Leadership Message: Together, we honor our veterans

Dear Colleagues,

Veterans Day means something a little different to each of us who served. Some of us deployed. Others trained people or supported the mission from bases, ships, hospitals, offices, or flight lines. We wore different uniforms at different times in our lives and carried different responsibilities, but we were all part of something bigger than ourselves.

I served on a submarine, and my service looked more like long hours, structure, sacrifice, and learning how to adapt quickly. I don’t speak for every veteran, but there’s something we all understand. We signed up knowing we might be asked to give more than most people ever have to imagine. Some did. Some still carry that weight. All of us were connected to that possibility in one way or another.

What veterans bring with them does not go away when the uniform comes off. Staying calm under pressure, solving problems with limited resources, working across differences, following through on a mission, looking out for the person next to you. Those things do not expire. In a place like UC Davis Health, they matter. We are not in the same kind of service anymore, but a lot of us still feel like we are serving in a different capacity.

I am grateful to work at an institution where veterans, service members, and their families are not just here in name. They are respected and valued. Not everyone gets that after transitioning out. Here, we can keep making an impact in patient care, research, operations, administration, or support roles. And we work alongside colleagues and allies who show respect through partnership, trust, and showing up when it counts.

I want to recognize every veteran across UC Davis Health. Combat or non-combat. Active duty, reserve, retired, or recently separated. And the families, caregivers, and allies who stand with them. Today is not about comparing one person’s service to another. It is about recognizing the values, experiences, and sacrifices that connect us and the way those things strengthen this community.

I am honored to serve as chair of the Veterans Employee Association, and through this we try to keep that sense of service going. We volunteer at the Veterans Day event at the Capitol, clean headstones at the VA cemetery, and place wreaths there with Wreaths Across America. It is not for show. It is just staying connected to why we served in the first place. Anyone who wants to join us is welcome; we’d love to meet you and volunteer alongside you.

For those who feel pride, complexity, or mixed emotions on a day like this, you are not alone in that. And for those who did not serve but support those who did, you are part of this story too.

Thank you to everyone who has worn the uniform and to everyone who continues to serve in different ways here at UC Davis Health. We are fortunate to do this work, and we do not take that for granted.

Yours in health,

Miles Thorne
Chair, Veterans Employee Association
UC Davis Health

Learn more about all our UC Davis Health Employee Resource Groups. These groups are open to anyone, regardless of background, who wishes to support, participate, or be educated in the many cultures and communities at UC Davis Health. Membership and participation in Employee Resource Group activities are not dependent on race, ethnicity, sex, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, or any protected category under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.