Mississippi State University’s Center for America’s Veterans was awarded a grant from the Aurora Foundation to take part in the military green zone program.
Ken McRae, director of the Center for America’s Veterans, said his staff got the idea from Virginia Commonwealth University, applied and received the grant to set up the military green zone.
“We were looking for grant opportunities where we could increase support of veterans on campus,” she said. “This was a great way to do it.”
The Aurora Foundation, located in Fairfax, Va., gives grants to colleges and universities for the advancement of veterans’ opportunities on campus and to help veterans assimilate into the campus community. The foundation also helps veterans find internships at different corporations across the country.
McRae said support, array of information, transitioning and understanding are the four main focus points of the military green zone.
“Going from a very structured environment to the college environment, sometimes our veterans struggle with that, and this would help them overcome some of those challenges,” she said.
The military green zone is also focused on providing veterans and dependents with benefits that may be hard for some to find.
“There are difficulties in finding and applying for benefits from various government segments and organizations,” McRae said. “This will help them find those. It’s more support than what you would get from the university system.”
She said the last focal point of the program is crucial in connecting the veterans with educational programs.
 ”Veterans have unique needs. They may be physical, they may be mental, they may be academic preparation, but they are all unique to the individual and what they have gone through in their military careers,” McRae said. “Dealing with those issues is very critical to getting the veteran through the educational system.”
Faculty and staff at MSU have the opportunity to be a part of the military green zone by becoming a military green zone mentor. McRae said being a mentor would include staff opening their offices as a place where veterans can always feel welcome.
“What we are trying to do is move a little bit of those support mechanisms out to other parts of the campus,” McRae said.
The program will officially kickoff Friday, Sept. 21 at 2 p.m. in the lobby of the YMCA building. Bill Kibler will speak, along with retired Colonel Tom Leavitt who is a member of the board of directors of the Aurora Foundation.

Gallery • 1 Photos