在这个退伍军人节，美国人有机会反思一个基本事实：一个国家展现其价值观，不仅在于它如何把公民送上战场，也在于它如何欢迎他们回家。160多年来，国会一直认识到，兵役在国家和保卫国家的人之间创设了一项持久的义务。历经一代又一代，议员们把这项义务转化为法律，旨在尊重服役、保护牺牲，并维护平民生活中的机会。
On this Veterans Day, Americans have an opportunity to reflect on a fundamental truth: a nation reveals its values not only by how it sends its citizens to war, but also by how it welcomes them home. For more than 160 years, Congress has recognized that military service creates an enduring obligation between the nation and those who defend it. Through successive generations, lawmakers have translated that obligation into laws designed to honor service, protect sacrifice, and preserve opportunity in civilian life.
这些法律体现了一项重要原则：国家的感激承载着义务，而这些义务绝不能只是象征性的。这一原则有着深厚的根基。1865年，国会通过立法，向某些因公负伤或患病的荣誉退伍军人提供联邦雇用优先权。国会后来扩大了对退伍军人的保护，包括联邦就业中的优先权。这些措施共同反映了一项正在形成的国家承诺：兵役不应成为平民机会的障碍。
Those laws embody an important principle: national gratitude carries obligations, and those obligations must be more than symbolic. That principle has deep roots. In 1865, Congress enacted legislation providing a federal hiring preference to certain honorably discharged veterans who had suffered wounds or illness in the line of duty. Congress later expanded protections for veterans, including preference in federal employment. Together, these measures reflected an emerging national commitment: military service should not become an obstacle to civilian opportunity.
这项承诺最终超出了退伍军人优先权的范围。1994年，国会通过了《军人就业与再就业权利法》（USERRA），保护军人不因服兵役而受到就业歧视，并保障与服役期间相关的再就业权利。这些保护对国民警卫队和预备役成员尤为重要，他们在平民职业与持续的军事义务之间寻求平衡。他们可能被要求离开工作岗位、家人和社区，响应国家的召唤。
That commitment eventually extended beyond veterans’ preference. In 1994, Congress enacted the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, or USERRA, protecting servicemembers against employment discrimination based on military service and safeguarding reemployment rights associated with periods of service. Those protections remain especially important for members of the National Guard and Reserve, who balance civilian careers with continuing military obligations. They may be required to leave their workplaces, families and communities to answer the nation’s call.
因此，保护他们的平民就业不仅仅是一项个人福利。它有助于维持国家所依赖的随时可用的军事力量。
Protecting their civilian employment is therefore more than an individual benefit. It helps sustain the ready military force on which the nation depends.
1998年，国会通过《退伍军人就业机会法》，进一步加强了对退伍军人就业的保护。这部法律体现了一项原则：没有救济途径的权利，不过是美好的愿望。它建立了一套机制，符合条件的退伍军人可以借此对联邦就业中某些侵犯其优先权的情况提出质疑，包括通过劳工部和我所在的机构——功绩制保护委员会——寻求救济的渠道。
Congress further strengthened veterans’ employment protections in 1998 through the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act, which reflects the principle that rights without remedies are merely aspirations. It created a mechanism through which eligible veterans may challenge certain violations of their preference rights in federal employment, including avenues for redress involving the Department of Labor and my agency, the Merit Systems Protection Board.
它帮助退伍军人优先权从一种国家感恩的表达，转变为一项可强制执行的承诺。作为功绩制保护委员会主席，同时也是美国空军预备役少校，我为维护这一承诺深感自豪。认可兵役与维持以功绩为基础的公务员制度并不是相互竞争的目标，而是相辅相成的。退伍军人优先权在联邦功绩制之内运作，而非之外。功绩制要求公平、公开的竞争，并根据能力、知识和技能进行选拔。
It helped turn veterans’ preference from an expression of national gratitude into an enforceable commitment. As chairman of the board and a major in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, I take great pride in upholding that commitment. Recognizing military service and maintaining a merit-based civil service are not competing objectives. They are complementary ones. Veterans’ preference operates within the federal merit system, not outside it. The merit system calls for fair and open competition and selection based on ability, knowledge and skills.
退伍军人优先权反映了国会的判断：兵役应当在这一竞争过程中得到认可，同时保留联邦雇员必须具备有效服务公众能力这一基本要求。退伍军人优先权并不保证获得联邦职位。退伍军人仍须满足适用的资格要求，并在通过竞争性招聘程序申请时参与竞争，尽管某些特殊聘用授权允许非竞争性任命。优先权并不免除适用的资格要求，而是确保兵役得到国会认定其应得的考虑。
Veterans’ preference reflects Congress’s judgment that military service deserves recognition within that competitive process while preserving the fundamental requirement that federal employees be qualified to serve the public effectively. Veterans’ preference does not guarantee a federal job. Veterans must still satisfy applicable qualification requirements and compete when applying through competitive hiring procedures, although certain special hiring authorities permit noncompetitive appointments. Preference does not eliminate applicable qualification requirements. Instead, it ensures that military service receives the consideration Congress has determined it deserves.
但这些保护建立在一个更广泛的原则之上：军事牺牲不应成为在平民生活中处于不利地位的原因。响应国家号召的美国人往往获得了技能、经验和领导能力，这些都能增强政府和私营部门组织。
But these protections rest on an even broader principle: military sacrifice should not become a source of civilian disadvantage. Americans who answer the nation's call often acquire skills, experience, and leadership abilities that strengthen both government and private-sector organizations.
当已经服役过的人有机会在平民生活中继续作出贡献时，国家会从中受益。在退伍军人节，美国人理应向那些穿过军装的人表达感激。但一个心怀感激的国家必须提供的不能只是言辞。几代人以来，国会一直试图通过保护退伍军人和现役军人的平民机会，让这种感激具有实际意义。这一承诺在今天的重要性，与一个半多世纪前一样。
The nation benefits when those who have already served have a fair opportunity to continue contributing in civilian life. On Veterans Day, Americans rightly express gratitude to those who have worn the uniform. But a grateful nation must offer more than words. For generations, Congress has sought to give practical meaning to that gratitude by protecting the civilian opportunities of veterans and service members. That commitment remains as important today as it was more than a century and a half ago.
响应国家号召的美国人回到家乡时，迎来的不应是机会的减少，而应是一个决心信守对他们服役的承诺、维护他们的权利、并确保牺牲能换来机会的国家。小詹姆斯·J·伍德拉夫是美国功绩制保护委员会主席，也是空军预备役的一名军官。他在此表达的观点不一定反映战争部或功绩制保护委员会的立场。
Americans who answer the nation's call should return home not to diminished opportunity, but to a nation determined to keep faith with their service, uphold their rights, and ensure that sacrifice is met with opportunity. James J. Woodruff II is the chairman of the Merit Systems Protection Board and a military officer in the Air Force Reserve. His views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of War or the Merit Systems Protection Board.