a veteran.
• Paul Latture, Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce president.
• Dr. Hilary Miller, director of the MTSU Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center.
• Jennifer Vedral-Baron, VA-Tennessee Valley Health Services director, overseeing the Nashville and Murfreesboro VAs and others in Middle Tennessee.

Paul Latture

Dr. Hilary Miller

Jennifer Vedral-Baron

Huber said he also hopes a member of Gov. Bill Lee’s new team will be able to attend and speak as well.

Viewing a “Veterans in Motion” graphic, which features silhouettes of six veterans depicted walking into their individual futures, Huber became thoughtful.

“You look at those silhouettes,” he said, “and you see very clearly young men and women, sons and daughters of America, mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters of America in uniform, along a path of transition through, perhaps, academics and then into the business world.”

“These veterans in motion are constantly moving and constantly moving forward, and they’re entering the next chapter of their life,” he added. “So this information-sharing conference, this awareness collaboration, is ‘veterans in motion’ on a path toward continued service.”

MTSU’s student veteran population is approximately 1,000, which includes family members.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)