"Killer vets" reporting causing unemployment and low pay for military veterans

The media's "Killer vet" stories are hurting employment rate and pocket books of military veterans: From the AP

A new study finds that war vets returning to the civilian sector are having a hard time finding work.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Strained by war, recently discharged veterans are having a harder time finding civilian jobs and are more likely to earn lower wages for years due partly to employer concerns about their mental health and overall skills, a government study says.

The Veterans Affairs Department report, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, points to continuing problems with the Bush administration's efforts to help 4.4 million troops who have been discharged from active duty since 1990.

The 2007 study by the consulting firm Abt Associates Inc. found that 18 percent of the veterans were unemployed within one to three years of discharge, while one out of four who did find jobs earned less than $21,840 a year.

So what are the reasons for this? Chiefly:

The study said employers often had misplaced stereotypes about veterans' fitness for employment, such as concerns they did not have adequate technological skills, or were too rigid, lacked education or were at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder.

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" However, more publicity — especially stories that perpetuate the 'Wacko Vet' myth — has also made some employers more cautious to hire a veteran," said Joe Davis, spokesman for Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Thanks New York Times. Way to screw our heroes.....

Comments

[MataHarley]

Hummm... very disturbing. And while I fully agree that the media, with their push to nurture a distaste and disrespect for our military, must accept responsibility for their part in this trend, I must also say that the government's candy-arse "retraining" response for already skilled and able veterans is not an answer.

What may be more appropriate is legal counsel to step up to the plate and go to bat for what I believe may be illegal discrimination against veterans. Remember, employers are refusing to hire based on a "mental disability" that they themselves are diagnosing as a future problem.

Just how widespread can this same discrimination go if unchecked? Smokers "at risk" for lung cancer? Well, no one will help that hated class. How about the women with DNA conducive to breast cancer? How about motorcycle riders who may be injured in an accident? For that matter, how about anyone who drives long commutes, increasing their exposure to auto accidents enroute?

I thank you for this heads up, Ray. Linked to you, and added my own thoughts at Sea2Sea, on the blind eyes averted to illegal discrimination against veterans.

To me, it appears the only "retraining" truly necessary is the media, and the American public.

[Miss Williams]

To me, it appears the only "retraining" truly necessary is the media, and the American public."

Sounds like what Hitler thought too.