Veterans Interview

U.S. Veterans and the Transition between

Military and Civilian Life

www.militaryveteranjobnews.org

I had the honor of interviewing someone who has had more than forty years of military leadership experience under his belt. Larry R. Marks, retired from the Army as a SGT MAJOR in 1976 after serving an impressive twenty years and now works in the banking industry.

I asked Larry is there a noticeable difference in military and civilian employment worlds? "There's a huge support structure when your active and it's a very large change," described Marks. " It's a lot more difficult than people can imagine. I've been telling all the people I work with, with children in the military, to go to the transition classes the military offers as many times as they can."

When I dug into the pages of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data it becomes apparent that while the job market is slowly improving for most Americans, it's moving in the opposite direction for Gulf War II vets (defined by the BLS as those on active duty since 2001). The youngest of veterans, aged 18 to 24, had a 30.4 percent jobless rate in October, way up from 18.4 percent a year earlier. Non-veterans of the same age improved, to 15.3 percent from 16.9 percent.

When Marks was leaving the military to find a civilian career, in 1976 he thought working in law enforcement would be a great fit from his experience in the U.S. Army. It didn't take long for him to figure out that, that just wasn't the right choice for him, as most veterans are realizing as they go through their transition.

Continuing on his job search, Marks, found the transition between military and civilian worlds frustrating. "it's difficult when so many people counted on you in the military and employers don't always see it that way," he said. "Especially when in security, some people just envision you guarding a gate with a gun- they don't understand that it is serious work."

I asked Marks what he was angry about and he replied "The charitable pitch this nation uses to try to solve this complex problem. It's a common story: the mass media confirm the staggering veteran unemployment rate. Talking heads cry foul because we service members have "sacrificed so much" and we "deserve better."

"For their service and sacrifice, warm words of thanks from a grateful nation are more than warranted, but they aren't nearly enough. We also owe our veterans the care they were promised and the benefits that they have earned. We have a sacred trust with those who wear the uniform of the United States of America. It's a commitment that begins at enlistment, and it must never end. But we know that for too long, we've fallen short of meeting that commitment. Too many wounded warriors go without the care that they need. Too many veterans don't receive the support that they've earned. Too many who once wore our nation's uniform now sleep in our nation's streets."

President

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