Aug 2, 2012 - There has been some good news recently regarding the status of returning military veterans. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for post-9/11 vets nationwide dipped below 10 percent in June. That is a substantial drop from June of last year, when the rate topped 13 percent. While the trend is positive, more young veterans are out of work than the general population. WUWM’s Erin Toner profiles a Racine man who suspects his military disability status frightens employers.
Listen to Report Justin Claus has mixed feelings about a document that proves he served in the military.
“DD214. Do you know what a DD214 is?” Claus says.
I don’t, so Claus rummages through a cluttered desk in his living room.
“Yeah, let me see if I can dig it out here.”
He tells me, a DD214 is a document you get when you leave active-duty service.
“Basically that wraps up everything you’ve done, everywhere you’ve been, all your awards, everything. Your whole military career is on that DD214,” Claus says.
Claus points to where the document lists the reason the Army discharged him in 2010.
“Disability, permanent, that’s where it says that. Line 28 on a member 4, is what comes back to getcha,” Claus says.
Here is what the 26-year-old says he experiences. When he goes to job interviews, he brings along his DD214 because he’s proud of his service and hopes it will give him an edge. Claus says employers inevitably ask why he was discharged, and he recounts the incident in 2007 when he was part of an airborne unit. He pulled his parachute cord too late during a practice jump and hit the ground hard, injuring his spine and legs; leaving him with chronic pain. read more>>>
No comments:
Post a Comment