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Monday, 10 October 2011

U.S. Army Commanders Ordered To Help Soldiers Find Civilian Work

Defense News
October 10, 2011
By JIM TICE

FORT KNOX, Ky. ― Commanders throughout the active U.S. Army and Reserve soon will be ordered to help soldiers, family members and civilian employees prepare for life after military service, whether to attend school, get a job or start a business. An execution order launching the initiative will be based on an implementing directive issued August 29 by Army Secretary John McHugh.

The effort to improve the breadth, quality and integration of Army transition services comes at a time when departing soldiers face one of the toughest job markets in years.

“We want to prepare them so they can meet whatever their goal is when they leave the Army. Most importantly, we want them to be able to get a job,” Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli told Army Times on October 5.  “We’re working very, very hard to find ways that we can use information technology to provide jobs.” The effort will be important as the Army gets smaller, he said.

“We know that we’re going to take the force down to 520,000,” Chiarelli said. “I want to ensure that as we start to do that and the soldiers leave the Army, those who leave because we bring the Army down to 520 and those who just make a determination that they’re going to transition to civilian life, that we’re doing everything possible to ensure that they get access to meaningful work.” The unemployment rate for veterans ages 25 to 29 is nearly 15 percent, compared with 10.7 per­cent for nonveterans. For ages 20 to 24, the unemployment rate for veterans is 20.6 percent, compared with 15.4 percent for non­veterans, according to data obtained at a September 15 Capitol Hill veterans employment summit.

Business and industry representatives who participated in the summit said they were eager to hire separating service members, but institutional problems within the military make hiring difficult.

Attendees said a particular hindrance to successful transitions is the short time that departing service members are given to prepare for a life change.

A key component of McHugh’s directive stipulates that soldiers begin mandatory transition counseling and planning no later than 12 months before their departure from service, according to retired Col. Walter Herd, director of the Army Career and Alumni Program (ACAP), which is headquartered here as part of Human Resources Command.

A second major component of the new policy requires that a soldier’s transition activities become a commander’s responsibility, rather than a staff function of ACAP or the installation.

“We all understand that commanders have a full plate, but the longer we can give soldiers to plan for their transition, the more flexibility commanders will have in assisting in the process,” Herd said. In implementing the program, the service will take advantage of facilities and services already in place, such as the 54 ACAP centers worldwide, and the multitude of education programs available through the Army Continuing Education System and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“We’ll not only take advantage of those services but expand our virtual capability, so that soldiers who are not near an installation can go online or access a call center,” Herd said.

Lance M. Bacon contributed to this report.

Last Updated ( Monday, 10 October 2011 )
 
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