Young war veterans struggle to find jobs

[unhappycamper]

http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_23119419/young-war-veterans-struggle-find-jobs



Sgt. First Class Alvin Prado finishes talking to Susan Strong of the Entrepreneur's Source at the "Hiring Our Heroes" job fair in San Jose, April 11, 2013.

Young war veterans struggle to find jobs
By Mark Emmons
Posted: 04/27/2013 12:00:00 PM PDT
Updated: 04/27/2013 12:55:23 PM PDT

SAN JOSE -- The simple, heartfelt expression of gratitude toward men and women in military uniform has been repeated countless times in recent years: Thank you for your service.

But when post-9/11 members of the military exchange their fatigues for business attire, that thanks doesn't always extend to being willing to hire them as civilians. Joblessness for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan remains stubbornly higher than the overall population.

That is despite an unprecedented effort -- including government tax credits and high-profile initiatives by companies such as Walmart -- to help veterans transition into civilian careers. And the problem could get worse as an estimated 1 million people leave active duty over the next five years in what remains a tough job market.

Tyler Golightly, who was an Air Force captain who served in Iraq and has a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Southern California, has been looking for work without success since October 2011.

[Mnemosyne]

1. A young man that I know, and love, has been driving 35 miles to a $9 per job. He is NG and has been

to Iraq twice. It's a crime, imho, to have the words veteran, unemployed or homeless in the same sentence.

Thanks so much for what you do here, unhappycamper!

On the seqeuster note: He isn't going to Afghanistan this year!