Senators Joni Ernst and Thom Tillis headlined a VLC Fund-raiser at the Airborne and Special Ops Museum in Fayetteville

FAYETTEVILLE, January 5, 2016. Speaking at the Airborne and Special Operations Museum in Fayetteville, U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (Iowa) and Thom Tillis agreed that the country has not done enough to help veterans of the Iraq-Afghanistan era reintegrate into society following their service.

The event was sponsored by the Veterans Leadership Council of North Carolina – Cares (VLC), which is building a facility in Butner, North Carolina that will eventually provide temporary housing and rehabilitative services for up to 150 homeless and at-risk North Carolina Veterans.

“Our goal is to help each veteran we serve find a constructive and personally satisfying role in civil society,” said John Turner, executive director of the VLC.

Senator Ernst is the only female combat veteran ever to serve in the Senate. In 2003, she served as a company commander in Kuwait and Iraq. She retired as a Lieutenant Colonel after 23 years of military service.

She serves with Senator Tillis on the House Armed Services Committee. Tillis also serves on the Veterans Affairs Committee where he advocates for North Carolina’s rich military tradition. As Speaker of the NC House of Representatives from 2011 to 2014, he led the fight to fund the Veterans Life Center project.