Each year more than 160,000 veterans make their return to civilian life. Some 15,000 of them call San Diego home, making the region home to the nation’s largest number of veterans returning from wartime duty. That may be one of the reasons San Diego is a leader in corporate programs aiding service members in their transition to civilian life.

Tech giant Qualcomm, for example, is home to Corporate Integration Program for Warrior Veterans and locally based Life Collaborative has the MedTech and Biotech Veterans Program.

San Diego-based American Council on Exercise (ACE) knows that connecting veterans with the tools to make a career in an area well suited to the physicality of their military experience can be a common sense, and often, therapeutic solution to easing the transition.

Just ask Purple Heart recipient and ACE certified trainer, Brandon Corrales, who credits his love of fitness and bodybuilding for helping him overcome profound war wounds, both physical and psychological.

The Salute You Scholarship is available for veterans up to six months prior to or twenty-four months after their honorable discharge from active duty.  The scholarship includes study materials and aids as well as interactive video-led study experience.

In 2013, ACE committed to providing 1,000 Salute You scholarships, equaling nearly a $1 million dollar value.

More than half the scholarships are still up for grabs. I would love to work with you on a story about this scholarship and help those who sacrificed so much for their country connect to fitting and exciting new careers.

I am happy to connect you with successful Salute You graduates, leadership at ACE and other military members connected with ACE. All would be thrilled to speak on the record about the importance of this scholarship and their experiences.

What do you say to a story on the Salute You Scholarship?