Liz Hargrove-Washington’s world changed in an instant during the winter of 1996.

As a young staff sergeant in the Air Force stationed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, and the young mother of a baby girl, she received orders to deploy to Saudi Arabia.

“It was one of the most challenging, difficult times of my career,” said Hargrove-Washington, now staff services manager in CalVet’s District Office in Oakland. “I was afraid to leave my family; but, alas, duty called. What made it even more scary was my deployment was to Dhahran less than six months after the Khobar Towers bombing that killed 19 airmen had occurred near that location. Everything was still on very high alert and security was tight. I was deployed to an Army post that encompassed a joint forces mission, with Army, Air Force, and Marines posted there.”

Indeed, leaving her baby and the security of being stateside seemed unnerving. What made it bearable?

“What I remember most is that, although I was afraid to leave my family, I quickly developed a family there,” said Hargrove-Washington. “Everyone from all branches bonded together, looked out for each other, and formed our own family away from home. It was the epitome of ‘esprit de corps,’ something I miss. I still have friends from that deployment to this day. What started off as a deployment that I dreaded, turned into one of the most memorable and rewarding experiences of my military career.”

Likewise, looking out for each other overseas translated into her post-military career back home. At the Oakland District Office, she helps veterans secure their earned benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. She helps veterans get their service-connected disability ratings for injuries they incurred or were made worse as a result of their military service.

Hargrove-Washington often stays in touch with those veterans long after they’ve secured their benefits, including incarcerated veterans through CalVet’s award-winning Justice Involved Veterans Initiative. She also helps incarcerated veterans who are released, have their minimized benefits restored to their maximum.

“It’s rewarding knowing that you are part of small percentage of the population who has served your country proudly, and has earned the title of ‘veteran’,” she said. “Being in a position to serve and assist your fellow veterans, who you know are in the same small percentage as you and have earned that title as well, makes it even more rewarding.”

A veteran serving veterans—a whole “family” of them, in fact.

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This is one of a series of CalVet Connect posts introducing you to CalVet employees who are veterans of the United States Armed Forces—thus, “Veterans Serving Veterans.”

For more information on the Justice Involved Veteran Initiative visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9rKJYlU1SY&t=2s.

CalVet’s District Offices assist veterans and their families in accessing their federal and state veteran benefits at no cost. All three District Offices are open to the public and welcome walk-ins. For more information on the Veterans Services Division visit www.calvet.ca.gov/calvet-programs/veteran-services.

Would you like the opportunity to serve veterans in your work? Join the CalVet team! We are dedicated to ensuring that veterans from every era, along with their families, receive the state and federal benefits and services they have earned and deserve due to their selfless and honorable military service. At CalVet, we prioritize serving veterans and their families with dignity, compassion, and a commitment to helping them achieve the highest quality of life. See our current job openings at www.calvet.ca.gov/jobs.