The U.S. Institute of Peace honors our veterans through its daily work as mandated by Congress at the Institute’s founding: “to promote international peace and the resolution of conflicts among the nations and peoples of the world without recourse to violence.”

In three decades since Congress established the Institute, our researchers, trainers, mediators and other experts—including numerous veterans—increasingly have pursued our mission in the same difficult environments as U.S. military personnel. These violent conflict zones have included Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Colombia, Yemen, Uganda, and the Central African Republic.

Members of the military understand from experience the importance of resolving conflicts peacefully wherever possible. They understand the need to sustain a hard-won peace by rebuilding war-torn societies and communities. USIP helps local citizens in countries worldwide to build or sustain peace that our veterans fought and died to help achieve. Peacebuilding work in nations that are at risk of violence can reduce the number of our men and women called to combat and bloodshed.

The service of our veterans and their wartime sacrifices obligate us at USIP—and indeed all of us as Americans—to prevent violent conflict wherever possible. Today, amid conflicts worldwide that often can seem intractable, the Institute recommits itself to this goal, for our courageous veterans and for the nation.