Veterans of recent wars confront grim employment landscapeBy Michael A. Fletcher
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 30, 2010; 12:25 AM
IN HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. During the seven months that he was stationed in Iraq, Joe Janssen served as an assaultman, a job that involved manning the turret gun in a Humvee and using shoulder-fired rockets and other explosives to support his fellow Marines.
Those skills were invaluable in war. But they are of little use now that he is back home in Hauppauge, N.Y., a Long Island hamlet. He has applied for job after job since leaving active duty well over a year ago, but his efforts have proved futile.
The Marine reservist used his veterans benefits to finish his bachelor's degree in criminal justice. Now he is scouring for a job in law enforcement while he waits for his name to rise to the top of the New York state police hiring list - which is unlikely to be anytime soon, given the state's severe budget problems.
Experts claim the employment challenges confronting veterans violates a recruiting promise that serving in the military makes them more employable after they become civilians. "The (pledge) works fine in peacetime," according to Lawrence Korb, assistant secretary of defense for manpower under Reagan, "But that does not work too well in war. . . . what kind of skills have you learned other than counterinsurgency?"
Other experts claim veterans have programs that assist them in finding work, especially a hiring preference in government jobs, guaranteed interviews with employers and tuition reimbursement, which doesn't completely cover their education.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/29/AR2010122904498.html?hpid=topnews