By Pauline Jelink
July 28, 2012
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. combat troops patrol dusty pathways
in Afghanistan, look for hidden roadside bombs, load and fire mortar shells at
insurgents’ positions. So when they come home, how will that help them land a
civilian job?
That’s the kind of thinking the government wants to change,
both among American employers and members of the armed forces.They can “be a
mercenary,” muses Capt. John Rodriguez, who’ll leave the Army soon after six
years.
In fact, the skills troops use in combat can be useful for
many types of civilian jobs, but employers often don’t understand them and
people leaving the military need help with presenting those skills or
developing new ones.
Rodriguez was attending a recent resume-writing class, part
of the Transition Assistance Program, which is run by the departments of
Defense, Labor and Veteran Affairs to help soldiers, sailors, airmen and
Marines successfully make the transition back to the civilian world.
Some 250,000 service members leave the military each year
and all must attend counseling on finances and other issues whether they served
six years or 26 years, whether they saw the battlefield or not. The White House
said this week that the program is being expanded and improved. Read more here…
No comments:
Post a Comment