Image courtesy Sierra Club Military Outdoors
No one could have expected what 2020 would have in store for us all. The challenges we faced highlighted our shortcomings as a society, but they also made it clear that people are ready to work together and make life better for everyone, from tackling the COVID-19 pandemic to building a more just society. And even in a year of seemingly unending trials, there were bright spots that bear mentioning. This was especially true for Sierra Club Military Outdoors.
As a campaign, our goal is to make it easier for veterans and military families to get outdoors and heal from the trauma that so often accompanies military service. It’s a simple, bipartisan goal that can be surprisingly challenging to achieve, even in a year without unprecedented challenges. But thanks to the efforts of our congressional champions, partner organizations, and the dedicated Military Outdoors community, we saw incredible victories in 2020 that will make it easier for veterans to heal in 2021 and beyond.
Here are a few:
In November, New York governor Andrew Cuomo signed the Outdoor Rx Act into law. The law creates a task force charged with identifying barriers preventing veterans from accessing New York’s public lands and crafting recommendations on how to make that process easier. Military Outdoors worked closely with state assemblymember Didi Barrett and state senator Brian Benjamin to draft the original bill, build support for it in both parties, and get it to the governor’s desk. The result was unanimous passage in both houses of the state legislature and the endorsement of Governor Cuomo. The task force will be cochaired by Military Outdoors campaign representative Aaron Leonard, and its initial report is due in less than six months. We’re excited to see the results.
Military Outdoors also became involved in the racial justice work that the Sierra Club and other environmental organizations focused on in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis. Specifically, our campaign began organizing for the removal of racist Confederate symbols from all public lands. Whether they know it or not, many veterans have direct experience with some of these symbols. Ten major US military bases are named after Confederate military and political leaders, men who decided to secede from their country rather than face the end of slavery. Our campaign was vocal in opposing these monuments, and we were excited to see that this summer, the Department of Defense decided to prohibit the display of the Confederate flag on military installations. And we pushed for the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act to include a provision that would rename military bases named after Confederates, despite veto threats from President Trump. Hopefully 2020 is the last year we see these symbols of hate standing.
Our biggest victory came late in the year. In December, the Accelerating Veterans Recovery Outdoors (AVRO) Act was signed into law. Like the Outdoor Rx Act, AVRO sets up a task force to identify and eliminate barriers preventing veterans from healing from service-related trauma in the outdoors. But where Outdoor Rx covers New York specifically, AVRO covers all veterans across the country. For many veterans, the path to healing runs through our public lands. With AVRO’s passage, that path will get easier. Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) summed it up in his remarks from the floor of the House of Representatives.
Military Outdoors also added a new member this year. Lindsey Melki joined the team in September as a senior campaign representative. Lindsey is a West Point graduate, Army veteran, and former Blackhawk helicopter pilot. In her new role, Lindsey is developing and overseeing the implementation of national and local partnerships and chapter engagement to build a stronger, locally grounded campaign for all veterans and military family members.
At Military Outdoors, we know that veterans and military families experience real, positive effects of spending time in the outdoors. For these veterans and their families, the outdoors offer a chance for respite and healing. It has been difficult for all of us during this pandemic, but weeks of safer-at-home orders, while necessary to stop the spread of COVID-19, have made it difficult for the veteran community to begin or continue the healing process. For now, Military Outdoors is continuing to postpone any in-person outings but, once it is safe to do so, we will continue to offer veterans stability and community on their healing journeys. 2020 was difficult, and the challenges it presented are ongoing, but there is still much to celebrate. The outdoors will still be there for us once this is past, and we look forward to being there with you again.