Bay River Houseboats - Why does everyone claim to "support the troops" and nobody is willing to hire them?

Why does everyone claim to "support the troops" and nobody is willing to hire them?

I'm so tired of this "support the troops" BS! If the average american business owner would actually walk the walk then our young men and women in uniform would not be among the highest unemployed group of people in america. Why are they so undervalued? Why does a college graduate with four years of slugging beers and living off his mom's credit card be worth more to an employer than the 22 year old Iraqi war veteran who has proven his leadership (aka - management) skills in the most critical and stressfull environment imaginable? So if any business owners are out there with a yellow ribbon on your car, house, boat or otherwise, hire a vet or cut the s%#@.

Public Comments

My company only hires Vets. I prefer to give jobs to disabled Veterans, male, female, doesn't matter. The more years in, the better. It does look better if you have some course or school training. Take time to go to college, you'll appreciate it later.
what kind of job are you trying to get? thats probably where the problem is.
Thank you for putting this truth out there, and I appreciate and feel your pain firsthand! Good luck brotha.
You hit it on the head, the degree. In college you learn the basics of what a job requires. That's why military have such a hard time coming back to society because that's really all they know, that was their college to some degree. Still you can't hire someone who doesn't have the training in the field.
What you are saying is completely illegitimate. This is a sluggish economy and jobs are hard to find. You should keep looking for a job. I know it's hard but you never even specified if you have a degree
Dont say you were a soldier till after they hire you.
I understand your frustration but, but it isn't entirely true. I have been retired for 14 years. I have worked in the Industrial Security arena and in two years became a shift supervisor. I have worked construction, been a Corrections Officer and am currently a conductor of through freight for Union Pacific Railroad. All were more than happy to have me. I have made (including my retirement) from 47k a year to 65k a year. I have never been fired, had my bosses tell me they wish I would reconsider quitting. (I guess I still have that adventuresome streak in me...can't settle down). Check out different avenues. Working for the Railroad was nothing I had ever considered. I love the job. With the economy as slow as it is, jobs just aren't there right now. Stick with what you know. Try working for the government as a civilian employee, check out Industrial Security, Corrections, etc. You always have that option to finish a career in the military. Hang in there, use that motivation, determination in your favor. Bug the people you want to go to work for. They will either keep saying no, or say "This guy really wants this position, hire him so he will quit bugging us". Luck to ya.
I think you're working on assumptions and stereotypes. 1) Thinking that all college students are doing it on Mommy and Daddy's dime, drinking their time away and 2) All 22 year olds who've done time in the military are somehow zipped right to mature adulthood. I've known plenty of college students, including myself, who put themselves through college (or may have had their parents pay for them) and who worked their butts off to get their degrees, I've also known plenty of people who've served time in the military who are more immature than their civilian counterparts.
Throughout history, the general public of ANY COUNTRY gets a kick out of a parade, the waving flags and soldiers marching off to war. But they don't like the aftermath. Soldiers coming home broken, men trained to kill back in society looking for a way to suport themnselves and their families quickly becomes someone else's business. We have become a naiton of what I call "Armchair Patriots" Put a sticker on the SUV, Call protesters names and instant Patriot. Nice and clean, no muss or fuss. No real involvement, no sacrifice. My suggestion,: get yourself to a college ASAP. If you don't have the grades or courses, get to a Jr College and work hard for a degree that pertains to what you want to do and go for it. Good luck.
The military people who have been in twenty or more years and then retired make excellent employees upon their return to the civilian work force.However,these young guys returning from Iraq are frankly worthless.They're just plain spoiled and lazy.I work with a bunch of them and they expect to get paid for doing nothing.If these guys are what Petraus has to fight his war with then I pity him.
The Army Times actually had an article on this a little while ago. In part of the article they polled business owners on why they wouldn't hire a vet. The number one answer was that they weren't sure of their mental stability. PTSD has been quite a news worthy topic since the war began. A lot of people assume that someone suffering from PTSD is unstable and on the brink of snapping. I think it's sad that what was supposed to bring public awareness to an issue effecting some vets coming back has become this double edge sword that has been blown somewhat out of proportion and made the public leery of something they don't really understand and assume extreme behavior is by and large the norm rather than the exception.
For a lot of people "supporting" the troops means agitating to get them out of the war. Actually helping them win the war or resume a civilian life is unthinkable. That would entail acknowledging that someone had the guts to do what they wouldn't and they can't face that.
Having military experience is a form of life experience, but that's what makes it so generalist. Meanwhile, considering the relative cakewalk route some university graduates have taken, they're more likely to have an easier time of finding employment because they have the required credentials. Simply put, a university degree has a specific focus (except Bachelor of Arts, a useless study with no purpose besides letting 18 year old girls mooch off their father's wallet a few years longer). There will always be a good demand for qualified teachers, nurses, geologists, chemists, lawyers, accountants and the plethora of other graduate careers available. Most business owners won't go through the effort of filtering in veterans, not when there's a lot of people trying to find employment in careers that are either unskilled, semi-skilled or provide training. Most people consider "supporting the troops" to be more of a state of mind than any positive action. Either way, best of luck to you in your search for employment. University is a piece of piss compared to an average day in the Reserves, but it'll teach you a lot of other skills and knowledge.
Talk is cheap, that's why.
I understand your frustration and can tell you from the standpoint of a college graduate who considered joining the army before going to college that this S*** is BS. I paid alot of money and am now in debt because if my education. An education I felt I didn't learn any real life skills until my Junior/Senior year. That leaves 2-3 years of me paying alot of money to drink keg beer and be a general disgrace. I am a capable smart person but I think some of my veteran friends are much more qualified to handle the stress of a management position than me. I know some of my friends found a job using this veteran owned online business directory. Who better to hire a vet than a fellow vet... https://www.vetfriends.com/directory/index.cfm They also have a veteran job board on their website Good luck