Thursday, May 12, 2011
Senators push for better job training for service members
when Americans troops finally come home they face the challenge of finding a job. Apparently the military isn't such a good way to get training and experience to find a career in the civilian world, despite of what the defense department says. We spent billions of dollars training men and women to defend our country and when we're done with them we throw them away like yesterdays trash. There is an unemployment rate of over 27% of young veterans coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Eric Smith, a U.S navy veterans says"I served in the U.S. Navy as a hospital corpsman for 5 1/2 years. During my tours I gained valuable experience in the medical field under extreme conditions. Despite my knowledge and service, I am struggling to find a job today and I'm not alone". So is joining the military such a good idea now? Or is it just how bad our economy is right now?
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9 comments:
To me, this is actually quite surprising. I have a good family friend that joined the Navy two years ago. He joined because he believed he was going to get some benefits, training, and experience. But hearing this article is really discouraging. And it's really unfair. It really seems like the defense department is somewhat fabricating its benefits to attract young men and women to serve in the military.
And personally, I find it really unjust. These people risk their lives, spend their time and spend their effort.. only to come back home and have trouble finding a job.
However, I do believe the economy and the unemployment rate has a big part in this. Because veterans might not be as experienced or as trained as other candidates for a position, veterans are really at a disadvantage.
I think that it's really unfair for our troops to come back home without any job. They go off to other countries and fight for our country, but when they return, there's no place for them in society. They are forgotten and it becomes very difficult for them to get a job back home. I believe that troops who return from war should be able to have a stable job to lean back on instead of coming back home to even more hardships. It's very unfair for them, especially after they have risked their lives for our country.
I believe that in time this will be fixed. It seems like, from reading the article, that if the bill is passed in the future that there will be better training and military skills offered to better the chances of a service member getting a job after they come home. "Today almost one-third of those leaving the army don't get that training," Murray said.
This is interesting, because usually you hear about how many benefits veterans receive. Tons of government money goes to benefits for veterans of the military and navy, and usually people complain about wanting to cut some of that money. Being in the military seems to provide you with many skills that can be applied to civilian life, so it’s hard to see why they would have trouble getting jobs. But when you think about it, everyone is having trouble getting jobs. Because of the state of the economy, people are spending less, companies are hiring less, etc. It would definitely be a rough time to come back from the military and try to get a job. However, I have a friend who was in the military, and then went to college completely funded by the government. The military offers funding and a lot of support for veterans, and going back to school is always a good option. Maybe those who are still struggling to get jobs can consider getting funding to return to school for further specialization. Overall, in regards to the benefits from being in the military, I still think it’s a good option. Although many veterans may be struggling to get jobs now, it might just be the state of our economy, and there are always other options.
i remember an old statistic wayyy back saying something like how the number one thing on the list of worries that military servicemen have is how to find work when they come back. really vague, but just a thought.
i do think one must consider the demographics of those who choose a military career. aiming recruiting at young boys and men coming out of high school. they fund for college, but they gonna try and ship you out for an active tour of duty first if they can. considering when they come back unless they have a college degree in their pocket, they'll have a whole lot of life skills, but i doubt they'll have the job skills from education to compete in today's job market. I think the better option would be to join an ROTC program that will let you go to college and join the armed forces as an officer.
-Raymond Lim
This is not suprising to me. They glorify the armed services so much, that it seems like they are making to many promises and some of them which they cant keep. I think that joining the military is never a good idea and I commend those who do decide to join and fight for our country. I think that jobs should hire more veterans because they have done so much, but it is also risky because it is uncertain when they will leave to fight the war and when they will come back, therefore many job owners might not what to hire them.
It's interesting to me that we honor the troops (as we rightly should) day and night, but when it comes down to actually BEING a trooper, not many people would choose to endanger their lives for their country. Those brave young people that actually have the courage to fight for the country they love so much should get an edge in getting jobs, even in these harsh economic times. I don't support veteran benefit spending especially since we're still in the process of bringing troops back from foreign countries.
Many people (like rich, sheltered politicians) just don't understand the plights of our soldiers. I'm not saying that I understand, but I do acknowledge that they do deserve more than they are getting right now.
I don't think that joining the military is such a good idea, but that is not true for everyone. Higher education after military experience can help offset this unfortunate unemployment statistic, and the army can help teach self-discipline and other life skills for those who have had a rough time previously. On the other hand, I do agree with Ray's opinion about joining the military as an officer after ROTC if possible. Also, once the economy starts getting up and running again, the situation will obviously get a lot better. Side note: didn’t Mr. McGlashan join the navy and then go all the way through law school (and yes, I know that things are very different today and that not everyone is Mr. McGlashan)?
In addition to higher rates of unemployment, American soldiers often face higher rates of homelessness when they return from serving their country. I don't think these disparate rates could be attributed to our poor economy because these statistics have extended beyond the time frame of our recession.
As a result, I do believe that there should be more done to ensure that our soldiers aren't risking their lives just to come back to nothing. Whether this be achieved through policy change or more funding, there needs to be more done to ensure that this disparity doesn't continue.
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