I think it's an economic problem, a job problem, a problem of basic human dignity.
You are correct.
I just skimmed over the article looking for key words and found none so I'll go out on a limb here and assume streamlining the process to access these government programs was not mentioned. Effective government programs was not mentioned. The public hears about or reads about these programs to help vets and think; Oh that's great, we're getting help where it's needed. Thing is, the public doesn't have to navigate these programs. They are either worthless as in, Oh my god, not another resume writing workshop, or they tell you to network. Network! Are you serious? You know what a lot of veteran's network consist of after leaving the military and likely moving
back home, home as in literally home? Zip point shit. What's the number one path to finding a job? Networking. They tell you to transpose your military training to civilian terms. Fine, I can transpose it to plain English. Here again, there is terminology specific to the civilian world and unless you can make claim to it, you're SOL. Six Sigma is a good example. So why would anyone in HR take a chance and pass your resume along? They won't, and they don't.
How about providing incentives for hiring vets? Good idea. Then I actually went to the IRS website and looked at the qualifiers. Well, that oughta weed out about 80% of vets.
Should be relatively easy for a vet to get a federal job. Sure. We'll give them bonus points to give them preference. Disability? Even more bonus points. Now, I'm not the shiniest marble in the jar but I can say a significant percentage of vets are going to give up on this process long before they figure it out. And for those that do figure it out and pursue a federal job and their resume makes it past OPM and it gets to the hiring manager's desk, well he's got a few tricks too for "weeding out the vets" as it's called. Think you weren't treated fairly in the hiring process? You can complain. Not to OPM of course but to the offending agency. But they're the people I have the problem with, isn't this sort of a conflict of interest? Shouldn't an OPM Vet Rep be the arbiter? Nope. You could try DOL. They have a complaint process and Vet Reps but no enforcement authority so your ultimate solution is to sue for the job. Talk about a good first impression, sue your potential employer for a job. The job that was likely earmarked for nepotism. I think the key for vets getting a job is to become a Vet Rep, there seems to be a lot of them.
The VA Healthcare System. What a wonderful system. They have everything, if you can get your hands on it. Let's start with parking. Fresno VA hospital is a good example. Get there before 0730 or no parking for you. Your appointment is what time? What difference does it make? You can get a ride from the county Vet Rep. He's got a van. Your appointment is what time? Well, we have to wait until the last appointment anyways so, what difference does it make? Park on the street. Near a VA facility? In this neighborhood where the disadvantaged residents assume there's prescription meds inside?
I could go into the comedy of errors that occurs in securing an appointment. Appointment hell, a friggin' call from the scheduler for a consultation for an appointment. This would entail much more personal detail than I care make public. Suffice it to say, it can be summed up in one word: apathy.
I could go on and on and on, but my back hurts. I need to move around. Stand up, sit down, move around, repeat. One good thing is my f'ed up spine is f'ing up my nerve root so maybe this will push me to the 50% disability mark and they'll stop subtracting my disability pay from my retirement pay. I hear it's tough getting to that 50% mark. But, you keep fighting or, well, you don't.
Veteran programs are what I like to call effectively ineffective. They're nothing more than a politician giving the civilian public a hand-job. And as the war(s) wind down and the public attention moves on, veterans are first to get the budget axe (or did that already start?) and the vets go back out onto the streets.
But yeah, let's do some more wars to protect the interests of multi-national corporations that don't pay taxes in the US.
I'm all for this brother. Float it past the GOP or any politician with a business in their district that feeds the military industrial complex. There's one near you.
Okay, my hour's up. I relinquish the couch.