the branches of service, nonprofi t have an additional layer of severe family was poor. The military was
groups, and American employers impediments to fi nding employment, a way for me to serve my country
that we must provide opportunities such as substance abuse, PTSD or and get the skills to get a good job
and support to our veterans. other disabilities, or legal issues. and live a better life. I was a supply
Many credit recent strides in vet- person in the Army, and I looked for
erans’ care to lessons learned from Addressing issues similar civilian jobs. But they didn’t
the Vietnam era. “Any advances that When Ezekiel Panky left the Army pay enough money to get an apart-
have been made in veterans’ care after seven years of service, he says ment,” says Panky.
are due to the Vietnam veterans and he expected a well-paying job. “Col- Panky started drinking in the Army,
what we learned from their strug- lege was not an option for me. My and it became more of a problem after
gles,” Tarantino says.
“The Vietnam generation
has taken my generation (left) MCVET
under its wing, and there counselor Elizabeth
have been great reforms, Simms, left, talks
such as the new GI bill with student Sheila
and the National Defense Douglass, right.
Authorization Act.” (right) Food Service
According to John Manager Stanley Dan-
McWilliam, deputy as- iel, center, prepares
sistant secretary for meals. (below right)
Veterans’ Employment Student Timothy
and Training Services Shelton enjoys a class.
through the DoL, the
fi rst line of defense for
Finding Their Way
veterans is the Transi-
tion Assistance Program “Women are the fastest-growing population of homeless veterans. … Com-
(TAP), which was used bat situations affect women differently,” says former Army nurse Cheryl
by 130,000 transitioning Beversdorf, past president of the National Coalition of Homeless Veterans.
servicemembers and their spouses Co-occurring problems add to increasing rates of unemployment among
in 2008. The two-and-a-half-day female veterans, says former Marine Corps Capt. Anuradha Bagwati, execu-
workshop provides tools to help tive director of the Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN). “Women
soon-to-be veterans transition to often feel rejected by the VA benefits system. The VA is culturally conserva-
the civilian world. McWilliam says tive. We have too many older male claims representatives who don’t believe
another important component of women were in combat or that they have experienced sexual harassment or
TAP is educating servicemembers sexual assault. So even when a woman receives a professional opinion from
on what’s available to help them the VHA [Veterans’ Health Administration]saying she has PTSD or MST
once they return home. [military sexual trauma], she can be denied by the VBA [Veterans’ Benefits
He points to nationwide One-Stop Administration]. And even those who are granted VA disability benefits are
Career Centers that employ local Vet- often waiting 12 to 18 months for their checks,” says Bagwati.
erans’ Employment Representatives “We are quickly realizing that [the VA needs] more female counselors.
and Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Pro- ... If [female veterans] have been beaten down by the VA system, it is less
gram staff. Other programs include likely they will get help ... [or] find employment,” says Bagwati.
America’s Heroes at Work, which ad- In addition, “child care must be a factor as we address the needs of
dresses the employment challenges of female veterans. Single homeless mothers are the new population among
returning servicemembers living with veterans in homeless shelters,” says Bagwati.
traumatic brain injury and PTSD. The Department of Labor’s 2010 budget increase for the Homeless Vet-
The DoL’s 2010 budget calls for erans’ Reintegration Program calls for a demonstration program for home-
$35.3 million for its Homeless Veter- less women veterans. “Through the ... project, we will be looking at how we
ans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP), can provide employment services unique to homeless women veterans. We
a 34-percent increase over last year’s have to change our service delivery system,” says John McWilliam, deputy
budget. HVRP serves veterans who assistant secretary for Veterans’ Employment and Training Services.
60 MILITARY OFFICER NOVEMBER 2009
NNov_jobs.indd
60ov_jobs.indd 60 110/6/09 11:54 AM0/6/09 11:54 AM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96