This Veterans Day, please join me in honoring the extraordinary contributions and unwavering dedication of our nation’s veterans. Their selfless service has safeguarded our freedoms and strengthened our communities. Since its founding, the Forest Service has proudly stood as a welcoming home for veterans, and our gratitude for their sacrifice remains boundless.

Today, approximately 4,400 veterans serve within our agency, representing 14% of our workforce. Their presence spans every level and role, enriching our mission with their experience and dedication. Veterans are especially well represented in Law Enforcement and Investigations (43%), Business Operations (35%), and Fire (8%) where their leadership and service ethos continue to make a profound impact. Many veterans extend their commitment to service by joining our fire crews, where their training, discipline, and dedication make a lasting difference on the front lines.

From our earliest days, a spirit of service beyond land management has been woven into the fabric of our culture, answering a call to something greater than ourselves.

During the First World War, Henry S. Graves, then the second Chief of the Forest Service, was commissioned as a major in the Army Corps of Engineers and deployed to France to help secure lumber for the Allied Expeditionary Forces. Tasked with supplying timber for combat and support operations, the 10th Engineer Regiment, known as the “Lumberjacks,” was designated a Forestry Regiment and grew to become one of the largest in Army history. The Forest Service played a central role in recruitment, with its early battalions composed largely of agency employees and professional foresters.

These experiences have profoundly shaped our identity as an agency. Rooted in mission and driven by purpose, we carry deep gratitude for those who have served. The sacrifices and dedication of our veterans have not only defined our past; they continue to guide our future. Their legacy of service and heroism lives on in all we do.

With deep appreciation, we thank our veterans—today and every day—for their courage, sacrifice, and continued unwavering commitment to the public and the land as part of the Forest Service family.