As military men and women return from service, retired Lt. Col. Jack Amberg fears they will not have enough support to make a smooth transition.

Following his own 26-year career in the military, the Naperville man has turned his focus to helping those young returning veterans and hoping others who consider enlisting will not be discouraged.

“We have to do a better job as a society bringing these men and women back,” said Amberg, senior director of veterans programs at the McCormick Foundation. “The reason is everything to do with how our country functions.”

In recognition of those efforts, the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs recently honored Amberg as its Illinois Veteran of the Month.

“My first thought was it can’t be me, why me,” Amberg said. “I have this blessing I get to work for the foundation and get to give away money and (advise) people.”

Ian Hardie, veteran program coordinator and director of workforce development for the Albany Park Community Center, nominated Amberg for the award and said he works tirelessly and passionately for veterans causes including helping the Albany Park group secure grant money.

“He talks straight, but he never talks down to people,” Hardie said. “He’s always willing to listen if anybody has a new idea or proposal to make things more efficient.”

Amberg points to research showing only about half of military men and women transition back to their home life smoothly, while nearly all say they want to continue to serve the community in some way.

Many of the young veterans entered the military at the age of 18 and have never experienced adult life as a civilian and all of the decisions that go along with it, Amberg said. They need jobs and some also may need counseling. There are more ways to help, he said, than just making a donation.

“They need a hand up not a hand out,” Amberg said. “Get them connected, understand where they’re coming from.”

Amberg’s own path into the military began after he dropped out of the University of Southern Colorado, which he was attending on a football scholarship. Not long after, he enlisted in the Army and two years later got into the United States Military Academy at West Point where he earned a bachelor’s degree in leadership.

“Much of my life had very little structure so I just flailed, but once I got into the military things made a lot of sense,” Amberg said.

During the course of his 26 years in the military, he served stints in Kuwait, Germany and Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm and the Philippines during Operation Enduring Freedom. He also served as chief of public affairs for the Army at Camp Zama, Japan, as well as director of Army public affairs for the Midwest until he retired in 2008.

Amberg, who also holds a master’s degree in business administration, then went on to serve as senior director of veterans programs at the McCormick Foundation where he now works part-time and most recently became a mortgage banker with Chicago Bancorp, where he is helping build a mortgage program for veterans.

“We have tremendous respect for the work of the U.S. military and are pleased to have such a recognized veteran on the Chicago Bancorp team,” Stephen Calk, chairman and CEO of Chicago Bancorp and The Federal Savings Bank, said in a news release.

Amberg also is active with the United Service Organizations of Illinois, West Point Society of Chicago, Chicago’s Union League Club, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion in Naperville and the Knights of Columbus.

Amberg received his Veteran of the Month Award at a special ceremony at the Pritzker Military Library in Chicago.