Jobs After Combat

Military personnel are some of the most highly skilled and well trained people in the country. They know how to survive for days with limited supplies, how to protect a base from enemy attack and how to adapt to a culture that is not their own. They are disciplined people who could die any day fighting for their country. Then it is all over. They are no longer needed in the military and they come home to a life that they have not known in some time. What's the next option? Getting a job. For most people this has been a work in progress for a few years. Building resumes and making contacts that will hopefully lead to a job once you have graduated from college. This is not the life of a returning soldier. According to Sophie Quinton in her article Why Are Companies Reluctant to Hire Military Veterans, "In 2012, nearly 10 percent of veterans of Iraq or Afghanistan were unemployed, compared with 7.9 percent of the general population." Military veterans are having a hard time finding jobs upon returning from combat because they don't have anything relevant to put on their resumes. That is not to say that they are not very skilled, but it is hard to get a job with a real estate company when your best skill is armed combat. Many employers find it difficult to offer a job to someone who doesn't meet the qualifications. It is the same idea when a job application requirement is 5 years of experience in the given field. How do you get the experience if no one will hire you? I believe that in this situation, with military people coming home from combat, it has to be deeper then what someone can put on a piece of paper. Employers need to realize that these people may not have the experience that will get them a job but they have the discipline to learn. If anyone deserves a chance at a job it should be them.