Former president George W. Bush speaks at Fort Carson Transition Summit

Former president George W. Bush visited southern Colorado Wednesday morning, part of the Transition Summit at Fort Carson.

“The transition from military to civilian life is tough,” Bush said.

The summit is aimed to help our soldiers find jobs and transition into civilian life. Hundreds of service members, veterans and military spouses filled the room.

“How can we do a better job? That’s what we’re here to do at this conference. It’s one thing to hire somebody. It’s another thing to make sure the transition works,” he said.

Bush started the speech saying our military has a bright future but noted that it’s up to the soldier themselves to want to transition and make that first step.

Another take away point was when president Bush talked about the stigma associated with war.

“We’re working to drop the D in PTSD. We don’t view it as a disorder, we view it as an injury,” said Bush.

Every month, 500 Fort Carson soldiers transition out, that’s 6,000 a year.

“The pool of talent that has spent time in the military has been through danger and has come out and is ready to continue to contribute,” he said.

The two day summit features over 150 employers, many offer jobs on the spot.