Rehiring veterans

From Oakland County Commissioner Jim Runestad (R-Waterford, White Lake):

I read with pleasure about the hiring of returning National Guard Sergeant Ed Lasseigne by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department. Lasseigne was part of the 1775th Military Police Company returning from Kandahar (in Afghanistan). I was honored to be invited to represent Oakland County as a county commissioner at the Feb. 4 welcome home event at the Waterford Mott High School gym. It was a very heart-warming experience to observe the loving embraces of the reunited families and to hear about all the achievements and accomplishments of this hometown unit.

The one disappointing aspect I found hard to accept was talking to one of the generals about the job prospects for these returning heroes. Since most are returning National Guard, they won’t collect full military pay and many have no jobs to which they can return. With 30 percent of veterans between the ages of 18 and 24 unemployed, it is a travesty that these citizens, who have made such scarifies, are not put at the front of the line for job openings. I hope we as a country can persuade more public and private employers to take a look at veterans as a first priority for employment.

Here is a link to the national Veterans Job Bank: https://www.nationalresourcedirectory.gov/home/veterans_job_bank.