Maryland veterans are speaking out, as this video shows. They fought overseas, sometimes on multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and returned home to find sparse job opportunities.
Patch has been covering the issues of unemployed veterans in our series entitled To see a list of businesses interested in hiring vets, go .
Editors recently interviewed about a dozen veterans at a job fair in Baltimore hosted by the Maryland Department of Transportation, where veterans spoke about the transition from military to civilian life, and the shocking realities of the 2012 economy.
“It's been pretty nip and tuck—I’ve been supporting myself by taking draws out of my annuity fund and looking for jobs here and there when I can,” said John Richard, 55, of Dundalk, who served in the Army from 1976 to 1980.
“It’s morally wrong when you have an individual willing to serve for his country, that he or she wouldn’t be welcome back with more than open arms,” Richard added.
In Maryland, the 8.9 percent average unemployment rate among the 28,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans is higher than the state’s overall average of 7 percent.
Nationally, the unemployment rate is at 30 percent for veterans younger than the age of 25, compared to 8.3 percent overall.
“Right now is really tough. Work altogether right now is hard to find—even entry level is pretty hard to find at the moment,” said Andrew Smith III, 29, of Baltimore, who served two tours in Iraq in the Marine Corps as a field radio operator.
Weigh in below: What ideas do you have for government, non-profits or business leaders to help more veterans get jobs?
Are you a veteran looking for a job and want to tell your story? Email lisa.rossi@patch.com.
For more in this series:
Btw, I challenge you to name a single "free market" leader. Nearly every politician supports tons of regulation and government intrusions. You have a very distorted worldview.
When I talk about "free market" leaders, Obama and every President before him believe in our capitalistic society. The difference is Republicans tend to lean toward no regulation and Democrats tend to lead to over regulation. Regulation is a necessary and despised evil. Regarding my view of corporations, I believe every "citizen" has a moral obligation to their country, even if it affects the bottom line. When WWII occurred, corporations did not volunteer to go to war, people did. During Vietnam War, we didn't draft corporations to die, we drafted people. So when I see a corporation hiding profits overseas to maximize earnings and then use our Armed Forces (people) to defend their business interests, it deeply offends me. That is my distorted worldview.
If you think Obama and Romney are free market leaders, you have absolutely no idea what a free market is. Republicans and Democrats do not believe in free markets at all.
If Vets are returning only to find their Jobs being taken by college graduates (Which is no walk in the park) then vets have the ability to go get degrees and have them paid for by the gov. Considering the current student debt crisis, I consider this more than a fare deal for veterans.
Very, very well said Lee.....
I paid/worked my way through college. And yes I am still paying off a loan.
That's not an apples-to-apples comparison. The unemployment rate for everyone under age 25 is 16.4%. Also, that 30% may not be accurate. http://vets.syr.edu/_assets/researchdocs/employment/Employment%20Situation%20May%202012.pdf "For the period ending in April 2012, post-9/11 veterans under the age of 25 still experienced one of the highest unemployment rates, at 18.6%. This represents a minimal increase of 0.8% from March 2012. Post-9/11 veterans between the ages of 25-34 and 45-54 experienced a decrease in unemployment for the month of April, at 11.5% and 4.6% respectively. The unemployment rates for veterans ages 25-34 are higher than their nonveteran counterparts, however nonveterans ages 45-54 have a higher unemployment rate than veterans in this same age range, at 6%."