Pentagon helps troops move into civilian life

• About 10% of Iraq and Atghanistan veterans are unemployed
• New Pentagon program will cost $1.2 billion over the next five years
• The initiative was the result of legislation passed by Congress last year

The Pentagon is launching an effort to prepare servicemembers for life after the military even as they begin training and serving as combat troops.

The hope is to reduce the joblessness that has stubbornly plagued veterans who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Last month, 10% of these veterans, or more than 200,000 former servicemembers, were without work, . The overall U.S. jobless rate is 7.9%. The veteran problem is even worse among those ages 24 and younger. One in four are jobless, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics.

With the Iraq war over, the Afghanistan conflict winding down and a downsizing of the military underway, 1.2 million soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines will go through at least initial phases of the new transition effort in the next four years.

"This is a cultural change for the Department of Defense," says Susan Kelly, deputy director of the Pentagon office handling the program, "We are saying not only do military members need to be military-ready, mission-ready, but we're also asking for the first time for them to meet (civilian) career readiness standards before they separate."

The initiative was the result of legislation passed by Congress last year and presidential task force recommendations.

"It goes to the heart of taking care of the people that fight for us," Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Thursday of the program.

Key elements of the transition assistance program (TAP) -- which will cost the Pentagon $1.2 billion over the next five years -- include:

-- A requirement that servicemembers, in some cases soon after basic training, begin thinking about and selecting a pathway for when they leave the military, whether it be higher education, vocational training, employment or entrepreneurship.

-- A mandatory 5- to 7-day course held months before troops exit the service, where they learn about Department of Veterans Affairs benefits and skills for interviewing, resume preparation and job searches.

-- Additional two-day, voluntary courses to select the right university, accredited vocational training or job.

-- A requirement that before leaving the service, troops will have to show they've prepared for civilian life, either by registering for college, preparing a resume with approved references, applying for or accepting a job or preparing a budget to meet expenses. Commanders must hold them accountable for this.

-- For those interested in starting their own business, there is an eight-week online course provided by the Small Business Administration, followed by assignment to a mentor who can help guide the veteran in getting established.

An initial phase of the new effort -- the five-day mandatory jobs course -- was implemented across the military on Nov. 21. Other aspects will go into effect over the next two years, Kelly says.

"It really is about selling yourself," Sgt. Maj. L. L. Brown tells a room full of Marines and a few spouses crammed into a chapel annex classroom Monday morning at the Marine Corps Base Quantico, south of the nation's capital.

On this first day of the five-day mandatory course, Sgt. Corey Raynor sits listening from the back of the room, still uncertain about which pathway to choose. His left arm is adorned with an R.I.P. (for rest in peace) tattoo in remembrance of two comrades killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, where Raynor served as a mortar-man.

During a break, Raynor, 27, uses words like "exciting" and "unknown" to describe a civilian future six months away. "I haven't done it for a while," says the married Marine and father of a 21-month-old daughter.

A North Carolina native, Raynor's initial plans are to return to Afghanistan as a contractor and he's OK with that for now. It may be tough otherwise to sell his acquired combat abilities to an employer, Raynor says.

"That's what I fear for many of my buddies that are infantry," Raynor says. "Everybody wants ... somebody with a skill (that's) not just how to shoot a guy."

Architects of the new transition program say that's a concern they are addressing. Troops will learn during the five-day course how special skills acquired in wartime can be marketed.

"There are intangibles that kind of rise above the noise level," says Brig. Gen. Robert Hedelund, leading the Marine Corps effort. "The coming to work on time, the discipline taken to a task, the adaptability, flexibility, leadership skills. All those things matter."

For the past few decades, the military has offered courses on VA benefits and job application training. But except for the Marine Corps, which required attendance, the classes were voluntary for the Army, Air Force and Navy.

The result was that more than half simply declined to attend, according Pentagon data. Now they will be required to go to the classes.

In addition, the training relied on lectures sometimes difficult to absorb. "For years we've been providing a VA briefing that was a series of PowerPoint slides that just kind of went in pretty dry detail, I'll admit," says Danny Pummill, a VA official.

Parisa Featherson, a Quantico instructor for 17 years, called it "death by power point."

One result was that more than half of servicemembers simply chose not to take the courses in recent years, according to VA data.

Officials hope the new TAP classes won't be so boring. "Basically, it's more like a college class where you break people into smaller groups and there's give-and-take and you help them understand their problems and solve some of their problems," Pummill says.

Critics in government and the private sector say the program could be stronger. The additional, two-day courses offered could be made mandatory -- the Marine Corps has already taken this step.

About half of exiting servicemembers decide to use their G.I. Bill educational benefits, a value of more than $125,000, says Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee.

By not requiring them to take additional courses on how to spend that money wisely, "we are failing to help them to meet their post-military goals, making their transition to civilian life more difficult," Miller says.

And the Pentagon must do a better job of linking servicemembers to employers, many say. "The private sector needs access to servicemembers earlier," says retired Marine lieutenant colonel Kevin Schmiegel, executive director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Hiring our Heroes program, which provides online resources to veterans seeking work.

The Pentagon's transition assistance initiative will also target National Guard or reservists as troops come off active duty, an area of particularly strong need, Army California National Guard Maj. Ty Shepard says.

More than half of 123 California National Guard troops returning from Afghanistan this month are currently without civilian jobs, Shepard says.

Proponents of the plan view it as having the potential to benefit society in ways similar to how the G.I. bill improved the lives of post-World War II veteran.

"If we do this right," Pummill says, "this is our opportunity to once again transform America."