( CNN ) -- In 2007 , while serving as a Navy SEAL in Iraq , my team was hit by a suicide truck bomb . As I made my way through the debris of our barracks , ears ringing , choking on chlorine gas , I looked down and saw blood . I soon realized that the blood was not mine , but was from my friend Joel , who had been an arm 's length from me . When I came home from Iraq , I visited with Joel and also went to Bethesda Naval hospital , to meet with recently returned wounded Marines . I asked each one of them , `` what do you want to do when you recover ? '' They all told me , `` I want to go back to my unit . '' The harsh reality , however , was that many of them were not going to return to their units . Their injuries were severe . They had lost limbs , the function of a lung , hearing . So I asked them , `` If you ca n't go back to your unit right away , what else would you like to do ? '' One Marine told me that he 'd like to return to his community as a football coach and mentor . Another Marine said he was considering becoming a teacher . Still another wanted to work at Bethesda , counseling other wounded veterans . As I left Bethesda that day , I knew that I was part of a long line of visitors and well-wishers that would pass through those halls , thanking veterans for their military service . But after my conversations , I realized that these men and women needed to hear more than , `` Thank you . '' They also needed to hear , `` We still need you . '' In order for their transitions back to their communities to be successful , in order to find the same purpose they felt in uniform , they needed to be challenged . At The Mission Continues , we challenge veterans to serve and inspire in communities across America . We are creating successful transitions by engaging returning veterans in six-month fellowships at nonprofit and public service organizations in their home communities . During their fellowships , our veterans are provided with a stipend , mentors , and an intensive curriculum designed to achieve one of three post-fellowship goals . They go on to full-time employment , full-time education , or participate in an ongoing role of service in their communities . In our program , Marine veteran Hiawatha Clemons returns to the same middle school he once attended , to serve as a tutor and role model for young students . Army veteran Rachael Gutierrez reconnects with her desire to serve , helping Habitat for Humanity build homes in Anthem , Arizona . Former Army cannon crewmember Kelvin McLemore responds to 911 calls with the Phoenix Fire Department , bringing assistance and comfort as part of the Crisis Response Team . To date , we have awarded more than 500 Fellowships to post-9/11 veterans , who have served with more than 300 organizations across the country . Our Fellows serve and they inspire . Together we 've engaged more than 25,000 volunteers to work alongside veterans at service projects , bringing communities together in more than 40 states and the District of Columbia . Our program is having an impact . In two independent research reports , the School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis has found that nearly 80 % of the participants in our program felt that serving in the community had a positive effect on their future employability , performance , and promotion , or that it instigated them to make a career change . In fact , 86 % of participants reported transferring their military skills to civilian employment and 100 % of Fellows reported that they will probably or definitely stay involved in volunteer activities and public service in the future . Our program is successful because diverse groups support our work . We are proud to have thousands of individuals donate their time and energy to spread awareness of our mission . They have volunteered at service projects and invested in our program . We are equally proud of the companies like Goldman Sachs , Boeing , and Target that make financial investments to fund our fellowships , and bring their employees out to service events across the country . Together , these groups make us stronger . We need their strength , because there is still much work to be done . With the end of the war in Iraq , and the drawdown in Afghanistan , our military is getting smaller . Over the next year , more than a quarter million service members will transition from the military . In order for veterans to transition successfully , more communities across America must recognize the service they still have to give . We believe that when the story of this generation of veterans is written , it will not only be a story of the wars they have fought overseas , it will also be a story of the homes built , the parks restored , and the young minds engaged by veterans whose mission continues in communities here at home .
Eric Greitens is an Iraq War veteran and former Navy SEAL officer . He founded The Mission Continues to help veterans transition to civilian life . Greitens : Communities must recognize the service veterans still have to give .