Memorial Day has passed, and across our nation we paused to honor the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our freedoms. We attended ceremonies, placed flags at gravesites and reflected on the tremendous cost of liberty. But now that the long weekend is over, my concern is that too many people will once again forget about the veterans who came home and are still fighting battles of their own.
For many veterans, the next mission is economic survival and opportunity.
Thousands of veterans across New Jersey are trying to build businesses, support their families, transition into civilian careers and find their place in an increasingly competitive economy. They possess leadership, discipline, technical expertise, and a never-quit attitude that employers and communities desperately need. Yet despite years of promises, New Jersey continues to fall short when it comes to supporting veteran entrepreneurship and economic development.
The state of New Jersey has a Disabled Veteran Owned Business (DVOB) set-aside law that requires 3% of state contracts to be awarded to disabled veteran-owned businesses. The best the state has ever achieved is approximately 0.9%. Meanwhile, neighboring New York has awarded more than $370 million in contracts to DVOBs and has surpassed 6% participation.
That should concern every resident of New Jersey.
Two years ago, the state’s own disparity study confirmed what many of us already knew: small and diverse businesses — including veteran-owned, disabled veteran-owned, and military spouse-owned businesses — continue to face significant barriers to opportunity. The data is there. The problem has been identified. What we need now is action.
I am calling on this administration and our Legislature to adopt policies and legislation that truly support veteran entrepreneurship and workforce development. We need stronger enforcement of the DVOB set-aside law, greater transparency in procurement, and meaningful pathways for veteran-owned businesses to compete for state, county, and local contracts.
I am also asking New Jersey’s building trades to recruit and hire more veterans into their ranks. Veterans already understand teamwork, mission execution, leadership and discipline — qualities that make them ideal candidates for skilled trades and infrastructure careers.
In addition, workforce development boards across the state should prioritize veterans for the technologically advanced careers emerging in fields such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, healthcare technology, clean energy, logistics, advanced manufacturing, and infrastructure modernization. Veterans have already demonstrated the ability to adapt under pressure and master complex systems in some of the most challenging environments imaginable.
It is time for all 21 counties in New Jersey to award more contracts to veteran-owned businesses. It is time for both the public and private sectors to hire as many veterans as possible. Veterans bring unmatched work ethic, loyalty, technological competence, and resilience to every organization they join.
Most importantly, we must stop treating support for veterans as something we only talk about on Memorial Day and Veterans Day. The stakes are simply too high.
If we truly want to honor those who served and sacrificed, then we must commit ourselves to ensuring that veterans have real opportunities to succeed when they return home. Words of gratitude are appreciated — but opportunity, economic empowerment, and long-term support are what veterans truly deserve.
Col. Jeff Cantor, U.S. Army (Ret.) is the founder and CEO of the N.J. State Veterans Chamber of Commerce.
