Kaine talks unemployment with Lynchburg-area veterans

U.S. military veterans of the post-9/11 era face rates of unemployment a couple points higher than non-veterans — a fact that doesn’t sit well with Sen. Tim Kaine.

“It strikes me that there’s something not quite right about that,” said Kaine, D-Va. “In fact, it should be the reverse.”

He outlined legislation to chip away at the difference during a discussion with about 40 veterans, business representatives and other people at American Legion Post 16 in Lynchburg on Wednesday.

The “Troop Talent Act of 2013” is Kaine’s first proposed bill as a senator. The idea behind the bill is to help service members get useful civilian certifications that align with their military career specialties and skills.

It calls for more information about relevant civilian certifications to be provided to service members throughout their time in the military, and helps them avoid signing up for credentialing programs that are scams.

It also expands a pilot program offering soldiers the ability to earn civilian certifications as they serve. According to an article by the American Force Press Service, five occupational areas included in the program are: aircraft mechanic, automotive mechanic, health care, supply and logistics and truck driver. Kaine wants to add information technology to the list.

Kaine acknowledged there are other barriers to employment for some veterans, besides lack of civilian credentials or recognition of their skills, such as mental or physical health challenges. He said the credentials issue is a place to start tackling disproportionate unemployment for this generation of veterans.

“The individuals who served — we owe it to them,” Kaine said. “We can’t really look ourselves in the mirror and say we feel that good about the job we are doing when that is the case.”

Many present had their own frustrations about issues facing veterans.

Vietnam veteran Edward Payne got emotional as he discussed the plight of veterans returning from war today.

“It’s good that everyone gives them props when the come home … but they go to look for a job and can’t find one,” he said. That, he said, can lead to failed marriages and a host of other problems. Veterans in that situation don’t know where to turn, he added.

“These are people, they are not numbers,” he said.

Sarah Bonner, a U.S. Air Force veteran and 1999 graduate of Heritage High School, attended the event with her mother.

Bonner served in Germany and worked with many soldiers coming to and from the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan. She’s had her share of challenges since her return. For example, she told Kaine she’s still waiting on an answer from Veteran Affairs on a GI-bill related issue dating back to 2011.

Bonner said she’s making do and currently is studying social work as a junior at Radford University, with hopes of one day helping other veterans in need.

Her real concern, she said, is for disabled veterans and wounded warriors, who face many of the same challenges she has, but potentially with less support.

“If they are missing limbs they can’t always do that same job when they come home,” she said.

Kaine told Bonner he has a meeting scheduled in a few weeks to talk to Secretary of Veteran Affairs Eric Shinseki about delays in addressing veterans claims.

“I want to eyeball-to-eyeball talk to him about that backlog,” he said. He added the U.S. government was unprepared for the results of several facets of this new era of modern warfare.

Officials, he said, had no way to quantify in advance the impact of sending troops on so many multiple deployments, or of using the national guard for overseas combat to a degree it had never been used before.

In addition, he said, soldiers are surviving wounds that would have killed them in the past, helping to swell the ranks of disabled soldiers needing services at home.

He said the stories of veterans delayed from receiving mental health and other services make his skin crawl.

Speaking after the discussion with Kaine, Korean-war veteran Sam Mosley, of Lynchburg, said he’s glad Kaine is aware of the issues and gaps faced by veterans.

“As a freshman senator, I think he’s moving on it with a lot of ambition and I appreciate it,” he said.

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