Risk of Future Mobilization and Difficulty in Transition to Normal Life
Most service members coming home from international war duties, most of them injured or ill face challenges that include marketing their acquired skills, and convincing employers their military value in order to secure job opportunities. It is undeniable that employers prefer not to hire war veterans because of the increased risk of future mobilization, veteran’s inability to successfully transition from military to civilian life, and uncertainties associated with the health and personal life stabilities of war veterans. The reasons for the increased trend include increased levels of individual needs and risks from war veterans, lack of the requisite skills, knowledge, and academic degrees to qualify war veterans for civilian jobs, and war-related illnesses and injuries that are likely to hinder war veterans from performing their duties. Employers believe that war veterans face a complexity of challenges during their transition from military to civilian life. In order to save the economy from increased cases of unemployed war veterans, specific measures must implemented by the Congress.
War Veterans and Unemployment
Undeniably, newly discharged military servicemen encounter a myriad of problems when they return home. Most service members coming home from international war duties, majority of them injured or ill, face challenges that include marketing their acquired skills, and convincing employers their military value in order to secure job opportunities (Walker, 2010). An estimated 1.9 million Americans have turned to civilian life after an active service duty in the U.S. Armed Forces since the September 2001 terrorist attacks (Walker, 2010, p. 3). This group of war veterans is referred to as the Gulf War-era II veterans. However, this group faces extreme conditions in the labour market such as the intensified competition for jobs and high rates of unemployment. Coupled with the harsh economic times, employers are finding it difficult to hire war veterans due to a multiplicity of reasons; especially the increased risk of future mobilization and the difficulty associated with normal life transitions (Bangerter et. al., 2010). Worse, the number is likely to double owing to the increased number of soldiers who are yet to return from Afghanistan and Iraq. Statistics are equally worrying given the skyrocketing number of war veterans.
According to statistics from the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the number of unemployed war veterans has surpassed the one million mark. Whilst the general unemployment rate for the entire population stands at 9.5%, the rate of unemployment for war veterans is 12.1% (October 2011), 39% of whom are aged 25-29 years (Bureau of Labour Statistics, 2012). Despite them having sacrificed their lives to serve the country, employers are yet to offer job opportunities for the newly discharged war veterans (Beucke, 2011). Similarly, statistics from the Bureau of Labour Statistics (2012) provides worrying trends that confirm the increased percentage of joblessness among young veterans (18-24 age categories). The statistics cover the Gulf War-era II veterans (a category of war veterans since September 2001).
Source: (Beucke, 2011).
This paper examines the reasons behind the increased unemployment for war veterans and it limits the discussion to the assumption that employers prefer not to hire war veterans because of the increased risk of future mobilization, as well as a veteran’s inability to successfully transition from military to civilian life. Generally, it is believed that war veterans are deficient of the requisite employment experience, the right quality of job training, and difficulties associated with the transition to civilian life. Several reasons can be used to explain this worrying trend, which seem to show no reason of disappearing in the future.
First, many an employer fear to hire war veterans based on their specific needs. Judging from the nature of their previous work duties, war veterans tend to require a high level of flexibility to sort issues in their lives. For instance, it is difficult to ascertain when the next war will erupt and war veterans often hold a high probability of deployed for future assignments in the event of a war (Carden-Coyne, 2007). This factor is a considerable inconvenience to employers who require full commitment from workers. Equally, war veterans require flexibility during their work schedules in order to find time to attend doctor appointments and therapy sessions. Major of war veterans underwent challenging and difficult situations that warrants for medical or therapeutic attention to facilitate their transition to normal lives. Still on special needs, many an employer perceives war veterans as a source of financial risks. For instance, the risks such as injuries acquired during the course of their careers lead to high insurance rates to employers (Gary, and Mitzi, 2011). Additionally, the time consumed while attending special needs costs production time eventually leads to lose of money to companies Carden-Coyne, 2007). The factors that cause unemployment to war veterans are directly related to future risks and difficulties in life transitions.
Second, war veterans undertook their military duties as the first job appointments and hence, employers believe that they are under qualified for a civilian job positions with their high school certificates. McEnaney (2011) argues that majority of individuals choose to enlist in the military directly out of high school, without any college education experience. Educational degrees and qualifications are highly valued when compared to experiences acquired from the military service (McEnaney, 2011). Even though military service involves a high degree of discipline, dedication, and punctuality, employers view it as insufficient work experience to enable the veterans secure employment. Most skills acquired from pursuing educational degrees are accorded more value in the workplace. As such, uneducated war veterans stand a little chance of securing employment. It all begins with the recruitment process where war veterans struggle to pass simple processes such as communication skills during the interview process (McEnaney, 2011). This factor can be attributed to low level of professional training from the government because a large portion of military training involves finesse and hardship perseverance (Gary, and Mitzi, 2011). Military training is favored at the expense of intellectual training. Employers often view that war veterans have overwhelming needs that the Veteran Initiative Foundation is supposed to solve. Some of the employers have even questioned the role of VIF in helping war veterans to adjust to their civilian lives. This discussion shows that issues relating to transition from military to civilian life constitute a large percentage of reasons for lack of employment among the military (Walker, 2010).
Third, war-related illnesses and injuries make it extremely difficult for war veterans to execute their duties in the work environment. Carden-Coyne (2007, p. 543) argues that, while dead veterans are honored in memorials and remembrance ceremonies and memorials, disabled and injured soldiers are often neglected. Undeniably, disability reverberates the anxieties relating to the nations responsibilities to wounded soldiers rather than playing a significant role in affirming the moral and national certainty of war. Injured or disabled soldiers trigger hidden fears to employers coupled with the inability of soldier-integration into the very society that sent them to war (Carden-Coyne, 2007, p. 543). Another worrying factor to employees entails the perception of disconnection and misunderstanding from the civilians to war veterans. The former thinks that the latter suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression that makes it difficult for war veterans to transform to civilian life. For those war veterans with illnesses and injuries, they tend to be less productive because injuries and/or illnesses acquired during their military duties slow down their general level of performance and productivity. As such, employees fear to offer them job opportunities owing to the reduced working capacity. Injuries and illnesses cause anxiety and stress to affected individuals and employers take this as a negative factor to their organizations (Gary, and Mitzi, 2011). Owing to such factors, employees avoid giving job opportunities to war veterans based on the associated risks related to the military service and as well, the difficulties associated with transition to civilian life.
Fourth, the workplace is usually associated with social networking and socializing is an essential skill to workers. Even though conflicts and misunderstandings are inevitable, particular frameworks are followed during the conflict resolution process. In the case of military, violence and high-handedness rules the day. Considering this, employers are engrained with the fear that war veterans will bring the violence acquired from their battlefields into the workplace. Soldiers are often used to commands and employers are not sure if work ethics can be used to guide war veterans to obey the rules and regulations. In the military, the strategies used to make soldiers adhere to discipline issues are different from the frameworks used in the workplace with regard to discipline issues. Soldiers are trained to kill and an incident of indiscipline can turn catastrophic in the workplace. Employers are turned off by war veteran’s background of blowing things up and shooting rifles (Autor, Duggan, and Lyle, 2011). Worse, new stories have resurfaced where war veterans are involved in criminal activities. With such perceptions in mind, employers are less likely to offer employment opportunities to war veterans (McEnaney, 2011).
Finally yet important, the personal life stability of war veterans is another worrying factor to employers. By far, majority of war veterans are homeless in the US with another large number of them struggling with increased burdens of rent. This heightens their increased risks of becoming homeless. A higher percentage of war veterans suffering from injuries and post-traumatic stress disorders suffer an increased chance of becoming homeless. According to the Department of Veteran Affairs in the US, on a particular night, approximately 130,000 war veterans are homeless (Walker, 2010). Substance addition among war veterans is also prevalent among war veterans. Most soldiers used drugs and substances to enable them outcome the stress and challenges associated with military life. Continued use of drugs and substances rendered many war veterans dependent on such substances thus making them to suffer from addiction disorders. Generally, individuals addicted to drugs are often at high risk of becoming homeless (Bangerter et. al., 2010). To this purpose, employers would not consider hiring war veterans due to these risks associated with the personal life stabilities of war veterans.
Conclusion
In order to save the economy from increased cases of unemployed war veterans, special measures must implemented by the Congress. These strategies includes but not limited to entering into partnerships with the private sector to encourage them to hire war veterans, offering professional training, increasing packages to veterans to enable them kickstart their lives, and modernizing programs that address the challenges faced by war veterans when transition from military to civilian lifestyles.
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