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Welcome Home! #2 -- Getting Started
For the latest in this series, scroll down.
by Jim Strickland
You're a veteran now ... or very close to it. You've been advised to consider filing paperwork with your Department of Veterans Affairs that will eventually result in an award of VA disability compensation. The awards would provide monetary and other benefits for the conditions that were caused by your honorable military service. You have conditions ranging from very minor to those that may be thought of as physically or mentally disabling.
Now what? Just how do you file with the VA? Is it really as hard as your buddies tell you it is?
Before we get too far along, it's worth repeating a few key facts.
First ... filing a claim is about as easy as anything you can do. Winning the award is sometimes more challenging.
The VA is way behind ... maybe by 2 years or so ... the processing of claims. Your patience isn't just helpful, it's going to be an absolute necessity to get through the drill. There are some 800,000 other veterans in line with you. If you haven't yet filed, they're all ahead of you.
There are no shortcuts ... but you can make the process easier by paying careful attention to the rules from the first communication to VA. One error on your part, a single attempt to circumvent the process and your train will leave the tracks very quickly. Once off track, it may be years to get it headed right again.
We'll repeat that because it's just that important; there are no shortcuts.
Before you file a claim, ask yourself if you actually have a claim to file. There's a difference of having a given condition and being disabled by the condition. To be successful with a VA compensation claim, you must have a condition that is disabling.
For example; If you had a fall as you were detailing your General Dynamics Land Systems IAV Stryker vehicle and you injured your elbow, you may have had an encounter at the local medic's shop to have it assessed. There may have been x-rays taken, some pain medicine dispensed, a sling ordered to suspend and rest the limb and you were on a light duty assignment for 14 days.
After that incident you were fine. You guarded the arm for a month or so as there was still some small ache but you soon forgot about it.
At your discharge examination there was no report of any physical condition concerning the injured arm.
Five years later you think about that event as you're speaking to friends. One of your circle of friends tells you that you should file for a disability compensation ... after all, you were injured.
Do you have a claim? Maybe - but probably not.
The event occurred, no doubt about it. Is it disabling to this day?
From the information we see here, clearly not. Could it be disabling if you still had pain and you had lost some range of motion in that joint? Yes.
To begin your claim, you must have a disabling condition. As in the example above, you must also have a record of the illness, injury or event that caused or contributed to (aggravated) your claimed disability. A medical record is best. Company records of events (incoming enemy fire, accidental explosion or fire, etc.) will be helpful. Sometimes a "Buddy Statement" from a witness to an event is a good piece of evidence.
Filing the claim is simple. You may write a very simple letter to the VA Regional Office (VARO or Veterans Service Center) nearest you. You can determine the office you'll use by clicking here http://tinyurl.com/cwcf3v
In the letter you must state that you are filing a claim for compensation and the condition(s) you're filing for. You may also complete a VA Form 21-526 (it's here http://tinyurl.com/d23a4j) and mail it to the Regional Office. You can also apply on-line here http://tinyurl.com/94cazj
Hint: The preferred communication method to your VA is via the written letter or correct forms and certified mail. Telephone calls, emails or faxes are often lost or misplaced and you have scant record of delivery. Your written letters should always be delivered to VA by certified mail, return receipt corrected. Once you have that small green postcard, you're assured your letter has been delivered to the internal VA mail room.
The VA is designed to work directly with the veteran. To be successful dealing directly with VA requires some knowledge of how the process works, a lot of patience and a few skills. You should have a computer and Internet connection and understand how to use it reasonably well. You'll want to read and research directly from work posted on different sites on the net.
You need a printer that works well. A scanner or copier is necessary ... there is often a lot of paper involved.
You must be able to read, write and communicate to a degree that you can reasonably follow written instructions and comprehend letters from the VA about your case.
Help is available if you don't feel up to doing it yourself. Many Veterans Service Organizations provide Veterans Service Officers (VSO) who will assist you. These folks are also sometimes called National Service Officers. There is no charge for their service. Use caution when selecting a VSO. You must sign over a Power of Attorney (POA) to this person and he or she will have access to all of your records.
National or Veterans Service Officers are not federal VA employees. They may be employed by an organization or the county or state where you live. The VSO serving you may also be a volunteer who gives his or her time helping vets complete paperwork but won't do much else.
Not all VSO's are alike. There are no national standards or certifications for the quality of the VSO you choose. Unlike doctors, lawyers or beauticians, a license or certification isn't a requirement for a VSO. The VSO you speak with should be experienced, well trained and make a promise to stay in touch and to be available to you. If you elect to use a VSO, check the offering from your state or county Department of Veterans Affairs first.
Now you've decided to file a claim for a condition you feel sure was caused or aggravated by your service. You feel the condition is more than mildly annoying, it's disabling. You've made your choice to Do It Yourself (DIY) or you've paired up with a VSO who you trust.
Your claims letter or your VA From 21-526 is in the mail and you have that green postcard in hand. Now what?
Now comes the hardest part of the entire process. You wait.
You'll receive mailings from VA telling you that they're working on your claim. Most of these letters will ask for additional evidence and they'll seemingly ask for the evidence you've already submitted. Don't worry ... these letters are computer generated and are no more than the way VA chooses to remind you that you can send additional evidence at any time.
You'll probably be scheduled for a Compensation and Pension (C&P) examination at a nearby VA Medical Center.
Once you've completed submitting your 21-526 and any evidence you think supports your claim, you should wait as patiently as you can.
You should avoid the temptation to call every week or even every month to check the status of your claim. The process is well established that VA will first collect evidence and that may take months. Your folder is often sitting quietly in line with the other 800,000 claims VA is trying to catch up with. Calling to ask about your claim wastes time and may even get you the wrong information, causing you more anxiety.
To file a VA claim for disability compensation is a simple process.
You complete a 21-526. You enclose any evidence or you reference any evidence that you think will help you. You may also make a written statement of your case for the record. You'll use only certified mail so that you're sure of timely delivery and receipt by the VA. You will them remain alert for any mailings from VA and submit any further evidence you may think of. There will be a physical exam.
Eventually (sometimes as long as 2 years) you'll have a decision arrive in the mail. If you have been awarded what seems to you to be a fair and equitable compensation for the conditions you've claimed, terrific.
If you've been denied, you go to the next step in the process ... to appeal. More on the appeals process soon.
"Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment nothing can fail.
Without it nothing can succeed.
He who molds opinion is greater than he who enacts laws.
"-Abraham Lincoln
Welcome Home! #3 -- Letters from the VA
by Jim Strickland
In a previous article (Welcome Home! #2 -- Getting Started) I alerted you to anticipate that after you've filed for your disability compensation with VA that, "You'll receive mailings from VA...".
The first piece of mail you should receive will be a notice that your Regional Office (or Veterans Service Center) has received your application for benefits. In that initial correspondence you'll see that a C-File (Case-File) number has been assigned.
You'll want to make note of that C-File number. In the future, when you correspond with your Veterans Benefits Administration that number should be clearly written on every page of every document you mail to them.
It will help you to understand that the VA, particularly the VBA, is a paper driven machine. While the organization has made numerous attempts to jump into the computer age, there's been almost no progress. We're not here today to discuss why that is but to recognize that paper files are our reality and that's what we have to deal with.
Your file, along with hundreds of thousands of others, will be pushed from station to station during its processing in a grocery cart, stacked up in a cardboard box.
It's your job to assist the VA with its task by keeping close track of your records and staying organized. If you do your part, the VBA will have an easier time with adjudication of your claim.
As you receive letters from the VA, open them and read them immediately. Many functions of the disability claims process are considered to have a "timely" restriction. If you don't respond appropriately by a timely deadline, the VA may default to an adverse action against your claim. Once this occurs, it takes a much greater effort to set the situation straight again.
Almost all mailings from VA will contain instructions on what you must do in response. These extra enclosures may be brief and simple or run to a dozen or more pages of complex legalese. In every case, it's to your benefit to read the letters until you understand what you're to do.
You may get letters over time that tell you, "We're sorry for the delays. We are working on your case." Those letters are randomly generated by a computer program and mean very little. The good news is that you'll know that you aren't completely forgotten in the maze.
You may also get a letter that seems to ask you for evidence. All too often it will ask you for evidence you can't come up with (buddy letters or records that don't exist) and each time you receive one of those you'll wonder if they received anything you've already sent.
You'll get a few mailings like that because VA has a "duty to assist"
the veteran with the claim. The mailings are one of the ways that VA believes it meets the obligation. The additional letters reminding you to send in evidence are there to inform you of exactly what you must do to win your claim.
If you're sure that you've completed your part of the bargain you can safely ignore the letters after you've read them to ensure that you don't miss anything. Although these routine reminders aren't important to your case, save them in your files just like everything else.
Along the way your VBA may notify you that you must complete and return a VA form before they may proceed. Often enough this may be a form that gives them permission to request medical records from a non-VA provider. Be sure that you've completed and returned all such data to VA and made detailed copies for your own records.
One of the elements that will win your award for benefits is evidence.
Once you've established that you are a veteran and that you have a disabling condition, the only thing left to prove is that the condition is service connected and disabling to a given degree.
When VA corresponds with you and asks for evidence, you must think about what evidence to return to the RO for placement in your C-File.
The best of evidence is usually found in a medical record. Injuries or illnesses (conditions) are usually well documented with the nature of the event causing the condition(s) noted.
The extent of the condition, the treatments used and the recovery are also most often in the notes written by a medic, a doctor or a nurse.
Long term recovery is usually well documented with physical therapy routines or other long term needs verified.
If your medical record is DOD or VA, the VBA RO working your claim will usually have no problems location and retrieving copies of those files. This is a good time for you to get your own copies too. You have an absolute right to all of your medical files except that some mental health files may be restricted from your view. Mental health professionals will sometimes believe that it's in your own best interest to not view that record and you'll have to petition and appeal to get that record.
If your records are civilian, you should be sure that VA has your permission to retrieve them but you must also do that for yourself.
While the VBA has a duty to assist you in getting those records, that duty has limits. The VBA may only send a simple request once or make one follow-up telephone call to where the records reside and if they run into barriers, they won't keep trying. Some civilian hospitals today don't keep medical records in-house but have contracted with other businesses to store your records elsewhere. These businesses can charge by the page and other wise make it a challenge to get the records VA needs to adjudicate your case.
If you don't pursue this for yourself, get the records and copy them to the VA, it's entirely possible that you could lose your case because VA never saw the most important doctor's note.
It's well worth the time for you to be sure it's done right.
Other evidence that may be helpful are "Statements In Support of Claim" documents, also sometimes called "buddy letters". These statements are best completed by eyewitnesses to an event that caused your condition or senior NCOs and officers who know what happened and when. Company or unit or ship's records, newspaper articles and even photographs may be good evidence to submit to support your claim.
Eventually your correspondence with VA will wind down to the point you'll receive a VCAA notice. the VCAA Notice is a notice signed by you telling the VA to go ahead and finalize a claim and that you have no more evidence to submit. Once you receive your VCAA papers, it's up to you to decide whether you need more time or if you're ready for VA to move ahead to adjudication of your claim.
No matter what you've heard, winning your earned and deserved VA disability compensation award isn't an impossibly difficult task.
If you have a legitimate health condition that was caused or exacerbated by your honorable service and you pay close attention to the details and requirements that VA communicates to you, you'll be marching far ahead of the pack.
Always remember that there are no shortcuts, cross every t and dot every i as you play strictly by the VA's rules and you're much more likely to come up an early winner.
Welcome Home! #4 -- Three Cash-Based Benefits
by Jim Strickland
As you're learning about your Veterans Administration benefits and transitioning from active duty soldier, sailor, marine or airman, you must be able to recognize that out of dozens of ancillary benefits there are three that are very important and of concern to you right now, today.
Compensation, Pension and DIC
Within the Veterans Benefits Administration (the VA) is found the Compensation and Pension services ("C&P") section. When a veteran believes that an injury or illness (known as a "condition" by the VA) that was incurred during active duty military service (or if preexisting was aggravated by the service) has become disabling, the veteran may apply for a disability compensation benefit. In some situations, the veteran may also be eligible for a pension benefit. Compensation and Pension are entirely different benefits and have different eligibility requirements.
Compensation is by far the most common benefit applied for by veterans with 2.9 million recipients in 2008. Compensation is not based on financial need; it is based solely on the degree of disability. There are three fundamental requirements for a veteran to be eligible for a compensation benefit: (1) evidence of a current medical condition or disability; (2) evidence of an in-service occurrence; and (3) evidence of a connection between the condition and the in-service occurrence (also known as a "nexus").
Most delays, disputes and appeals to higher and then higher yet authorities are centered on the validity of a claim for disability benefits. And most of the validity disputes involve questions regarding evidence of a connection between the current condition and the in-service incident.
Veterans should note that each of the three requirements require "evidence." So right from the start, a veteran filing a claim for VA benefits must start thinking about legal issues and legal standards referred to as "evidentiary requirements".
Pension, in contrast to Compensation, is a needs based system. This means that there are restrictions on a veteran's annual income and savings that limit the amount of pension which a veteran can receive.
The basic requirements for a VA pension are: (1) total and permanent disability; (2) military service during a "time of war;" and (3) income below specified limits. Unlike Compensation, the disability cited for pension purposes does not need to be service connected. Pension, however, is subject to a dollar-for-dollar setoff against income. Approximately 317,000 veterans were receiving pensions in 2008.
One other VA benefit is important to a large number of veterans, or more specifically, surviving spouses, and in some cases, children or parents, of deceased veterans. Death and Indemnity Compensation (more commonly referred to as "DIC") is a benefit for surviving spouses of veterans whose death was the result of a service-connected condition.
DIC is a separate benefit from the veteran's own benefit (a veteran's benefits are said to "die with the vet") and the survivor must file his or her own claim. Sadly, many survivors do not learn about DIC until long after they are eligible, if ever. If a DIC claim is not filed within one year of the veteran's death, payments before the date of the claim are lost. All veterans should know about DIC and make sure that their spouses do too.
You're a veteran now and that means the way you're thinking about your future must undergo a major shift. You have a generous array of outstanding benefits laid out in front of you that will assist you to provide for yourself and your family. It'll work best when you devote some serious time to learning about your benefits and completing the processes necessary for each one.
Welcome Home! #5 -- Home at Last
by Jim Strickland
"Life’s a voyage that’s homeward bound."
— Herman Melville
You're home at last. You've fulfilled the obligation honorably, doing all that was demanded of you. You've proudly accomplished the most difficult job ever; you're now a veteran.
It's been a long time coming. You're a little dazed and confused.
Now what?
Priorities! You must learn to think for yourself and establish your own priorities. The company commander isn't setting goals that are in line with the brigade's targets today. There won't be a briefing by the First Sergeant.
You need to work, a place to live, transportation and sustenance. Maybe you want to take advantage of best "GI Bill" that ever was and get that degree you've dreamed of.
Before you do any of that, you'll want to know your health care is covered. As important as those other tasks are, a broken leg, a bad bout of flu or an attack of appendicitis will throw a monkey wrench into it all if you aren't prepared. Making the arrangements for your health care is job #1.
You are the most fortunate veteran ever. The Veterans Health Administration has opened the doors to you for an extended period of time and you're about to receive the best care in America.
Let's agree on one thing up front. Your VA care isn't "free." The care provided to veterans by VHA is expensive and costs untold billions of dollars each year. You paid for yours in advance by your honorable service so if you do see any charges, they'll be minimal co-pays.
VA health care may not be what you expect. It's often perfunctory with little TLC or hand-holding. The system is busy and the emphasis is on efficiency and quality.
Before you were in the military, you may not have had much health care. You were young, healthy and strong. While on active duty the health care goals were simple... keeping you well enough to accomplish your mission.
The VHA looks far ahead rather than into your past. Once you're in the VHA system, it's assumed you're a patient for the rest of your life. The aims of caring for you will shift from historical to the immediate and the distant future. VHA discovered long ago that high quality care means preventative medicine must be applied liberally and then maintained.
You'll be screened for hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, cancers, glaucoma and other conditions that you thought of as for the older crowd. If you smoke or abuse any substances, VHA treat those harmful habits.
Some of the ways VHA will work with you may have a military feel. While it's true that you'll be together with men and woman who speak the common language of your experiences, never forget that the people providing your care are mostly civilian and that you can't talk with them as if they were military.
Keep your former military aggressiveness to yourself. If you're annoyed by a delay in an appointment or the lab is backed up drawing blood, be patient and remind yourself that you're ultimately going to receive services that have little equal.
The improvements made in the VHA system are legendary.(1) There are good reasons that waiting room is so crowded today. The word is out that health care doesn't get much better than this and veterans are beating a path to those doors.
By placing so much attention towards preventive care, many veterans are discovering that as they age, they're healthier for it...VHA care simply works. When you walk in to register for your VHA care, expect to receive “The Best Care Anywhere.”
If you do your part by keeping appointments, playing by the rules and maintaining your military bearing of courtesy toward others, you'll discover that the caregivers of the VHA are dedicated to a single purpose: Serving you.
Each year that passes proves that the Congress has recognized the importance of your health care and funds are appropriately increasing. Physicians, nurses and technical staff are better trained and educated than ever before and programs like Patient Advocates make the complex hospitals easier to navigate for the veteran.
Many of the caregivers you meet are veterans. My own Primary Care Physician is a board certified family practitioner and a fierce veterans advocate. While I write this, he's in Baghdad fulfilling his obligation as a major in the Army Reserve.
Is the system perfect? No, of course not. But the veteran of today is coming home to the best VHA care that any veteran has ever been privileged to see and there's a visible and ongoing effort to make it better yet.
Register today. Learn what to expect and what's expected of you. Get to know the physicians and staff who will provide your care.
Enjoy your good health. You've earned it!
-------------------------
Welcome Home! #6 --
Check Out Your Local Vet Center
by Jim Strickland
Here you are, home at last. It's not an unpleasant sensation but it's so very different than your recent history that it's disconcerting. At times maybe it's even frightening. There's so much to do and a lot of things have changed. You've been away and everything seems smaller somehow...but for the things that loom larger and more intimidating.
You may not be sleeping so well. You didn't expect to startle quite as easily as you do and you're growing a little tired of your heart racing and pounding in your chest. Your thoughts are racing too...the memories of friends, the places you've been, those things you've seem are all fresh in your mind and won't leave you alone.
Now what? You can't talk to your friends or family who weren't there...how could they understand? You aren't ready to stand in lines to get into a program at a VA hospital but you're beginning to understand that talking to someone could help.
What's a veteran to do?
Enter the "Vet Centers". Since 1979 your Department of Veterans Affairs - Vet Center Program has run 232 community based Vet Centers. Vet Centers are staffed by small teams of professionals in an atmosphere that's less formal than the big hospitals. Many of the providers at your vet center are combat veterans.
Are you in an area where you can't get to a Vet Center? There are now mobile Vet Centers that will come to you. If you served in any combat zone or were a victim of military sexual trauma you're eligible for Vet Center services.
What can you expect from a Vet center and how do you go about getting services?
I've recently had the good fortune to meet Susan McPherson. Susan is a Readjustment Counseling Therapist at the Ventnor, N.J. Vet Center. She's also a disabled veteran with 12 years of active duty as an Intelligence Specialist in the Navy and a Masters degree to her credit.
Susan took the time from her busy schedule to write to share some of the many positive events and trends that are happening at Vet Centers.
Susan was excited as she told me, "Some good news about what I'm seeing in the VA is a very smooth and easy transition to get OIF/OEF veterans into the system and hooked up with services."
I had to ask if the Vet Centers were only for the use of our GWOT vets. "No, of course not", Susan said, "The original concept was designed to meet the needs of Vietnam veterans and we continue to serve them. We're using that experience to continually improve our services to meet the unique needs of the younger vets who we're seeing. Our Vietnam (and other combat) veterans will always be welcomed."
"I recently had a case where I needed to get an OIF veteran into a Substance Abuse Treatment Unit (SATU) program. With only two phone calls I had him entered into the system and placed in treatment within
4 days. Once he completes the SATU program he will be transferred to the inpatient PTSD program and then return for follow up counseling with me."
She went on to say, "Coordination of services is much easier then it has been in the past. With the two facilities that I called each returned my call within an hour while I had the veteran with me. I was able to walk the veteran upstairs to the CBOC and Homeless Coordinator Ken Gorski, MSW interviewed the veteran, set up the inpatient date and scheduled transportation for the veteran. Seamless transition is not a catch phrase around here, this is the trend of the future."
I learned that bereavement counseling services have been added for surviving parents, spouses, children and siblings of service members who die of any cause while on active duty.
I asked Susan if a veteran can just walk in for help. Susan told me, "Any combat veteran or active duty, NG or Reserves vet can just walk into our facility and will usually seen that same day or have an appointment within a week to see a therapist. The veteran does not have to be in the VA system and all we need is a copy of their DD214.
Most importantly, everything is highly confidential."
I asked if Vet centers were available for use as a place to find a computer to apply for a job or just to stop by for coffee and a friendly greeting. Susan answers, "We don't have computers for job searches due to confidentiality restrictions with VA computers but we have referral sources to help veterans find employment. Vet Centers were set up as a storefront for combat veterans to walk in, get acquainted with our services, ask questions and meet other veterans who share their same issues."
In the final analysis your Vet Center is one of those valuable benefits that you're earned with your honorable military service. I agree with Susan as she sends out her message to all combat veterans; "Stop by, get to know us and have a cup of coffee on us."
You can find a Vet Center near you by clicking here http://www2.va.gov/directory/guide/home.asp
Vet Center staffs are available toll free during normal business hours at 1-800-905-4675 (Eastern) and 1-866-496-8838 (Pacific).
Welcome Home! #7 -- Starting Your Transition
by Jim Strickland
You made a commitment to uphold and defend the values that make your country great. To fulfill that commitment required a partnership between you and your branch of service. For their part, your branch of service offered to train you and give you cutting edge skills and access to the most modern equipment ever.
You did your part. You met physical and mental challenges that a civilian couldn't dream of. You lived in parts of the world most people couldn't find on a map. You met people of different cultures as you traveled and many of them were in your ranks working as your partner.
Above all, you learned the importance of being a self starter. You understand the importance of the mission and you know that any job worth doing is worth doing well. You have pride in the work you do and it shows. Those are the points that will give you the edge as you leave active duty to become a veteran.
A lot has changed for you. When you started your military service a few years ago, you may have been straight out of high school and inexperienced in seeking employment. Maybe you had a job for a while prior to taking the oath but it wasn't the sort of work you'll want to find today.
Where does the new veteran begin to find work that is rewarding in salary, benefits, security and personal satisfaction?
As with most things in our life, planning ahead is the key to success. Once you've made the choice that you won't be staying in for that 20 year career, that's the moment your job search should begin. Today it's almost always the case that the Internet is your best friend and may be the only tool you need.
We should start at the beginning. What are your priorities? Some of us want the adventure of starting our life as a veteran in a large metro area like Los Angeles or New York City. Others can't imagine having to live in that hustle and bustle and would rather head to greener pastures (literally) and seek a quieter lifestyle in a smaller town.
Do you have a family, a spouse and children? Will the spouse be looking for work too? Are the schools where you live important to you so the kids have the best education possible?
You'll need to consider the cost of living where you want to live. A salary approaching 6 figures may sound attractive until you find out that a tiny apartment far from the bus line will cost you $1,900.00 per month. Is it worth it to you? For many it may be, for others – no way.
What's a veteran to do?
Long before you find yourself on the street looking for a job, you should already have work secured or close to it. It's well known among job-hunters that it's easier to find a job while you have one.
Priority number one - make a list. Decide what sort of work you want to do and where you want to do it. This is one of the few times in your life that you may choose to land anywhere from the Florida Keys to Juneau, Alaska or even another country working for an American company.
Once you've thought that through, start searching the Internet to determine such things as cost of living where you'd like to be. I like the cost-of-living calculators at CNNMoney.com and Bankrate.com for fast and free comparisons. Think long and hard about the quality of life of the locale where you land. If you aren't a fan of cold weather, no matter how good the job may sound Boston might not be your cup of tea. I like the Mercer Quality of Life Survey and city rankings found at Sustainlane.com for their data.
While you're contemplating the possibilities and opportunities that await you, start building your resume. Opinions vary on what makes the perfect resume. You'll hear that a detailed analysis of who you are and everything you've done back to grade school is mandatory and you'll be told that nothing of that sort at all is required. The truth is somewhere in between. As a manager in my civilian career, I preferred short and sweet. Maybe two pages of cleanly typed bullet points...just enough to get my attention. Search around to see some examples of what you feel will fit for you and design yours accordingly. Don't pay for a template and don't pay anyone to do it for you.
Use sites like Online Skills Translator at O-Net.org to convert your military skills and training into civilian equivalents.
Many online applications will require that you use their fillable format to build a resume according to their standards. Stick to the facts, don't try to overly impress and never include anything that you can't back up immediately. That employer would rather know the truth.
The big job sites are helpful. Monster, Yahoo and dozens of others have thousands of jobs posted daily. Military.com is a great place to get started and can help you with a lot of the tasks I pointed out earlier.
Federal jobs are often the best employment for the veteran to consider. You'll have an immediate hiring preference; the jobs are usually very secure and most have excellent benefits. The place to start looking for a federal job is USAJobs.Gov. This is a one stop shop for all federal jobs. The task of completing all the required entries may seem daunting at first but once you're done, you're done. Your on-line resume can be used for any of the current or future positions listed there and you may edit it at any time.
No matter what you hear about the job market "back home,” there's a job waiting for you. You have an edge on others because of your honorable service to our country. Get started in your search as early as you can and you'll make the transition back to civilian life smoother than you ever thought it could be.
