Military Transition   Military to Civilian     Career Boot Camp     When Troops Return     Back to Civilian Work     Resume Tips     Present Your Skills     Vets' Connections     Qualify Your Training     Veterans' Preference

With the Iraq war won, thousands of US fighting men and women have turned their thoughts to military retirement or discharge.

After planning the rout of diehards in Baghdad, Marine officers may consider shedding their uniforms and buying an interview suit. Following wartime deployment into support positions at stateside bases, Army Reservists may anticipate demobilization and the process of reapplying for the jobs they left behind.

But when the jubilation of victory fades, legions of veterans will face a difficult reality: In this still-shaky economy, there's no guarantee of a smooth path to a civilian career.

Crosscurrents of Deployment and Retirement

“There's going to be a bump, a surge of retirements,” says Ron Krannich, coauthor of From Army Green to Corporate Gray and other books on the transition from military to civilian employment. But it's not as simple as large numbers of troops signing discharge papers en masse and heading home.

In reaction to the September 11 attacks and with the build-up to the Iraq war, the Armed Forces have issued numerous so-called stop-loss orders that delay the retirements of many military personnel. The Air Force, for example, has named 99 military careers affected by stop loss. And although the war is over, the Iraq occupation and the counterterror campaign continue; many potential retirements are still being held up.

Meanwhile, the massive wartime mobilization of National Guardsmen and Reservists hasn't melted away overnight. In fact, 223,203 Guard and Reserve troops were on active duty as of April 16, 2003, an increase of 2,017 more than the previous week.

But barring another international crisis, a wave of retirements, discharges and demobilizations will begin, perhaps in the coming months.

Hiring Environment

What reaction will servicemen and women get as candidates for civilian jobs? “These folks will be extremely well-received,” says Buzz Buse, a retired Marine Corps colonel and spokesman for the Military Officers Association of America in Alexandria, Virginia. “But on the other hand, there's the reality of the economy.”

Krannich doesn't believe many employers will go out of their way to hire veterans of the Iraq war effort. “Employers might talk about giving priority to military personnel, but the bottom line is that they have to match skills with specific jobs.”

Over the past couple of years, companies have become accustomed to exploiting the buyer's labor market. “The interview process has become much more in-depth,” says Jim Kissel, managing director of the West Palm Beach, Florida, office of Management Recruiters International. “Candidates for sales jobs sit down in front of a panel of interviewers, sometimes including the company president,” Kissel says.

Where Veterans Have an Advantage

Military veterans do have an advantage in the defense sector, which has fared relatively well in the 2000s, even as the US economy as a whole has lost about 1.5 million jobs. “Defense contractors like to hire their own types,” says Krannich. “Military types are a little bit insulated against the job market overall.”

The law also gives former servicemen and women an advantage in applying for civilian jobs in the federal government. On the civil service exam, required for many federal positions, qualified veterans automatically earn bonus points.

Pending changes in the balance of military and civilian workers might also help retiring servicemen. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld recently proposed the outsourcing to civilian contractors of up to 300,000 jobs now performed by military personnel. Those who have recently served in the Armed Forces should be well-qualified for many of these positions.

Demobilized Guardsmen and Reservists

Most National Guard and Reserve troops completing a war-related deployment won't need to look for a job, because a law called USERRA guarantees them reemployment with their premobilization employers.

However, the law can't protect all veterans against the slings and arrows of the 2003 economy.

USERRA's “escalator principle” says that employees returning from military service must receive any scheduled promotion that their peers received while they were on leave. But here's the catch: “The escalator doesn't just go up; it also goes downward,” says Theresa Loscalzo, a partner with the law firm Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP in Philadelphia. “So you can land in layoff status” if your peers were let go while you were serving in the military, Loscalzo explains.

There are also wide variations in companies' understanding of -- and compliance with -- the law. “Big employers know what their obligations are,” says Loscalzo. “But often smaller employers -- with up to 200 workers -- haven't dealt with this.”

Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, a national organization, helps mediate disputes over the application of USERRA.