Four fun facts for Military Appreciation Month

Those who serve in our nation’s military and their families have made and continue to make huge sacrifices to protect our country. U.S. Military service members do more than fight; they perform rescue operations, provide natural disaster relief support, secure embassies, deliver medical assistance to impoverished areas, and much more.

Since May is National Military Appreciation Month, we couldn’t resist sharing these four fascinating facts about our military:

1. Women have been involved in the military since its inception.

In the beginning, women held many roles with the military as cooks, seamstresses and nurses. But did you know that women also held other extraordinary roles? One of the earliest examples is a woman hired a female spy during the Revolutionary War in 1775! Some women even wore disguises to look like men so they could fight on the frontlines in both the Revolutionary and Civil wars.

2. The U.S. has thousands of military installations.

There are more than 5,000 military installations across the world, and more than 4,000 of them are right here in the United States! Bonus fact: SourceAmerica^® and its network have support contracts in more than 150 of them.

3. Dogs have always played an important role in the military.

Did you know that in every major conflict, man’s best friend worked alongside U.S. service members? It was not until World War II, however, that their work was officially recognized. During this time, Doberman Pinschers worked as scouts and messengers in a U.S. pacific operational command. Today’s military working dogs are, fully trained bomb canines.

4. The military has a massive support operation behind it that includes people with disabilities.

SourceAmerica and its network of around 700 nonprofit agencies support thousands of service members nationwide through the AbilityOne^® Program, one of the nation’s largest sources of employment for people who are blind or have significant disabilities. These employees perform a variety of tasks including laundry, food service, custodial duties, and working in call centers. The almost 40,000 people with disabilities, including more than 3,000 veterans, that are employed through this program, take pride in the work they do to support the U.S. military. 

SourceAmerica honors our military service members and their families. If you’re a veteran looking to be connected to potential employers, resources, and opportunities in your area, check out our Veterans Program or contact us at VeteransEmploymentProgram@SourceAmerica.org.