As a Veteran and on behalf of
Veterans, in order to draw attention to the subject, I’ve intentionally posted
this entry a few days after the fact. Veteran’s Day celebrates former service
members, those who’ve already served and then returned home having hung up
their uniforms and moved on with their lives. We celebrate current military
members with Armed Forces Day and Memorial Day for those lost in war. On
Veteran’s Day the glowing praise and concern in the media is as predictable as
the date on a calendar. It’s nice but the following day it fades away until next
year. It is an inescapable fact that more service members and their families
are falling through the ever-widening cracks and to say they are being
shortchanged is an understatement. Veterans are being left behind and forgotten
with too many people turning a blind eye – except on Veteran’s Day.
In the mid-eighties, during what
now seems like the good old days of the Cold War, I did very little preparation
and I don’t recall any transition assistance or significant resources for
out-processing enlisted service members. Back then, when you were a short-timer
and a single-digit midget with less than ten days left to serve, you turned-in
equipment, processed your paperwork and did the duffle bag drag back home.
Although the economy was better in 1986 than it is today, I didn’t have
difficulty adjusting but I was clueless about finding a job. Times have
changed; the Internet helps, but it’s a different world since the early 1990’s,
and especially these last 12 years, for military members, and there always
seems to be a conflict going on somewhere and a constant and exhausting state
of war. Fortunately, today there are programs for outgoing service men and
women such as TAP and ACAP, assisting service members to better prepare for
their transition. However, after their last paycheck and they return to
civilian status there is little, if any, additional help and they are on their
own. Military brass from all service branches recognize that the plight of
exiting military members is a growing problem that will, no doubt, worsen
during the next 10 years exacerbated by a further downsizing of 100,000 active
duty members, in addition to the normal influx of those already leaving the
military each day.
Granted, there are lots of people
who are struggling and looking for work, but of the different demographic
groups, Veterans have it tougher than any other. When military budgets are cut,
do you think Uncle Sam buys fewer bombs and bullets? Perhaps, but before that
happens they cut already austere “non-essential” programs and services for
current military members and their families. There is some help coming from the
private sector, for example, in the form of job fairs and groups like HOH (Hire
Our Heroes) comprised of a mix of former military and civilian business people,
making their contribution to lend a hand and provide Vets with more
opportunity.
Adding another dimension to the
obstacles Veterans face and worthy of note, in recent years I’ve observed -
with the exception of on Veteran's Day -
the media makes a hobby of portraying Veterans as stressed out ticking
time bombs, ready to pop on any given day. This unfair stereotyping has a
ripple effect on their chances of finding employment in the eyes of
interviewers. And please allow me one more comment about this; scores of Vets who
also bore the physical and mental scars of war came home after the Second World
War and helped build the greatest economy the world has ever known. Veterans
have returned to work after every conflict since then and they are no different
today. After their service, when Veterans return to the classroom, they
routinely demonstrate they are more mature and focused than other students.
When they go to work they are harder working, dedicated, willing and able to
take on responsibility. They don’t want pity and, although I personally think
they should be moved to the head of the line after volunteering their service
when so many others don’t, at the very least they deserve a fair chance to be
considered equally with other applicants without derision or attachment of
undeserved stereotypes. Former service members appreciate a day of recognition,
but what they and their families really want and need is real assistance and a
chance to demonstrate why they deserve the same appreciation they received
while in uniform.
Feel free to discuss this post
in the forum(no
registration required).
