They loaded mortars in the war, so now what?

Jobs » Effort aims to change attitudes of vets, employers about troops’ skills.

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— That National Guard and Reserve troops will be called up for duty, leaving the company short-handed.

— That the majority of post-9-11 vets lack the college degrees or industry-specific expertise they’d need for senior positions, yet don’t want lower level jobs employers feel are more appropriate for them.

— That vets too often seek jobs that they don’t have the education or skills to do.

"There are folks who get it, are coming out of the service and say ‘I realize I’m not going to be CEO,’" said Devin B. Holmes, CEO of Warriorgateway.org, a portal to help troops find help with employment, health questions, education and a range of other transition needs.

"There are also folks coming out and (saying) ‘I want a GS14 position in the government,’" Holmes said, meaning the second highest level in the "General Schedule" of government pay — jobs that go to people with a lot of experience and/or a very high level of expertise in their field, and are management positions.

"You can achieve that if you work hard and do a good job ... but you’re not going to get it on Day 1," Holmes said.

Officials say privately that part of the disconnect comes from a sense of entitlement among some troops, the feeling that they deserve a great job after doing duty that only a tiny fraction of Americans were willing to do. But Holmes said the larger reason is that troops lack an understanding of what some jobs entail and what experience and education is needed to get them — a problem he thinks the Transition Assistance Program should work on.

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