By 1962, Armed Forces Day was established as an official holiday by President John F. Kennedy. So now, every year, on the third Saturday of May, Armed Forces Day is celebrated across the nation with parades, festivals, tours of aircraft carriers, as well as air and sea shows.

Honoring Our Troops Means More Than Celebrating a Holiday

We have this one day set aside to celebrate and honor the sacrifice made by servicemen and women. But what about when the holiday is over, how are we honoring them? Recent reports have surfaced that many servicemembers return stateside unemployed and unprepared to return to life outside of the service.

For instance, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development released a staggering statistic from a January 2012 survey, stating, “An estimated 19 percent of the 2,700 Soldiers from the Minnesota National Guard’s deployed 1st Brigade Combat Team in Kuwait will be unemployed, looking for new jobs upon returning home.”

Helping a Soldier Become Employment-Ready Is One Way You Can Honor Them

Servicemembers are considered some of the most skilled project managers and administrators a business can have the honor of employing. But, when it comes to applying for a job, interviewing, and drafting a resume in the civilian world a servicemember may not be able to translate their skills on paper to relate to the job they are interested in – even if they’re a prime candidate.

So, how can servicemembers avoid becoming part of the statistic? Preparation and education.

• If a delegation comes to perform career clinics – attend. They help with interview preparation and will review your skills and career history to help draft a resume to use for civilian jobs.
• Accept counseling services offered to help with the transition from military expectations to civilian expectations. Many former military members express frustration toward the “lax attitudes” non-servicemembers display in the workplace.
• Participate in college fairs. Now that colleges and universities have been granted access to visit bases across the world, reps visit with service members to talk about and demo their online degree programs. The great thing about online degree programs is that they can be completed around busy schedules are available at all levels from associate’s to master’s. Business administration (undergraduate to master’s of business administration) and project management (IT and Applied) degrees are two popular areas of with current and former servicemembers.

Something important to pay attention to when considering an online degree program is accreditation. This is an important credential that proves the academic standing of a college or university, and enables earned credits and degrees eligibility to be used toward earning future degrees. Also, online degree programs are great for spouses and children of servicemembers who are living outside of the country. These degree programs lend a beneficial credential whether they remain abroad or return stateside.

Author’s Bio:

Dafe Ojaide writes on military education-related topics for servicemembers who want to enhance their civilian careers in high growth disciplines such as masters degree in cyber security and other online MBA no GMAT required programs.

The soldiers 45 Mechanised Infantry Battalion had this unique opportunity to be first unit to be operationally ready with the Battlefield Management System – 45 InfBat was fully integrated with engineers from 11 Armoured Engineer Battalion, Brigade Reconnaissance Squadron of 43 scouts and gunners of 14 Field Artillery Division. They are also supported by genezerikken of 43 Medical Company and repairers of 43 Restoration Company, and several staff officers of the brigade headquarters. March/April 2012

Photos: Zadrach Salampessy