When veterans come home from war, one of the first things counselors often tell them is to find a good job. And quickly.
"When they are in the military they have a job -- the military," said Wayne Miller, a team leader and counselor at the Silver Spring Vet Center. "When they get out there's a lot of concern and stress. It's very important they get a job immediately so they can continue their life's process. It gives them consistency and keeps the family unit together."
With that in mind, MontgomeryWorks, the county's one-stop career center, recently sponsored a federal job fair for veterans. About 100 veterans attended, many having served recently in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some could no longer walk.
On hand to discuss job opportunities were more than a half-dozen employers, including the Maryland National Guard, the Department of Homeland Security, Montgomery County government and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.
The veterans job fair was the first in a series of job fairs for soldiers that will be held around the state.
Miller, who attended the recent job fair, said getting veterans together in the same room and with the same goal is an important part of what he called "the reentry process."
"It gives them a sense of dignity and pride and duty and country," said Miller, who was disabled in the Vietnam War. "You have veterans helping other veterans. It's like taking them out of one family and putting them in another."
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