On Veterans Day, I had the privilege of welcoming Pete Buttigieg back to Rochester to unveil his policy to honor veterans and their families.

In July, Pete first visited Rochester and I had the opportunity to lead him on a downtown walking tour. I was struck by our many similarities. We had both grown up in Indiana, were both the first openly gay men to be elected to our offices, and had both served overseas.

So on Veterans Day, as we honored our fellow service members, I knew Pete felt the same complicated emotions many of us have on that day.

I deployed three times � the last as a combat medic in Baghdad in 2006. I remember begging an Army medical group to allow me to go outside the wire with them on a mission. I wanted to see what they saw � and boy, did I. But they did warn me. They said, �Be careful what you wish for. Some things you can�t erase after you�ve seen them.�

Some see more than others, and some carry that burden for others. That year that unit lost their medic.

I was one of the lucky ones. I made it back, and I had it relatively easy when it came to re-adjusting to civilian life � but it was certainly an adjustment.

I had trouble with loud noises and crowds. I couldn�t sleep at night and I had immense survivor�s guilt. Why was I allowed to live when others were not?

But there are plenty who have it much harder. I�m currently attached to a National Guard unit, and sadly this year, the National Guard has the grim distinction of having the highest suicide rates of all the military�s services.

We ask our soldiers, sailors, air men and marines to do jobs most wouldn�t do � and we have a responsibility to take care of them after they complete their mission. But it�s clear our obligation to care for these brave Americans is not met with the same level of commitment. We must do better.

The gaps in our care when we come home, certainly contribute to the things we see in the news: suicide, homelessness and substance misuse as a form of self-medication.

The greatest tragedy in our story as a nation is when those who have answered the call to serve become homeless. What kind of country have we become to allow someone who has risked everything to uphold our nation�s greatest values to become homeless.

So on Veterans Day, Pete offered more than thanks to his fellow service members, he offered solutions and a path to care for veterans � not as a favor, but to keep a promise. He outlined an agenda that supports those on active duty and their families, heals the wounds of war for veterans after they return, and engages all Americans to enable our veterans and their families to thrive.

Pete is one of the only candidates to have served in the current war that we have yet to end, so he has a perspective that is too often missing from our national conversation. He knows first-hand that veterans and their families are not a problem to be solved, but a talent to be competed for.

Our nation deserves a leader who understands what sacrifice means and how to honor the promise we made to our service members. That�s why with great pride, I endorsed Pete Buttigieg to serve as our next commander in chief and president of the United States.

All those months ago, as we neared the end of our tour of Rochester, Pete shook my hand and said, �Please let your community know, help is on the way.�

On Veterans Day, I heard that same message. So on the night of Nov. 3, 2020, when we elect our next president, I hope I can tell my fellow veterans that help is on the way because Pete Buttigieg is now the president.

Jeremy Hutchinson is an Air Force veteran and a Rochester city councilor.