No matter what movie defined your generation”™s war ”“ “The Best Years of Our r papers, they are expected to go home and pick up life where they lefLives” or “Forrest Gump” ”“ both accurately portray what most military people experience upon discharge: Handed theit off.
For many, it doesn”™t work out that way.
The tale of E-4Airman Chris Klein could be typical. He ended his first military stint in Japan without a stateside job waiting. The lesson of unemployment left him determined not to let it happen again when he returned from Iraq. America may “support our troops,” and indeed there are taxpayer-supported job programs for veterans, but for Klein, a good job came through that first hard landing and a determination not to let it happen again.
Klein ended his tour of duty in Japan with little fanfare. “I was handed my separation papers, de-briefed and put on the airplane. My enlistment was over. I just came home.”
Klein married and enlisted in the Air Force right out of high school. For many of his western New York peers, on-the-job training and a college education were compelling reasons to serve. A baby on the way sealed the deal.
“I do like the idea of an all-volunteer military,” said Klein, “I think people do a better job when they sign up on their own and aren”™t forced into it. I think it works better than resurrecting the draft.”
Being in the Air Force gave Klein a chance to have a stable paycheck for his young and growing family, see the world ”¦ and learn skills that would help him find a good job when his six years were up.
Klein spent most of his tour of duty in Japan. Another baby arrived while the family was stationed there. Coming home was a rude awakening for Klein.
“I didn”™t think about what would happen once I got out. There was no job waiting for me when I got home,” said Klein. “Most of my Air Force buddies were regular military who made a career of it, or in the National Guard. They had jobs waiting for them. I wasn”™t in either category.”
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No paychecks
The unemployment insurance Klein signed up for didn”™t last long. “I was sent on a temporary job that paid less than I was getting from the Department of Labor. It didn”™t even help cover my family”™s expenses. I didn”™t know I could turn down a job that paid much less than I was receiving on unemployment.” Klein and his family found themselves without a weekly check”“ and without much opportunity for decent employment.
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Klein had already signed up for the Air National Guard when he left the Air Force. When his group got called up to be sent to Iraq, “I went willingly. After all, I knew that was part of what I had signed up for, and it meant my family would be taken care of.”
Klein”™s wife left the Buffalo area and moved to Herkimer County to be nearer her family while Klein went overseas to serve six months at Balad Air Force Base, 40 miles north of Baghdad. “Morale, for the most part, was good. We were in a more fortified area than others who are there. The Army and Marines have the worst of it. They are on the front line every day.”
While he was in Iraq, his wife gave birth to their third child. This time, Klein was determined to be better prepared once he came home.
“I went on the New York State Department of Labor Web site whenever I could get near a computer, looking at all the job postings and started sending out resumes.” One of them went to Wolfe Plumbing and Heating, based in Montgomery. What caught general manager Matt Notarnicola”™s eye was Klein”™s opening line in his cover letter: “This is the first resume I have ever sent out.”
Notarnicola, based in Wolfe”™s Catskill office, looked at several resumes, but the fact that Klein “did have some knowledge of our business and seemed to be in charge of different functions fit with the job we had available. I liked his whole resume. And I have read a lot of them. He”™s done a lot in the few years he”™s been on this earth and he”™s only 28.”
Klein was the first Iraq War veteran who applied. “When I called his home to set him up for an interview, that”™s when I learned he was still overseas,” Notarnicaola said. “We started communicating by e-mail. We sent him an application through e-mail ”“ normally not our policy ”“ but we did because of the circumstances.”
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The good soldier
Notarnicola said people coming out of the military are more structured and seem to make better employees in general. “They are used to taking orders and used to taking on a task and getting it done. Whenever we see anyone has been in the military on their resume, we take a second look.”
Said Klein: “When I got home in April, after spending two weeks getting reacquainted with my wife, children and new baby, I contacted Mr. Notarnicola and went down for an in-person interview. I guess they liked what they saw ”“ they hired me.”
Klein has a two-hour commute from his home in Richfield Springs (north of Cooperstown) to Catskill each day. Klein says it isn”™t much different than his six-year tour of duty in Japan, where he worked a 12-hour day. But now, he”™d like to move closer to his job and spend more time with his family. They have begun looking in Ulster and Greene counties to be closer to Klein”™s new job.
“During my six years in the Air Force, I wasn”™t really prepared when I came home. First, it was definitely a culture shock. I had lived in Japan nearly all of the six years I served. On top of that, I went right from school into the military. I had no job waiting for me, and didn”™t think to look before I was discharged. I found it very tough, not just in finding a job, but finding my way back into civilian life.”
While he”™s grateful to Wolfe for giving him the opportunity to work and likes what he”™s doing, Klein feels New York state could “do a better job when it comes to help placing veterans. I didn”™t know, for instance, that when I was collecting unemployment, I didn”™t need to take a job that paid less than my benefit. It would be nice to know what you have to do and what you don”™t have to do.”
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Advice for those on active duty? Klein says, “If you don”™t have a job waiting for you when you come back, start looking now. I had no job to come home to, and I am sure I am not alone.” He hopes employers will consider returning veterans for jobs. “They may not have the exact training a company is looking for, but they didn”™t have any training for the skills they learned in the military. Most of the men and women coming home can learn pretty much anything if given a chance.”
Klein would like to see more done for veterans.
Wolfe Plumbing and Heating”™s Montgomery office employs approximately 40 and the branch in Catskill, where Klein works, employs 14. There is talk of expanding with yet another branch.
“We”™re always looking to get bigger,” said Notarnicola. “It”™s difficult to find younger people who are responsible. I”™m starting to sound like my father.”
“What happened with Mr. Klein and his experience with unemployment insurance was unfortunate,” said Earl Wallace, New York State Department of Labor veterans”™ program coordinator. “We do expedite claims and help our veterans through the process.” The former Army staff sergeant says there are currently 80 state Labor Department representatives dedicated to helping returning veterans across the state.
“The main perk for a company in hiring vets are they are getting people who are mission oriented, who have an incredible work ethic. They are used to getting up early and getting the job done,” Wallace said. “When someone e-mails us from Iraq, we put them in touch with the local veterans”™ employment representative who is close to where the person lives. We”™ve been able to set up two or three interviews for people within days of being discharged from the military.”
A transitional assistance program (TAP) is available for those within a year or two of being discharged. “We encourage anyone in the military within a year or two of discharge to attend a TAP workshop,” said Wallace. The program is a partnership between the U.S. Department of Defense, the state Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
It consists of three days of job search, resume preparation and other services and benefits available to people leaving the military. At TAP seminars, transitioning service members are given contact information for veteran labor representatives.
For Klein, he”™s happy he got connected with Wolfe, and encourages fellow military personnel to plan ahead. “Try to have a job waiting for you when you get home and make the best use of whatever resources are available. I had to learn the hard way. Maybe my experience will make it easier for the next person.”
As of August 2007, there are approximately 162,000 active military serving in Iraq and 26,000 in Afghanistan. Their employment concerns are addressed at: www.labor.state.ny.us/vets/vetintropage.shtm and
www.careeronestop.org/militarytransition.
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