Veterans fight another battle in re-entering society

A Brooksville gathering helps them find jobs.

By Chandra Broadwater, Times Staff Writer
Published March 7, 2008

Former Army Staff Sgt. Curtis Crawford, center, and Mike McMichael, retired Army National Guard, halter a horse at the Chinsegut Hill Conference and Retreat Center north of Brooksville.
	[Maurice Rivenbark | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [Maurice Rivenbark | Times] After equine therapy and team-building sessions, injured veterans walk arm in arm during the VET Foundation's Operation Real Transition in Brooksville. [Maurice Rivenbark | Times] "I thought that I would always have a job when I re-enlisted. But that wasn't the case," said former Army Staff Sgt. Curtis Crawford, who has sent out 250 resumes without getting a job.

BROOKSVILLE - Army Staff Sgt. Curtis Crawford has been deployed to Iraq twice.

There, with his unit from the 101st Airborne Division, he survived more than a dozen explosions. Then, a sniper shot to the chest brought the 40-year-old father of six home.

Along with traumatic brain injury, he says he also suffers from posttraumatic stress disorder.

But now he has another problem. He's back home in Tennessee and ready to go to work to support his family, but he can't find a job. It's a problem that many returning veterans face.

The VET Foundation, formerly known as Military Warrior Support Foundation, is working to help veterans like Crawford find jobs and make the transition back to civilian life.

This week, Crawford and about 25 other injured veterans from around the country are at the Chinsegut Hill Conference and Retreat Center for a program dubbed Operation Real Transition. This is the third such all-expenses-paid conference, but the first time it has been held at the Brooksville center. The foundation, which is based in Ohio, plans to relocate to Florida and hold future retreats at Chinsegut.

The 2-year-old foundation hopes to give soldiers a network of support to keep them from falling through the cracks when they return. The retreat is filled with workshops designed to help them find secure, well-paying work, as well as a job fair today with employers committed to hiring veterans.

"We want them to see the opportunities that are out there," said board president Liz Young, an Indian Rocks Beach resident and the only civilian on the foundation's national board.

The nonprofit group is concerned by the high unemployment rates among veterans, especially younger ones. In 2005, the jobless rate of those ages 20 to 24 was 15.6 percent, nearly twice that of nonveterans.

It dropped to 10.4 percent in 2006, compared to 8.1 percent of nonveterans. However, the decrease is overshadowed by the sheer numbers of veterans, especially the wounded.

About 15 are wounded for every fatality in Iraq, compared with 2.6 per death in the Vietnam War and 2.8 in Korea.

Almost 30,000 soldiers have been wounded in action, with an additional 31,000 treated for noncombat injuries and illnesses, according to a recent report from the Associated Press.

Officials believe younger veterans have a harder time entering the job force because they don't have enough previous job experience. But even Crawford, who previously worked as a teacher and a contract manager, is having a tough time.

In the last year, he's sent out more than 250 resumes. But so far he's had no solid offers.

"I thought that I would always have a job when I re-enlisted," he said. "But that wasn't the case. What I have been offered wouldn't be enough to support my family. A lot of people want to talk the talk, but don't walk the walk."

Mike McMichael has had similar experiences since leaving the Army National Guard in 2005 after nine years. He was injured by an improvised explosive device in Iraq.

Back home in North Carolina, he said he lost his job building power lines because of the shaking and memory loss he sustained from traumatic brain injury. The 33-year-old has since lost two more jobs.

He called this week's retreat an absolutely amazing experience.

"There's been a lot of great information, and the biggest thing for me are the contacts and the networking," McMichael said. "They really want you to hold onto that card and call them, it's not like a job fair, which we're used to in the military. This is truly a mentoring program."

Throughout the week in Brooksville, veterans sat through presentations from companies such as Cintas, Raytheon, Outback Steakhouse and Lifestyle Family Fitness. They got a few pointers on how to spruce up their resume, talked about the differences between military and civilian life, and participated in team-building session with horses at the Kat Ranch, also in Brooksville.

On Thursday, they listened to foundation spokesman and Sex and the City cast member David Eigenberg (he played Steve) talk about how the military translates to all professions, even the world of entertainment. The ex-Marine is a friend of a board member.

"The work ethic I have, the can-do attitude I got from the military, is the biggest attribute I have," said Eigenberg, who served four years in the 1980s. "I auditioned for Sex and the City nine times, and was rejected. But I knew how to establish myself as a product and get to A to B to C."

He told the veterans to take advantage of the week, and to take pride and find the positive in their military backgrounds.

"You are owed a debt of gratitude (for your sacrifices)," Eigenberg said, "but unfortunately you don't receive it."

Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report. Chandra Broadwater can be reached at cbroadwater@sptimes.com or (352) 848-1432.

High unemployment

Since 1995, Bureau of Labor statistics shows veterans had a higher rate of unemployment than nonveterans among those 20 to 24. Recent statistics for the same age group show that:

• In 2005, 15.6 percent of veterans didn't have jobs, compared to 8.7 percent of nonveterans.
• In 2006, 10.4 percent of veterans were unemployed, compared to 8.1 percent of nonvets.

Job fair today

The VET Foundation job fair takes place 10 to 2 p.m. today at the Chinsegut Hill Conference and Retreat Center, 22495 Chinsegut Hill Road, Brooksville.

For more information about the VET Foundation and future Operation Real Transition retreats, go to www.helpwarriors.com.

[Last modified March 6, 2008, 22:56:54]