Quote:
Originally Posted by Solumina
NPR did an interesting broadcast about a month ago and what they found to be a major problem with vets transitioning to the civilian world, especially finding jobs (even though the government has done a lot to try and help them, thought education and incentives for employers) is that most employers do not understand military training and how it could correlate to training and job experience in the civilian world, and as a result their training and experience are undervalued, and in some cases when the vets have left the military they are not technically qualified for the certifications required for the civilian equivalent of the job they have already been doing. They also went into a lot of the social stigma of being a soldier, sure lots of people support the troops but there is also a lot of bias against them because (unlike with past wars) most people don't know any soldiers so it is simply a lack of familiarity, and that is compounded by worries about PTSD and similar conditions, making employers see them as a risk. (I know this isn't directly about soldiers ending up in jail but it does touch upon a lot of relevant issues)
I'll go look and see if I can find a link to it.
Edit: I found it http://www.npr.org/2011/10/10/141213...-civilian-life |
Yeah, that's an accurate assessment of some of the issues veterans face. Before I even looked at the link, the first thing that sprang to my mind was how the army's medical qualifications don't mean anything in the civilian sector. I can't really speak on behalf of individuals who have more technically oriented jobs, like those in the Navy or Air Force, but it's especially hard to translate skill sets, qualifications, and awards to something a civilian employer can understand.
A friend of mine told someone "Staff Sergeant" during a job interview, and she was like "Oh. Cool." They ended up not hiring him, saying that he didn't have the kind of management experience they were looking for. I guess they didn't understand that at age 22 and while in combat, he was responsible for 10 subordinates and equipment valued at millions of dollars.
I can't really comment on any kind of social stigma I've seen. I haven't lived anywhere other then a city with 4 military installations surrounding it since I enlisted, so I haven't been exposed to places and people that aren't used to seeing service members everyday.