Combat boots to cowboy boots p1 - Military - College News and Information - Military Times EDGE

LINCOLN, Neb. — The Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture is working with the military to urge soldiers who are leaving active duty to come back home to Nebraska to start farms, ranches and businesses.

Under a program the school in Curtis has branded "Combat Boots to Cowboy Boots," the military and school are working together to attract the former soldiers to three programs the school offers.

The programs help students get a foothold in farming, ranching and businesses by teaching them the skills they need. It partners them with older people in those enterprises, and preparing them to get needed financing.

Weldon Sleight, dean of the college, says the new effort could help rejuvenate rural Nebraska and give former soldiers a career path.