Vets face another battle

A Brooksville gathering helps those who return from Iraq find jobs.

By Times Staff Writer
Published March 7, 2008

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 return 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.

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 7, 2008, 01:00:43]