When Veterans Deploy in Service of Transatlantic Relations

Megan Doherty,
John William Boerstler
In the last few years, as some in national leadership opted for greater disengagement from global affairs, subnational leaders across sectors have been stepping up efforts to foster new forms of transatlantic relations around a whole hos

In the last few years, as some in national leadership opted for greater disengagement from global affairs, subnational leaders across sectors have been stepping up efforts to foster new forms of transatlantic relations around a whole host of issues. In this Leadership Perspectives call — exclusive to GMF's Alumni Leadership Council members – John William Boerstler, Marshall Memorial Fellowship from 2011, shares how his partners and he brought an innovative system of programs from Denmark back to the United States and now to Ukraine that assists and tracks the transition of soldiers from active duty back to communities. Through his story, Boerstler offers valuable advices for fellows who would also like to utilize GMF’s resources to initiate and expand their own transnational projects during a time when protectionism is gaining popularity.

Read below for a few of the key takeaways:

  • John Boerstler is a recipient of the 2011 Marshall Memorial Fellowship as well as the first Marshall prize in 2017. In the past, he used to work for an U.S. Congressman, two Mayors of Houston, the Wounded Warrior Project, and Veteran Energy. He is now the executive director of NextOp, a nonprofit organization connecting military leaders to industry careers, and continues to be a strong advocate for veterans by serving on the Board of Directors of veteran service organizations such as Combined Arms or the Lone Star Veterans Association.

  • Combined Arms is a system originated from Denmark and based in Houston, Texas in which different programs provided by governmental agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and other private actors are integrated into one single, local source of services made available to returning service members and soldiers. The system was designed to unite fragmented services, reduce programmatic and administrative redundancies, and increase collaboration in order to accelerate as well as monitor soldiers’ social and economic impact on the local community.

  • In Ukraine, Combined Arms is in the progress of helping a group of nongovernmental organizations called Veterans Hub to establish a similar system in partnership with services already provided by government agencies. The goal of the system is to perform a “market roll-up” of six different federal agencies currently operating in a trickle-down manner into one single Ministry of Veteran Affairs.

  • Due to the limited social welfare system in the U.S., Combined Arms relies much more on its nongovernmental organization partners as compared to the Danish model. On this Boerstler believes that there are many lessons that the U.S. government can learn from other countries such as Denmark, the United Kingdom or Canada in terms of service capacity, revenue stream, and reduced bureaucratic processes.

  • Boerstler also believes that there is an element of ideological agenda opposing robust social affairs that further prevent U.S. federal and state agencies from launching programs comparable to those of its European and Canadian counterparts.

  • Boerstler shared that in order to get every relevant stakeholder on board with his innovative idea, he highlighted the mistakes of the previous system of veteran affairs and the potential social and economic effects that come with said system. He also stressed the importance of coalition building, collective impact, network polishing, and utilizing public administration tools.

  • Specifically to other fellows who are interested in launching their own Transatlantic Leadership Initiative alumni projects, Boerstler suggested active engagement in our alumni network in order to find an expert on the relevant subject matters but also to involve them in the planning process of projects. Active collaboration is especially beneficial if fellows are looking to bring about impact at a local level.

  • At the initial process, Boerstler suggested identifying one specific country and issue to research on; such research does not need to be extensive but should highlights specific policy recommendations and what further research and shared learning opportunities are needed. Boerstler also advised fellows to identify the strategic objectives of their projects as well as tactics needed to be employed to meet those objectives before entering any Request for Proposal process.

  • In addition, Boerstler finds that the quality of seeing even the smallest project through is very important. An appreciation for longevity and stability as well as a continued desire to broaden his network have also been beneficial to the development of the Combined Arms project and other initiatives that he has worked on in his career.

  • Reflecting on the recent changes in administration and both federal and local laws, Boerstler stated that unless there is a drastic policy change, Combined Arms is minimally affected since its backbone are nongovernmental organizations and not government agencies. As for the general trend of national leaders to push for less progressive foreign affairs policies, Boerstler believes that it is now more important than ever to preserve the value of inclusivity and shared learning as reflected in the works of Combined Arms in Ukraine and of GMF.

  • Boerstler shared the news that this April, following GMF’s spring Marshall Seminar on the Frontline of Democracy, Combined Arms is launching its very own International Summit on Military Transition and Veteran Affairs in Kiev, Ukraine. The summit will facilitate a transatlantic mentor-mentee relationship between experts and leaders from the NATO Work Group on Military Transition, who will share perspectives on the delivery and impact of military transition and veteran affairs services in their individual countries, and Ukrainian civic leaders, who will learn about how to apply proven programs to serve Ukrainian veterans.

  • Boerstler believes that the general method of market roll-up deployed in the Combined Arms system could be beneficial to many other currently fragmented social service sectors such as refugee relief. In closing his call, he expressed his commitment to continue refining and expanding the program across America and Europe to further assist service members and soldiers in quickly and effectively impact the communities that they return to.

GMF’s Leadership Perspectives informs leaders about trends that are changing the nature of transatlantic relations. During each call, members of GMF's Alumni Leadership Council have the unique opportunity to send questions through an instant messaging group and shape content.

This product is supported by NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division.

Access to GMF's Alumni Leadership Council is exclusive to alumni of GMF's leadership programs, including Marshall Memorial Fellowship, Manfred Wörner Seminar, Transatlantic Inclusion Leaders Network, Asmus Policy Entrepreneurs Fellowship, APSA Congressional Fellowship, and New Länder Fellowship.

John William Boerstler is executive director of NextOp, whose mission is to recruit, train, and place high-performing mid-level enlisted military leaders into industry. John served in the United States Marine Corps from 1999 to 2007 as an infantry unit leader. His overseas assignments include Iraq, Kuwait, Syria, Jordan, Djibouti, and Kenya. In 2009, John helped found the Lone Star Veterans Association (LSVA), which has become the largest network of Post 9/11 veterans in Texas. In 2015, John worked with regional leaders to establish the Combined Arms network, a first of its kind community-based transition system built to accelerate the impact veterans have on Houston based on research conducted during trips to the U.K., Denmark, and Israel with the GMF Alumni Project. John holds a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and a master’s in public administration from the University of Houston. John traveled as an MMF in 2011, representing the United States in Budapest, Bilbao, and Sarajevo. As an MMF Alumnus, John has also traveled to the United Kingdom, Israel, and Denmark to write comparative studies on their military transition systems and is planning to travel to Ukraine in April 2017 to assist in the development of their military transition infrastructure in the wake of the Donbas War.