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From: rsopicki@pro-amber.cts.com (Randy Sopicki)
Subject: Re: DoD Transition Assistance
Date: Sat, 15 Aug 92 09:59:16 PDT


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From: CMSgt Mike Bergman <bergman@afnews.pa.af.mil>
Message-Id: <9208141516.AA15737@afnews.pa.af.mil>
Subject: DoD Transition Assistance
Ppath: rsopicki
To: Employ Mail List <employ@mainz-emh2.army.mil>
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 92 10:16:32 CDT
Organization: Hq Air Force News Agency/SCC
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Services Overseas Developing Strong Transition Programs

By F. Peter Wigginton
American Forces Information Service

     The services are minimizing disparities in transition benefits
between U.S. and overseas locations -- but they cannot overcome
some obstacles because of the law and international treaties.
     As in the states, the services offer separating members as
much transition assistance as possible.  For example, U.S. Army
Europe established 12 offices for its Army Career and Alumni
Program to provide separating soldiers skills needed to pursue a
career.  Its program explains how to job search, interview, follow
up and the like.  The command assigned a transition specialist to
each of its major installations.  It has contracted for Portajac,
a portable job assistance center, so soldiers do not have to travel
hundreds of miles to program offices.
     The Army is also sponsoring a three-month test program in
conjunction with the Department of Veterans Affairs.  A VA expert
travels to each major site in the European command.  VA pays the
expert's salary; the Army covers per diem.
     Similarly, the Eighth Army in South Korea and U.S. Army Japan
are working on a satellite plan that would formalize a way to
regularly reach out to those in mission areas.
     "We have a unique problem in the Pacific," explained Navy LCDR
Hester Jacobs, personal benefits and entitlements officer at U.S.
Pacific Command in Hawaii.  "We have a lot of very small units --
joint U.S. military advisory groups -- located from Nepal to
Madagascar to land's end.  Although we're doing it, transportation
is hard when you start pulling them into Honolulu from Bangkok
(Thailand) or Manila (Philippines).  We want to take the programs
to them, like a road show."
     The Army in Europe has tapped its computers into the Army
Relocation Service to answer questions and provide information
about stateside conditions.  It participates in the Army Employer
Network, which lists more than 5,000 prospective employers and
pertinent information about companies.
     It welcomes prospective employers who request permission to
come to the theater and interview prospects.  One stateside
trucking company, for example, recently interviewed 500 service
members in Germany and hired 380 applicants on the spot.
     The U.S. Air Force in Europe has programs similar to the
Army's.  In addition, both commands offer financial counseling.
     The Air Force publishes a biweekly employment opportunity
list, which updates a group of about 160 current companies
interested in hiring separating military personnel.  The command
arranged for a representative from The Retired Officers Association
to conduct second-career seminars.  Also, the command organized
job-seekers' workshops, each preceded by a three-hour job-seekers'
seminar.  Further, it is examining the possibility of participating
in the Interstate Job Bank.
     The command's recent job fair at Ramstein Air Base, Germany,
attracted about 1,600 service members from all over Europe to meet
with 17 U.S. company representatives.
     According to Air Force Col. H.M. Baumgardner, chief of
personnel, Headquarters, European Command, the services implement
their own transition benefits, but each so far has made its
programs available to any military member.
     There is a great deal of cooperation among the components.
For instance, Army and Air Force transition representatives from
each European command headquarters are discussing the merits of
forming a all-services transition office.  The plan would hope to
merge the best of all available options and programs, said Joe
Gunton, program manager of the Army Career and Alumni Program for
U.S. Army Europe.
     Jacobs said Pacific Command set up a joint employment
management system to work out of one office and serve as a single
point of contact for businesses.  Although the system operates in
Oahu, people in other locations who want to retire in Hawaii can
use it.  She said the system has been so successful that when it
looked as if funds would run out, "the Chamber of Commerce offered
money to keep the program in place.  As far as I know, we are at
the moment the only joint employment system in the world for the
military."
     Both the Army and Air Force joined to promote a recent career
transition fair in Heidelberg, Germany.  The DoD/USAREUR/USAFE
Career Transition Fair included various stateside representatives.
More than 400 companies were invited.  Besides meeting employers,
attendees learned about financial planning, relocation assistance
and more.
     Such a fair will be offered Sept. 29 on Okinawa and Oct. 2 in
Korea, said Bob Stein, DoD director of transition support services.
Although 30 employer representatives are expected to participate,
he emphasized the career aspect.  It is more than just a job fair,
he said.
     "It's a delicate situation to try to market yourself too soon.
Employers are unlikely to want to talk to somebody who has another
12 to 18 months to serve before discharge.  Service members should
spend that time preparing themselves:  thinking about goals,
setting up lists of contacts, deciding where to live.  The six- to
three-month point is when they should get serious about job
interviews.  The point is, we just don't want people to have the
wrong expectations," said Stein.
     Another example of continued service efforts to improve
transition assistance were the results obtained from changes
proposed in March by U.S. Air Forces in Europe headquarters.  The
recommendations were forwarded to European Command headquarters,
which gained approvals from other Air Force, Navy and Army overseas
commands.  The proposals were forwarded to DoD and resulted in
Defense Secretary Dick Cheney's six-item initiative in July.
     The provisions increase permissive temporary duty time and
allow use of permissive TDY in conjunction with terminal leave.
DoD authorized government air travel for prospective employers to
attend European and Far Eastern job fairs.  DoD will also arrange
for the U.S. Department of Labor to train service transition
experts.  In some instances, separatees will be able to select a
processing station nearest their final destination.  The sixth
initiative provides spouses one round-trip flight to the states for
job or house hunting.
     However, some benefits are beyond the control of military
leadership.  Cliff Lovejoy, chief of personnel services, U.S. Army
Europe, cited talk of commissary and PX benefits as an irritant.
For example, he said, involuntarily separated service members who
choose to stay in Europe don't get the two-year extended commissary
and PX privileges that stateside service members would get in the
same situation.  Status of forces agreements prohibit that.  Even
a retired service member staying in Germany must pay a 14 percent
German tax on anything purchased at the PX and commissary.
     Lovejoy said an overseas separatee can use medical facilities.
And if a parent has someone in the senior year of high school, the
child can finish out the year free in the DoD Dependents Schools
system.  "But soldiers here don't get everything they get in the
states, again because the status of forces agreement signed by the
state department and the German government supersedes any public
law that is enacted."
     The services, nevertheless, continue to work out benefit
differences.  Said Stein, "We are trying to level the playing field
for those overseas where there is some disadvantage when leaving
the service directly from an overseas location.  It's been
difficult for years, but now we are more conscious of it."
     Gunton added, "Our people may be upset because they're told to
get out.  They may not like it.  But if we treat them with respect
and dignity and do all we can for them, at least they can say we
did a good job."

-- 
      // \\
    //     \\                    Air Force News Agency 
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   \\  {*}  //                   bergman@afpan.pa.af.mil  
   \  CMSgt  /      ___________________ /____________________________________
   \  Mike   /   
   \ Bergman /
     \     / 


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