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71–384 2012

HIRING HEROES: JOB CREATION FOR 

VETERANS AND GUARD/RESERVE MEMBERS 

FIELD HEARING 

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS 

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

OCTOBER 17, 2011 

FIELD HEARING HELD IN WATERLOO, IA 

Serial No. 112–32 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

( 


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COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS 

JEFF MILLER, Florida, Chairman 

CLIFF STEARNS, Florida 

DOUG LAMBORN, Colorado 

GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida 

DAVID P. ROE, Tennessee 

MARLIN A. STUTZMAN, Indiana 

BILL FLORES, Texas 

BILL JOHNSON, Ohio 

JEFF DENHAM, California 

JON RUNYAN, New Jersey 

DAN BENISHEK, Michigan 

ANN MARIE BUERKLE, New York 

TIM HUELSKAMP, Kansas 

MARK E. AMODEI, Nevada 

ROBERT L. TURNER, New York 

BOB FILNER, California, Ranking 

CORRINE BROWN, Florida 

SILVESTRE REYES, Texas 

MICHAEL H. MICHAUD, Maine 

LINDA T. SA ́ NCHEZ, California 

BRUCE L. BRALEY, Iowa 

JERRY MCNERNEY, California 

JOE DONNELLY, Indiana 

TIMOTHY J. WALZ, Minnesota 

JOHN BARROW, Georgia 

RUSS CARNAHAN, Missouri 

HELEN W. TOLAR, Staff Director and Chief Counsel 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY 

MARLIN A. STUTZMAN, Indiana, Chairman 

GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida 

BILL JOHNSON, Ohio 

TIM HUELSKAMP, Kansas 

MARK E. AMODEI, Nevada 

BRUCE L. BRALEY, Iowa, Ranking 

LINDA T. SA ́ NCHEZ, California 

TIMOTHY J. WALZ, Minnesota 

Pursuant to clause 2(e)(4) of Rule XI of the Rules of the House, public hearing records 

of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs are also published in electronic form. The printed 

hearing record remains the official version. Because electronic submissions are used to 

prepare both printed and electronic versions of the hearing record, the process of converting 

between various electronic formats may introduce unintentional errors or omissions. Such occurrences are inherent in the current publication process and should diminish as the process 

is further refined. 


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C O N T E N T S 

October 17, 2011 

Page 

Hiring Heroes: Job Creation for Veterans and Guard/Reserve ............................ 1 

OPENING STATEMENTS 

Chairman Marlin A. Stutzman ............................................................................... 1 

Prepared statement of Chairman Stutzman .................................................. 41 

Hon. Bruce L. Braley, Ranking Democrat Member .............................................. 2 

Prepared statement of Congressman Braley .................................................. 41 

WITNESSES 

Staff Sergeant Nathaniel Rose, ARNG, North Liberty, IA .................................. 4 

Prepared statement of Staff Sergeant Rose ................................................... 42 

Captain Aaron L. Robinson, ARNG, Des Moines, IA ............................................ 6 

Prepared statement of Captain Robinson ....................................................... 44 

Stacy Litchfield, Regional Manager, Talent Acquisition and Performance Consulting, Deere & Company, Inc., Moline, IL ...................................................... 14 

Prepared statement of Ms. Litchfield ............................................................. 45 

MAJ Kerry M. Studer, USA, Assistant Managing Director, Commercial Real 

Estate Division, Principal Financial Group, Waterloo, IA ................................ 16 

Prepared statement of Major Studer .............................................................. 46 

Stacey May, Manager, Tax Credit Program, Honkamp Krueger & Co., P.C., 

Dubuque, IA ......................................................................................................... 18 

Prepared statement for Ms. May .................................................................... 50 

Timothy J. Carson, Manager, Veterans Initiatives, Office of Diversity, Rockwell Collins, Inc., Cedar Rapids, IA .................................................................... 19 

Prepared statement for Mr. Carson ................................................................ 51 

COL Benjamin J. Corell, Commander, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 

34th Infantry Division, Iowa National Guard, Johnston, IA ............................ 27 

Prepared statement for Colonel Corell ........................................................... 54 

Mark Hennessey, Iowa Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and 

Reserve, Johnston, IA .......................................................................................... 30 

Prepared statement for Mr. Hennessey .......................................................... 54 

Anthony Smithhart, Iowa State Director, Veterans’ Employment and Training 

Service, U.S. Department of Labor ..................................................................... 30 

Prepared statement for Mr. Smithhard .......................................................... 56 

Teresa Wahlert, Director, Iowa Workforce Development, Des Moines, IA ......... 32 

Prepared statement for Ms. Wahlert .............................................................. 60 

SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD 

RADM T. L. McCreary, USN (Ret.), President, Military.com .............................. 61 

Jennifer J. Suchan, Assistant Registrar and Coordinator, Veterans Student 

Services, University of Northern Iowa ............................................................... 64 

MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD 

Question for the Record from Chairman Stutzman to Mr. Smithhart ................ 66 


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HIRING HEROES: JOB CREATION FOR 

VETERANS AND GUARD/RESERVE MEMBERS 

MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2011 

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS, SUBCOMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY, Washington, DC. 

The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:00 a.m., at Waterloo Community Schools’ Education Service Center, 1516 Washington Street, Waterloo, Iowa, Hon. Marlin A. Stutzman [Chairman 

of the Subcommittee] presiding. 

Present: Representatives Stutzman and Braley. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN STUTZMAN 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Good morning. I would like to welcome everyone 

this morning to start this oversight hearing of the Subcommittee 

on Economic Opportunity. I want to welcome every one of you this 

morning. Thanks for being here. 

Delighted to be here in Waterloo. My name is Congressman Marlin Stutzman. I am from Indiana, from the Fort Wayne area. And 

so, it is a delight to be here. 

And I want to especially thank your congressman, Congressman 

Braley, for hosting us today and for bringing us here to the district. 

I am the chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee 

on Economic Opportunity, and I represent Indiana’s Third District. 

And I actually have quite a few Iowa ties. And so, I was talking 

to my parents about the connections here, and I actually found out 

that my great-aunt is actually buried just not too far from here in 

Dunkerton, and my grandparents were married in Dubuque as 

well. And I had some relatives that were born here in Iowa, and 

they made their way back to Indiana. 

So it is a privilege to be here again. My district is very similar 

to Iowa’s First Congressional District. We are very proud of our 

Midwestern values and proud of America. So it is a privilege to be 

here with you all. And I know that you are very proud of the veterans that you have here, as well as we are in northeast Indiana, 

where we have about 48,000 veterans who served our Nation from 

the Third District. 

It is also a privilege to serve alongside Congressman Braley. I 

call him a friend as well as an advocate for veterans issues, as well 

as a great Member of Congress. And so, thank you again for your 

service. 

We are here today to hear from Iowans about the employment 

difficulties facing far too many members of the Iowa National 


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Guard, the Reserves, and those returning from active duty. While 

the unemployment rate for all Iowa veterans in September was 5.8 

percent, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that 35.6 

percent of America’s Gulf Era II veterans ages 20 to 24 were unemployed, while 8.8 percent of Gulf Era II veterans ages 25 to 54 were 

unemployed. 

More shocking is information that as much as 30 percent of returning members of the Guard and Reserves do not come home to 

a job. Clearly, we need to find ways to reduce all of those numbers. 

The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs has taken a first step 

towards that end last week by passing House Resolution 2433, a 

bill that would provide up to a year of Chapter 30 GI bill benefits 

to unemployed veterans between the ages of 35 and 60. The bill 

now goes to the Senate, and we hope to get the bill to the President 

by Veterans Day, along with several other improvements to veterans benefits. 

Again, I am delighted to be here with you today. We are anxious 

to hear from you all who are going to be testifying, and at this 

time, I will yield to the gentleman whose office is actually just 

right next door to mine as well in Washington, a good friend, the 

Honorable Bruce Braley. 

[The prepared statement of Chairman Stutzman appears on 

p. 41.] 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. BRUCE BRALEY 

Mr. BRALEY. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

And welcome home. We are delighted to have you back in Iowa. 

And I want to make sure that we welcome everyone to the hearing and let you know how important this field hearing is to the ongoing work of the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee that Chairman Stutzman and I are proud to serve on. Our Subcommittee literally is the point line of how we address the important challenge 

of finding work for every veteran who wants to work, and it is an 

issue that we struggle with every day, based upon some of the 

enormous challenges that the Chairman identified. 

I am very proud to welcome all of you to my hometown of Waterloo, Iowa, home of the five Sullivan brothers, home of the Iowa Veterans Museum, which we are very proud of, and a city that knows 

about sacrifice and service. 

One of the things I tried to do to prepare for this hearing is think 

back on how the challenge of finding work for veterans has affected 

me and my family personally. So one of the things I brought to the 

hearing were my dad’s discharge papers from the Marine Corps 

when he came home from Iwo Jima. And it is really instructive in 

how far we have come in dealing with the issue of separation of 

people from the military looking for work, and yet how far we have 

to go. 

My dad was discharged on May 3rd of 1946 from the Marine separation center at Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Illinois. 

And on the back of this form, he was required to list his employment and nonservice educational data. And I am sure that many 

people in your district in Indiana filled out similar forms with similar types of information. 


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Under job summary, he wrote ‘‘drove steel-type tractor while 

working, a general farm hand, works with father and brother on 

240-acre farm, did plowing, cultivating, and harvesting of crops and 

livestock.’’ Under preferences for additional training, he listed ‘‘college,’’ which he never pursued. And under job preference, ‘‘farming 

for self.’’ 

I think of my dad as a 19-year-old Marine who had never worked 

outside of the home, and what he must have been going through 

as he was preparing to get on that train with a train ticket back 

to Grinnell, Iowa, and probably not much more than that to help 

him face the enormous challenge of an unemployed veteran who 

was looking to make his way in the world. 

We have some Iowa veterans who are going to be testifying on 

our first panel about some of the challenges they are facing, and 

I am very proud of the fact that we have implemented much more 

comprehensive programs to help veterans preparing for that transition to the civilian workforce. And, some of those programs have 

been highly successful, but we have a long way to go before we 

reach the objective that we all want to happen. 

Because I think that the thing we should be focusing on today 

is on imagining what it would say about our country if every veteran who wanted a job had a job. And the bottom line for me is 

the best way to thank a veteran is to hire a veteran. And what we 

are going to focus on at this hearing today is ways that we can try 

to bridge that gap between the civilian employment marketplace 

and the needs of our returning veterans who are looking for work 

and unable to find it at this time. 

So I welcome all of you here. We want to be talking not just 

about how we can put together programs through the Department 

of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs, but also how 

we create incentives for employers to look at veterans as a hiring 

opportunity that is going to make their workplace a better place for 

all their employees. 

And that is why I was proud to introduce the Combat Veterans 

Back to Work Act, modeled on the highly successful Back to Work 

Act we had in the civilian workforce that gives employers incentives to put an unemployed veteran on their payroll and gives them 

further incentives if they keep them on that payroll for up to a 

year. 

So I welcome all of you. We look forward to the testimony of our 

witnesses, and with that, I will yield back. 

[The prepared statement of Hon. Bruce Braley appears on p. 41. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Thank you, Congressman Braley. 

And one of the things I just want to say quickly before we invite 

the first panel here is that the reason this hearing is important to 

both of us is that with the economy so—the difficulties that we are 

facing in the economy right now, one of the areas that we believe 

success has to happen is with our veterans. And so, this really is 

an opportunity for us to highlight to our colleagues back in Washington how we can help those who are serving our country, the 

challenges that they are going to be having when we have more 

veterans coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan. 


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And if we can have success here, we can hopefully translate that 

into success other places within our economy. But what greater 

place to serve those who have served us in protecting our freedom? 

So, with that, we want to invite our first panel to come forward 

to the witness table this morning. We are joined by Staff Sergeant 

Nathan Rose and Captain Aaron Robinson. Appreciate your service 

to our country. 

Thank you for being here, first of all, and we are looking forward 

to your testimony, and we want to give each of you 5 minutes to 

share with us your statements. And why don’t we begin with Staff 

Sergeant Nathan Rose 

STATEMENTS OF STAFF SERGEANT NATHAN ROSE, ARNG, 

NORTH LIBERTY, IOWA; AND CAPTAIN AARON L. ROBINSON, 

ARNG, DES MOINES, IOWA 

STATEMENT OF NATHAN ROSE 

Sergeant ROSE. Chairman Stutzman, Ranking Member Braley, 

and Members of the Subcommittee, I would like to extend my gratitude for being giving the opportunity to testify at this hearing 

today. It is an honor to lend my voice to fellow veterans in the ongoing economic struggles we face. 

My name is Nathaniel Rose. I am currently a staff sergeant in 

the Iowa Army National Guard, as well as a senior at the University of Iowa. 

I have been deployed to Iraq, and I have just returned from a 

deployment to Afghanistan in July. To help pay for my studies, I 

currently receive the GI bill, along with State and Federal tuition 

assistance. 

I speak based solely on my experiences in the Iowa Army National Guard and experiences of those that have served with me. 

I cannot accurately speak regarding any other branch of service or 

any other State’s National Guard. 

I decided to join the National Guard during my freshman year 

of college, looking for adventure, but also for economic reasons. I 

come from a hard-working, middle-class family, and if I wanted to 

attend college, I would have to pay for it myself. 

I did not receive many scholarships, and I did not want to incur 

a large amount of student loan debt. So I joined the National 

Guard because the tuition assistance and GI bill would pay for my 

education. 

If it wasn’t for tuition assistance and the GI bill, I might have 

quit going to school or not have joined the National Guard at all. 

Joining the military is a very hard decision to make, but the benefits one might receive helped make the decision easier. 

The GI bill has been one benefit that I have come to appreciate 

more over time. When I first began receiving the benefit, it was not 

a large amount. This was fine because State and Federal tuition 

assistance paid for all my tuition and fees, and I could use the GI 

bill for other things. 

After two deployments, I now receive a much larger amount because it is prorated based off the active duty amount and how 

much time I have spent deployed. The amount is actually enough, 

when coupled with my drill pay every month, that I do not have 


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to work. I am able to concentrate completely on my studies, which 

any senior will tell you is a hard thing to do. 

I, however, do not have all the obligations that a number of soldiers I know have. I have no wife, no children, no car payments, 

and so on. Many National Guard soldiers cannot go to school full 

time and take care of their family with tuition assistance and GI 

bill alone, especially if they have not been deployed and receive a 

smaller, prorated amount. This forces them to work while attending school. 

Now there is nothing wrong with working while going to school, 

but for some soldiers I know personally, they have had to stop 

going because they needed to move to full time at work, their 

grades were slipping, or they weren’t spending as much time with 

their family as they wanted to. 

The post-9/11 GI bill has attempted to address some of these 

issues by paying basic allowance for housing to students. The only 

problem with that is that, once again, it is prorated for National 

Guard soldiers. 

One solution to this problem might be to have National Guard 

members pay into the GI bill like active duty members do. Another 

possible solution would be to put everyone on the same level and 

not prorate the payments. Neither of these solutions is perfect, but 

they might be a good starting point. 

Education benefits to me seem more complicated. If a soldier 

doesn’t sit down with an expert, it is hard to figure out the ins and 

outs of benefits. The difference between the five GI bill programs 

is not easily ascertained by looking at the Web site or reading pamphlets. 

If soldiers are better informed about their benefits, it is easier to 

make decisions about whether they can afford to go back to school 

or not, especially those with families. The GI bill needs to take into 

account that soldiers do have families. They may not be able to 

support a family and go to school at the same time. 

The National Guard has delayed my education twice, but I cannot fault them for that because they are essentially paying for it. 

Also, I believe that the National Guard has made me a more marketable person, and when my education is over, I hope being more 

marketable aids me in securing not just a job, but a career. 

The problem with this is how do I convey to potential employers 

the significance of what I have done, experienced, and learned in 

the National Guard? Resumes are the most popular way of conveying these things. Some of my experiences are difficult to put in 

a resume. 

If I put ‘‘led over 150 combat missions in Afghanistan’’ in my resume, most employers would not understand the significance of 

that, nor would many soldiers know how to convert that into a resume-friendly statement. One way soldiers could translate their 

skills into civilian terms would be to get help from a resume-writing professional. I could receive help on my resume from the career 

center at my school, but I feel that they don’t understand what I 

have done either. So the significance of it won’t be conveyed in my 

resume if they help me. 

I am lucky enough to go to a school that has a large veteran population. Someone is always available to critique my resume if need 


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be. Many National Guard soldiers are not that lucky and must either drive long distances or email resumes to more qualified help. 

Educating job recruiters or resume helpers better on military 

may help remedy the problem but is easier said than done. I believe that by bringing in military resume-writing professionals on 

drill weekends or by incorporating them more at demobilization 

sites might better help the soldiers. 

I am set to graduate in May, and I have been exploring job possibilities of what I am qualified for. The economy may be down, but 

there is a plethora of job postings on Internet job search sites, companies’ Web sites, and newspapers, et cetera. The hard part becomes determining what employers are looking for and if I am 

qualified. 

I have spoken to many soldiers since returning from Afghanistan, and this process is the only one that they are having the most 

trouble with. A suggestion that a fellow veteran presented to me 

would be to bring the job recruiters from the mobilized units area 

to the demobilization site and recruit from there. 

Soldiers and recruiters would have a chance to speak about 

qualifications, job descriptions, and even do interviews if need be. 

Even if soldiers did not get hired, they would have an understanding of what employers are looking for and how to better prepare themselves for the job search once their mobilization is over. 

I appreciate what the Government and the military have done 

for me, but I think more can be done to help soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines. I have noticed things improving in my 6 years 

in the military, from drill to drill and deployment to deployment. 

There are many new programs starting up throughout the country 

and within our Government that are dedicated to helping veterans, 

which is a sign of forward progress. 

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my testimony. I would be honored 

to answer any questions that the Committee might have. 

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to testify, and thank 

you for all the Committee does for my fellow veterans. 

[The prepared statement of Nathan Rose appears on p. 42.] 

Mr. STUTZMAN. All right. Thank you. 

Captain Aaron Robinson, we will take your testimony. 

STATEMENT OF AARON L. ROBINSON 

Captain ROBINSON. Good morning. My name is Aaron Robinson. 

I live with my wife and my two children in Des Moines. I am a 

commissioned officer with the Iowa Army National Guard, and I 

have recently returned from a 1-year deployment in Afghanistan. 

In my civilian career, I am currently pursuing jobs related to 

project management and data analysis. I want to share with you 

some of the impressions that I have had. 

Is that better? Okay. 

I would like to start today with three impressions I have had 

looking for a job post deployment. First, repeated military deployments have given Iowans like me world-class skills and experiences, but these are not widely recognized or rewarded when 

searching for civilian work in our home State. 

Second, employers are nearing the exhaustion part of their patriotic feelings towards veterans. Despite the laws existing protecting 


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against discrimination based on military service, employers seem to 

shy away from hiring citizen soldiers. 

Third, searching for a job while deployed overseas is next to impossible, and waiting until after deployment adds stress to an already stressful situation, reintegrating with family and friends. Let 

me tell you where I am coming from. 

I grew up on a farm approximately an hour west of Des Moines 

in Yale and graduated from Perry High School in 1992. I studied 

mass communications at Grand View College in Des Moines. And 

after college, I bounced around to various retail jobs. 

I enlisted in the Iowa National Guard in 1998. I was trained as 

a tank mechanic. In 2002, I continued my time with the National 

Guard, and I commissioned as an officer in armor. I married my 

wife, Kate, in 2003 and was deployed to Kosovo. My child, Amelia, 

was born at the same time. 

When I returned home, I transferred to military intelligence and 

attended multiple military schools. In my civilian career, I worked 

as an employment counselor for homeless veterans and as a general manager for a convenience store. After that, I spent a number 

of years on temporary full-time active duty status here in Iowa, 

helping train and mobilize more than 16 National Guard units for 

overseas training. 

Last year, I was deployed to Afghanistan, where I served as the 

intelligence officer for the 113th Cavalry Squadron. The experiences I received there were excellent, and I could not have received 

them anywhere else. 

Since coming home to Iowa in July, I have been steadily looking 

for work. As of today, I have been unable to find any. I know I am 

not alone. 

For example, an enlisted soldier of mine that was our database 

manager for our security clearances—and that was 500 pieces of information, that is about the size of a small company—wasn’t able 

to find a job. To add insult to injury, he can’t even find work in 

his old civilian application as a welder. 

I face similar challenges as my friend, trying to figure out how 

to translate my military language into human resource speak. 

After some resume coaching, I found that work in intelligence most 

closely applies to business analysis and project management. 

However, unlike my purely civilian counterparts, I am not necessarily versed in the latest business acronyms and buzzwords, 

which increase my likelihood of getting through H.R. filters. Also, 

while I am proficient in military computer software and hardware, 

I am not specifically trained in systems most familiar to potential 

civilian employers. 

Employers, politicians, and even the media talk up certain ideas 

about veterans. They are hard working. They are motivated, that 

we are mission focused and people focused, and we handle pressure 

extremely well. Beyond this and the occasional job fair and welcome home, we don’t seem to get a lot of practical help getting 

hired. 

I had said this many times. Everybody wants to help, but no one 

really seems to know how. I have received lots of well-intended 

suggestions, sometimes conflicting. But none of them have gotten 

me much farther in my job search. 


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Maybe employers are getting burned out. Ten years of war and 

Iowa’s river floods and blizzards and other State emergencies 

might do that. Maybe they are worried that I am going to deploy 

again. Maybe they really don’t see the economic values inherent to 

my military skills and experiences. 

I know times are tough for a lot of Iowans. I don’t want to get 

a job just because I am a veteran. But I would like to at least get 

a chance to get an interview and prove that I am a good employee. 

I also want to keep my family in Iowa to give my kids the same 

values and experiences that I had. 

But for now, my family’s life is on hold. The military gave me 

time after deployment to unwind and reintegrate and get into a 

normal life. I don’t feel like I have done that. I plan on going back 

to school. I have been putting it off because of the lack of stability 

in my life and the life of my family. 

Interviewers don’t ask me about my military experience, but they 

know it is there. If I didn’t put it on my resume, they would know 

from talking to me. I am proud of the work I have done and some 

of the people I have served with. I am just an Iowa farm kid that 

got a chance to do some exciting things in some pretty unpleasant 

places with some really great people. 

I just want to get back to my civilian life, get a normal job, and 

be a regular person for a while. My wife and my kids would like 

that, too. 

Thank you for my opportunity to share my experiences. 

[The prepared statement of Aaron L. Robinson appears on p. 44.] 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Well, thank you. 

And I would like to ask a couple of questions, and then Congressman Braley has some as well. 

First of all, thank you just to both of you again for your service. 

Your stories are very compelling, and I am sure, as you said, there 

are others that have the same stories. I grew up as a farm kid as 

well. So I know the background that you have, but the challenges 

that you face are, obviously, very frustrating, I am sure, to you and 

your family. 

To both of you, what type of transition services have you received 

from the Iowa National Guard or DoD following your deployment? 

Sergeant ROSE. At demobilization site, they give us briefings on 

different help that is available, as well as overviews of that help. 

And then we have what is called a ‘‘Yellow Ribbon event,’’ where 

we go to more briefings that tell us about all of the services that 

are available to us or if we need help where to go. 

Captain ROBINSON. Can I piggyback on that? 

Sergeant ROSE. Yes. 

Captain ROBINSON. Okay. Of course, my experiences are very 

similar to his. I have had the opportunity to also talk with Iowa 

Workforce Development and their vet reps out in Des Moines. They 

have been great. 

I have talked with JSEP. I sent my resume to them for some resume critiquing. Those are probably the big ones. 

The Yellow Ribbon event was a really good job of putting all the 

information I think that you really need to know in one spot. But 

if you didn’t want to run it down, I don’t know if you really got it. 


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Because a lot of people come in and say, ‘‘We will help,’’ but I didn’t 

really see—— 

Sergeant ROSE. It seems like it is just more of an overview, like, 

‘‘This is available to you,’’ but you have to go do it on your own. 

You have to go find it on your own. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Well, Staff Sergeant Rose, you mention in your 

testimony that ‘‘a suggestion that a fellow veteran presented to me 

would be to bring job recruiters from the mobilized units area to 

the demobilization site and recruit from there.’’ Can you kind of follow up on that a little bit more and how that works? 

Sergeant ROSE. Well, his idea was that like since a lot of—in 

Iowa, you could bring in the companies from like Des Moines, Waterloo, the bigger areas that are actually recruiting, and you could 

bring their recruiters up to demobilization site. And then, once 

there, while we are going through the process of demobilizing, you 

could also have them there. 

So the people that need jobs or are going to look for jobs once 

they come off active duty, they could talk to them there. And then 

if the recruiters liked what they saw, they could set up interviews, 

maybe hire from there. If not, at least people would know what is 

out there, what is needed to actually get a job when they come 

back. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Okay. And then, Captain Robinson, have you utilized the services provided at the One-Stop by DVOP or LVERs? 

And if so, did you find these services helpful at all? 

Captain ROBINSON. I don’t believe I have at this time. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Do you know what those—the DVOPs and 

LVERs were. Were those presented to you at all? 

Captain ROBINSON. You know, they throw so much stuff at us in 

such a short period of time that you do almost get—it almost becomes white noise. I know what DVOP is. I have been lucky 

enough to work with them on the periphery before. But I haven’t 

used them. 

Really, one of the bigger things I have used since I have been 

home is the Iowa Workforce Development. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Okay. That is who they work for? Yes. So you 

should be working with—you say you are working with Workforce 

Development? That is what we call it in Indiana? 

Captain ROBINSON. Yes, absolutely. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Okay. And then, what was your civilian job before you went on your most recent deployment? 

Captain ROBINSON. Well, I went on active duty operational support back in I think it was—might have been ’08. I was on long 

enough everybody thought I was active duty. I was actually working for a convenience store. 

I had gone—I was working for the convenience store. They were 

great. While I went to active duty operational support, they 

downsized themselves by about 36 stores, and they liquidated all 

the employees. So there is no job there anymore. 

Prior to that, like I said, I have worked with the Department of 

Labor, HVRP, Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program, and that 

is probably the one I put more towards. I worked with them for 

about a year and a half. 


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Mr. STUTZMAN. Now did you mention you were a welder or your 

friend was a welder? 

Captain ROBINSON. My friend was a welder, sir. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Your friend was a welder. What happened with 

him? 

Captain ROBINSON. The company that he was working with is 

not hiring. He also came on early. We brought him on early to do 

our database management for our security clearances. He came on 

early, and when he went back to his job, they said they weren’t hiring. 

I think he probably falls into what you call an ‘‘underemployed.’’ 

‘‘Oh, well, if I lose my job while I am gone, I don’t really care. I 

am not going to make a fight out of it. I am going to be gone for 

a year and a half’’ is kind of what he was thinking. When he came 

back, now he kind of—when he could have run something down 

earlier, I think he lost that opportunity. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Yes. I mean, would you feel that you or him, your 

rights were violated under USERRA as far as a job? 

Captain ROBINSON. I don’t think that my rights—I can’t comment to this soldier, but I can comment to mine. I don’t think my 

rights were violated. I think they have had 10 years to find new 

and creative ways not to violate your rights, if you are somebody 

who is going to be an issue. H.R. people, I am sure, figured out the 

way. 

But I don’t think necessarily my rights are violated. And honestly, I don’t want to go back to a company that was going to make 

it a big deal. I want to work for a company that wants to have me. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Right. 

Captain ROBINSON. I don’t want to have one I have to fight to 

stay with. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Yes. I appreciate that. 

Congressman Braley. 

Mr. BRALEY. Thank you. 

I want to thank both of you for your eloquent testimony. You 

both touched on something that we hear over and over at our Economic Opportunity Subcommittee hearings. Staff Sergeant Rose, 

you said in your statement, ‘‘How do I convey to potential employers the significance of what I have done, experienced, and learned 

in the National Guard?’’ which was incredibly eloquent. 

And Captain Robinson, you said that you are trying to figure out 

how to translate military language into civilian human resources 

speak. And as I am sitting here, I am thinking what we really need 

is a Rosetta Stone program for people coming off of active duty or 

Guard and Reserve service and for human relations employees and 

companies who are looking to hire them. 

Because so much of what you did and the experiences you had 

have valuable application in the civilian work setting, but we seem 

to have an extraordinary challenge of bridging that gap between 

the two worlds. So do either of you have suggestions on what we 

can tell civilian employers to help them better understand how you 

were shaped by your experiences and why that makes you a valuable employee? 

Captain ROBINSON. I will go first. Okay. I think your use of the 

term like a ‘‘Rosetta Stone’’ is a great idea. I think everyone underVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:33 May 24, 2012 Jkt 071384 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 I:\WAYS\OUT\71384.XXX GPO1 PsN: 71384

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stands, especially when they talk about officers—NCOs, staff sergeants, and above—equals leadership. And I have never met anybody that doesn’t go, okay, well, yes, you obviously have leadership 

skills. 

That is great. I also can do database management. I have also 

worked negotiation skills. I have worked with multiple different 

countries while I was deployed. And some kind of Rosetta Stone, 

yes, that would say ‘‘if I am an intelligence officer, this is what 

skills I picked up’’ would be great. 

Same thing with a mechanic or an infantryman or a medic I 

think is the way we need to go because when I say mechanic, you 

know kind of what he or she can do if they were in the service. But 

when I say intelligence officer, outside of the snickers that come 

from everybody else that has ever been in the military, you don’t 

really know what I am doing. 

[Laughter.] 

Captain ROBINSON. And how to translate those less parallel ones 

would be great. 

Mr. BRALEY. Staff Sergeant Rose. 

Sergeant ROSE. It is tricky. It is easy to identify problems, but 

it is hard to come up with the solutions. Maybe just employers 

need a better understanding of the military overall because like 

you said, like officer and NCO is a leadership position. But if I tell 

someone I was a noncommissioned officer, they are either going to 

go Google it and read the first thing that, okay, he is a noncommissioned officer. You led people in Afghanistan or Iraq. 

But then, still, that is not telling them what I did. It is just a 

real quick overview. It is a very broad view of what I have done. 

If they had some better process of me being able to list what I have 

done and then have better understanding of that, they may be able 

to translate it better what they are thinking. Like I said, it is a 

tough problem to solve. 

Mr. BRALEY. But do you think that programs like the one that 

I saw down at Camp Shelby where civilian employers were actually 

given the opportunity to travel to your pre-deployment training 

area and get to experience more of the world you were preparing 

to enter and spend time with you, do you think those programs are 

helpful in terms of bridging some of the gaps of understanding you 

have identified? 

Sergeant ROSE. I think so because then they actually get to see 

us in the environment we work in. Even though it is training, but 

it is training to be in the actual theater. But I believe it would be 

helpful. 

They would see how—what officers do for their men, what NCOs 

do for their men, what the privates and the specialists and all of 

them do out there in the training environment and what they are 

actually responsible for and things like that. So, yes, I believe that 

it would be extremely helpful. 

Mr. BRALEY. Captain Robinson, as I was reading from my father’s discharge papers, could you identify with some of those 

things, as a farm kid growing up in Iowa? 

Captain ROBINSON. I did. And I will be honest, I never would 

have wanted to go back to farming. But—— 


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Mr. BRALEY. The reason I ask you that is you made a comment 

in your statement that veterans don’t seem to get a lot of practical 

help in getting hired, and I think this is one of the biggest problems I hear of. We hear of this on the Committee all the time. 

We had General Petraeus’s wife, Holly, testifying at one of these 

get-togethers, and they were all talking about what we can do to 

better inform veterans when they are being demobilized of all of 

their legal rights and how to protect themselves. And I said, you 

know, back in Iowa, we would just give somebody a refrigerator 

magnet, and they would have that on the refrigerator. And when 

they needed that 800-number, they would know where to find it. 

And Senator Rockefeller was at that meeting, and he was, I 

think, pretty shocked by the fact that a refrigerator magnet might 

be an actual practical thing to help people in a time of need. 

Captain ROBINSON. It is right there. I mean, you are absolutely 

right. I like to start with the fact that if I knew what the golden 

answer was to being able to be employed, I wouldn’t probably be 

here today. I know it is a tongue-in-cheek statement, but it is absolutely true. 

It is amazing how just in the few months that I have been home 

how my job search has changed from for some reason, when I first 

came home, I felt like it was the most important thing I needed to 

get done. And then I tried to take a breath and tried to really enjoy 

being home with the family. 

And then, once again, I am coming back to, oh, yes, I need to 

have a job because if I don’t have one not only am I not working, 

but I am driving my wife insane, and it is time to go away—for 

anybody who has ever been there. But being able to call somebody 

when it is time to look for work I think is a great idea. 

Mr. BRALEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Captain Robinson, I would like to ask just a couple of questions yet. Have you had any interviews since you have 

been back? 

Captain ROBINSON. Ironically, the only interview I have had I got 

from a conversation I started while I was in Afghanistan, and then 

my second one will be tomorrow. I am not getting interviews. And 

I have actually talked to my civilian counterpart friends, saying the 

interviews aren’t coming for anyone, or at least they aren’t where 

I am looking and in the venue I am. 

So I don’t really get any feedback. I never know if my resume 

is good. I don’t know if I am putting the wrong thing out there. 

And that is the hardest thing. With no feedback, I don’t know if 

I am right or wrong. I could be completely off base. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Yes. Because that is what I am wondering. What 

are the reasons for not furthering their interest in you? Are you 

hearing anything from any of your friends, either one of you, on 

some of the reasons why they may not be hiring? 

I know we are in a tough economy and things like that. That 

doesn’t make the job any easier for anybody. But I mean, both of 

you, I mean, represent a lot of men and women across this country 

that people should be looking to to hire. 

Captain ROBINSON. I believe it is a hard time just of the year to 

hire, to be honest. As we get closer to the end of the year, more 


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people take more time off. H.R. people aren’t nearly as vested in 

that. So I think that plays into it. 

But everyone I have talked to, and I have gotten phone calls and 

texts and every other version of communication we have these 

days, on people saying, ‘‘I am not getting calls back either.’’ I am 

putting out. I know people who have put out 15 resumes and 

haven’t gotten a call back. 

So these are all veterans. I mean, we are all in the same boat. 

But like I said, I don’t know if it is because we are veterans or if 

it is just because nobody is getting a call back. 

Sergeant ROSE. I have talked to quite a few veterans as well that 

echo that statement. They are not getting calls back. I have talked 

to one soldier. He has expanded his search from the Iowa/Minnesota area to the whole country, and he is still not getting calls 

back. And he is not sure why. 

I mean, he has used the resume help. He has done things like 

that, but he is just still not getting calls. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. If we were able to offer the active duty Transition 

Assistance Program at locations around Iowa, do you think you 

would take time or others that you know would take time to attend 

any of those? 

Captain ROBINSON. I can say for myself, I would. I am also lucky 

enough to live relatively close. Living in Des Moines, it is very easy 

when one of those things pops up because it is probably going to 

be close to me. 

But if you live in Waterloo and it is in Des Moines, if you live 

in Sioux City and it is in Des Moines, I think it is even harder out 

there. Because of the squadron, a lot of people are in Sioux City, 

and that is the people I talk to. I would absolutely go. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Okay. 

Sergeant ROSE. Oh, I was also going to say that I feel that some 

of the younger soldiers don’t quite fully understand the importance 

of programs like that. So it is really tough to get them to go to 

events like that because they are still young. They still have that 

kind of carefree attitude. 

I am not saying all of them are like that, but I am saying a lot 

of them that I know are. So it is very tough to get them to voluntarily go to a program like this when it is tough to see a year or 

two down the road for them. 

Mr. BRALEY. Well, I am just struck by the fact that you are referring to people as younger soldiers, Staff Sergeant Rose. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. BRALEY. Because from where I sit, you look like a young soldier. But I had the great privilege of traveling home from Atlanta 

with Staff Sergeant Rose and getting a chance to meet Captain 

Robinson today. I would just say that any employer would be lucky 

to have either of you. 

And if you are representative of the people we are producing in 

the Iowa National Guard, this State should be very proud. And we 

thank you and wish you the best of luck in the future. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Thank you to both of you, and appreciate your 

testimony. It has been very helpful to both of us and our staff. And 

at this time, you are excused. 


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And please feel free to keep in contact. I am sure Congressman 

Braley would love if you stayed in contact with his office, and anything that we could ever do to help. But we really appreciate you, 

and at this time, we will excuse both of you and invite our second 

panel now to join us. 

The second panel is going to consist of Ms. Stacy Litchfield with 

Deere and Company. Mr. Kerry Studer—I hope I said that right. 

Major STUDER. Studer. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Studer, okay. It is kind of like Stutzman— 

‘‘Stootzman,’’ ‘‘Stutzman.’’ And he is with the Principal Financial 

Group. Ms. Stacey May with Honkamp, Krueger and Company. 

And finally, Mr. Tim Carson with Rockwell Collins. 

I want to welcome all of you to this hearing and thank you for 

your time this morning, and we are anxious to hear what you all 

have to say. And we will start with Ms. Litchfield with Deere and 

Company. Each of you will have 5 minutes to share your testimony 

with us. 

So, Ms. Litchfield. 

STATEMENTS OF STACY LITCHFIELD, REGIONAL MANAGER, 

TALENT ACQUISITION AND PERFORMANCE CONSULTING, 

DEERE AND COMPANY, MOLINE, ILLINOIS; MAJOR KERRY M. 

STUDER, USA, ASSISTANT MANAGING DIRECTOR, COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE DIVISION, PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL 

GROUP, WATERLOO, IOWA; STACEY MAY, MANAGER, TAX 

CREDIT PROGRAM, HONKAMP, KRUEGER AND COMPANY, 

P.C., DUBUQUE, IOWA; AND TIMOTHY J. CARSON, MANAGER, 

VETERANS INITIATIVES, OFFICE OF DIVERSITY, ROCKWELL 

COLLINS, INC., CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA 

STATEMENT OF STACY LITCHFIELD 

Ms. LITCHFIELD. Thank you. 

Congressman Braley and distinguished Members of the Committee, my name is Stacy Litchfield. I am the U.S. regional manager for talent acquisition with Deere and Company. On behalf of 

John Deere, thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony 

today on this important topic. 

John Deere is a worldwide leader in providing advanced products 

and services for agriculture, forestry, construction, turf care, landscaping, and irrigation. We are a leading manufacturer of off-highway diesel engines and one of the largest equipment finance companies in the United States. We have operations in 30 U.S. States. 

As an employer, we focus on attracting, developing, and retaining 

the best global talent from all backgrounds. At times, our recruiting efforts focus on access and visibility to specific groups. One is 

veterans. 

We identify organizations that provide the broadest reach and 

help our staffing team leverage various military recruiting initiatives and related events. John Deere staffing participates in several 

recruiting events targeting veterans, including career fairs, conferences, and virtual career fairs. 

We also work directly with the military when appropriate, and 

we have participated in the Army Partnership for Youth Success, 

PaYS, Program since its inception. Young men and women can 


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enter the service knowing that they will receive specialized training and develop skills that are in demand in the private and public 

sectors, and Deere gets access to a pool of skilled candidates. 

John Deere is also active in a variety of outreach programs and 

job boards that help us connect with veterans who offer a broad 

array of skills and experiences. We also work with military staffing 

organizations to recruit veterans. For example, the Army Partnership Program, a job posting and resume database, has provided us 

with candidates for both mid-career and wage positions. 

Along with employing veterans, we support programs that help 

veterans start businesses and become suppliers to companies like 

ours. Our suppliers include about 200 veteran-owned businesses 

and about 50 businesses owned by service-disabled veterans. 

At John Deere, we recognize that engaged employees working together create a competitive advantage. We cultivate an environment of inclusive teamwork through programs such as our employee networks. One of these resource groups is composed of employees who have a connection to the U.S. military. The group 

brings employees together to build relationships, provide support, 

and sponsor military outreach activities. 

Deere also has military leave of absence provisions for Reservists 

and Guardsmen who are called up for active duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. To help ease the financial hardship endured by these 

soldiers and their families, Deere voluntarily provides up to 2 years 

of differential pay, where applicable, along with health benefits, life 

insurance, and other benefits. 

The impact on retention has been significant. Since 2001, more 

than 200 Deere employees have been deployed. Over 96 percent of 

those soldiers still work for John Deere. 

Even though veterans are purposely included in our recruiting, 

development, and retention efforts, we do face challenges in effectively bringing them into our organization. First, with the variety 

of organizations and job boards available, it is difficult to determine 

the best way to connect with job candidates from the military workforce. 

Our recommendation would be a central data source that offers 

links to standardized job, industry, and geographic classification 

codes to other reported Federal labor, employment, economic, and 

census data. This would help improve results for job posting visibility among the right candidates. 

Additionally, many veterans are challenged to translate their 

education and skills to fit requirements for nonmilitary positions. 

Transitioning military may also be at a disadvantage without accreditation or certification required by some professions. 

To remedy this, all levels of government could implement solutions that effectively balance current challenges with educational 

system gaps, the accreditation of job seekers, and the fiscal demands and resources of employers. 

In closing, I want to highlight again the importance, priority, and 

demonstrated focus John Deere places on hiring, outreach, skill development, and training of veterans. Thank you again for the opportunity to share our views and on improving employment opportunities for veterans. 

I would be happy to answer any questions. 


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[The prepared statement of Stacy Litchfield appears on p. 45.] 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Good. Thank you. 

Mr. Studer. 

STATEMENT OF KERRY M. STUDER 

Major STUDER. Thank you. 

Chairman Stutzman, Ranking Member Braley, and Members of 

the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to discuss the 

Principal Financial Group’s commitment to protecting the rights of 

veterans and our Guard and Reserve members. 

I am Kerry Studer, a recently deployed Army major and assistant managing director at Principal Financial Group in their Commercial Real Estate Division. I have been mobilized on deployments 3 times over my 22-year military career and had the opportunity to see firsthand how two different civilian employers and 

one university handled those such deployments. 

Principal, as an employer with more than 200 veteran and military employees, with the experience of having 9 employees on 

emergency leave in the last 2 years, Principal is committed to protecting the job rights of employees who serve their State and country through the uniformed services. I am here today to talk about 

that such commitment. 

I have submitted a formal written statement, which I would like 

to summarize in these verbal comments today with really three primary areas of focus. One, what we are doing on the front end in 

getting more veterans within our Principal ranks. Two, what we 

are doing to support our current veterans and employees that are 

currently within our ranks. And three, and probably most importantly, what are currently doing to increase awareness of corporate 

and community outreach within central Iowa. 

Recruiting and retention. The Principal has clearly targeted outreach efforts in order to attract and retain military employees and 

veterans. We have a successful hiring process of previously deployed soldiers with a specific target on really focusing on co-ops 

and internship programs of those students that are currently in or 

completing their 4-year degree. 

Over the last 10 years, there is a lot of soldiers that have not 

had the opportunity to sit, unannounced, in a 4-year academic institution and complete their degree. Whether it be one or two deployments, we find that this is a current process. When hiring constraints tend to be tough, we have really focused in on these coop opportunities. It is a 9-month snapshot to bring them in-house, 

get them out of their academic curriculum and get them exposed 

to corporate America before they complete their degree to give 

them a little bit more snapshot and guidance in corporate America. 

We also proactively participate in veteran-focused career fairs, 

such as the upcoming Hiring Heroes event scheduled in early November. And we think it is important not only to have H.R. support 

there, we took a step above, and we are sending 30—over 30, actually, current veterans that are within our ranks at Principal to 

really act as ambassadors of what it is like to work at Principal. 

And sometimes we feel that these veterans do a better job of bridging that gap between deployed veterans and the H.R. area. 


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Our internal support of our military and our military families, 

what I call kind of creating a culture, it is well documented. We 

are a recent Freedom Award recipient. But I wanted to highlight 

just a few things about Principal and what they did to me as my 

deployment. 

Not only did my company support me, my family, and my unit, 

they took the time to understand what the deployment did to both 

the soldier and the families back at home. While H.R. guidelines 

and corporate support are all important to success in supporting 

deployed soldiers, we think the very best companies take that personal approach to company support and extend that assistance at 

a very personal level. It is that personal touch that, in my personal 

opinion, solidifies the relationship both to and from that soldier 

and corporate America. 

We think awareness is the key to driving additional support. Our 

CEO, Larry Zimpleman, is very involved in supporting the Guard 

and Reserves. A member of our senior management, usually which 

is Larry, provides a keynote address every year near Veterans Day 

to our current employees. The nature of this event varies from year 

to year. But this year, we are providing all of our units, all of our 

veterans within our ranks a military coin that just says ‘‘Thank 

you from Principal.’’ 

While this may seem like a small token from senior leadership, 

I have personally been to these events. It is a way that veterans 

can get together within the ranks not only to talk about their experiences, but to talk about other veterans that they know and how 

we can bridge the gap in getting more veterans into our ranks. 

Most veterans are generally humble in nature, but our senior executives take the time each and every year to remind each of the 

veterans of their personal sacrifice and the fact that our company 

generally appreciates their service. 

Community outreach and support. Senior leaders at the Principal, I can attest personally and publicly, express the support of 

their military employees, family members, and veterans through a 

number of things. When I think one of the most important items 

that we do is we recently did a hosting of an Employer Support of 

the Guard and Reserve statement at a workshop event. 

While these happen across all States and they have happened 

certainly within Iowa, I think the components of this in bringing 

other corporate citizens to an event, highlighting one corporate supporting this with the right people, the right members, the right 

venue, and the right passion, we have seen that these events can 

spread the word within corporate America on what value these veterans bring to the table and what ways we can do to attract and 

do best practices of bridging those gaps. 

To close, as I mentioned earlier, I have been mobilized or deployed 3 times in my 22 years of military service. Without question, 

the Principal has set itself apart from all others in supporting me 

and my family. The cumulative effect of all the programs, events, 

and activities I have mentioned today is a work environment where 

military and veteran employees feel supported in their military 

leave while they are away and of value for the service they have 

provided for their State or country once they return. 


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While senior management can lead with the support and encouragement, each department and every individual at all of our companies plays a vital role in creating that supportive culture. I can’t 

say enough about the commitment that the leaders and employees 

have shown personally and publicly by expressing support of the 

military and veterans at Principal and beyond. 

I am lucky to be a citizen of this great country. I am now a retired major in the United States Army and an employee of the 

Principal. I feel I have benefitted from the best-case scenario in 

terms of the relationship between my military service and my employment at Principal. 

What we need now is for more companies to step up, create a 

platform for even more best-case scenarios so that they can become 

the norm, not the exception. I look forward to that happening, and 

I am happy to help in any way. 

I am honored to be here today. Thank you for your time. 

[The prepared statement of Kerry M. Studer appears on p. 46.] 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Thank you, and thank you for your service as 

well. 

Ms. May. 

STATEMENT OF STACEY MAY 

Ms. MAY. Chairman Stutzman, Ranking Member Braley, and 

Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to 

speak today. 

I am Stacey May. I work at Honkamp Krueger out of Dubuque, 

Iowa, and we have a little bit different take than some of the other 

committee members today, or people doing testimony. Honkamp 

Krueger has a service that we provide to our clients that benefits 

veterans, and so that is what I am going to talk about today. 

According to the Department of Labor, the unemployment rate 

for veterans ages 18 to 24 in 2010 was 20.9 percent. Even more astonishing is that veterans as a whole accounted for a total 1.02 million people looking for work in the United States. 

To make matters worse, on October 5th, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned, while addressing Congress, that the 

economic recovery, as it currently stands, ‘‘is close to faltering’’. He 

later stated, ‘‘We need to make sure that the recovery continues 

and doesn’t drop back and that unemployment rate continues to 

fall’’. 

To sum it up, we need action, action to keep this economic recovery going and action to make sure businesses continue to hire, otherwise, the unemployment rate for veterans and the country as a 

whole will continue down a path toward higher unemployment and 

further economic turmoil. 

I believe the core part of the action needed to sustain a continued 

recovery is a permanent employment tax credit that incentivizes 

business to hire. The Work Opportunity Tax Credit does just that. 

The WOTC program is a perfect example of a successful Government program that rewards businesses for hiring employees from 

certain target groups that have consistently faced barriers in seeking employment. 

These groups, known as target groups, include veterans, people 

on Government assistance, the disabled, ex-offenders. According to 


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the Department of Labor, the WOTC program processed 849,868 

certificates in fiscal year 2010 that allowed employers to claim the 

tax credit on their income tax return. Currently, employers that 

hire qualifying employees generally may be eligible for a 1-year 

Federal income tax credit worth anywhere from $1,200 to $4,800 

and, in some cases, a 2-year credit worth up to $9,000. 

Unfortunately, the WOTC program is set to expire at the end of 

the year, December 31, 2011, which would be an additional blow 

to the veteran community when seeking employment. 

I believe that we can get our unemployed veterans back to work 

with the WOTC program by making three changes. One, make the 

Work Opportunity Tax Credit permanent. Since its creation in 

1996, the WOTC program has been up for renewal eight times. By 

making the program permanent, it would add stability in the hiring process. 

Two, expand the program by adding a target group for hiring unemployed veterans. President Obama mentioned this in his proposed American Jobs Bill, naming it the ‘‘returning heroes tax credit.’’ It would allow unemployed veterans to qualify their employer 

for WOTC. 

Three, increase the maximum tax credit amount an employer 

may receive for hiring qualified veterans. Increasing the tax credit 

amount would further incentivize employers to hire veterans. 

The unemployment rate for the veterans in our country is too 

high. We need action by our leaders in Washington to help veterans who served our country get back to work. With modifications 

to the WOTC program, such as making the WOTC program permanent, creating an unemployed veterans target group, and increasing the tax credit for hiring veterans, it will not only fuel employers to create jobs, it will fuel employers to hire our brave veterans. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Stacey May appears on p. 50.] 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Okay. Thank you. 

Mr. Carson. 

STATEMENT OF TIMOTHY J. CARSON 

Mr. CARSON. Thank you. 

Congressman Stutzman, Congressman Braley, my name is Tim 

Carson, and I serve as a manager of veterans initiatives with the 

Office of Diversity at Rockwell Collins, a global aerospace and defense company headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 

In my position, I work closely with Rockwell Collins human resources organization and a variety of external partners to promote 

outreach to veterans and veterans organizations. I am pleased to 

have the opportunity to talk to you today, and I appreciate that 

you are taking time to listen to the perspectives of business and 

the community. 

It is particularly germane to this State, which has one of the 

highest number of per capita Reservists serving on active duty of 

any State in the union. And on behalf of Rockwell Collins, I would 

like to express my sincere appreciation for the invitation to speak 

about the importance of helping veterans secure meaningful employment. 


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The valuable service these men and women provide is undeniable 

and so are the core skills they developed in the service—leadership, 

discipline, responsibility, and technological savvy—that can be invaluable to civilian employers. 

However, today more than 870,000 young veterans are unemployed, a rate higher than the national unemployment rate, according to the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. And the 

wind-down of engagements abroad will lead to an additional million seeking civilian employment in the next 5 years. 

When Rockwell Collins talks about these soldiers, we are not just 

speaking about them as a simple subpopulation amongst all of today’s unemployed. We are talking about the people that we serve. 

They have relied upon our communication technology to stay connected with their leadership in harsh, remote settings around the 

globe. 

They have used our navigation systems to ensure the pinpoint 

accuracy of weapon systems in areas where civilians and combatants often live side by side. They have identified friend and foe 

with our helmet-mounted displays, and they have given us feedback based on their own experiences to make these systems better 

for the next generation of warfighters. 

We are grateful for their service and are dedicated to helping 

them successfully transition from their military service and bring 

their skills and experiences to the civilian workforce. To that end, 

Rockwell Collins has always prioritized the hiring and retention of 

veterans and advocates that businesses across the State and Nation do so as well. 

We also believe it is important for us and other companies to 

partner with local and national organizations to ensure veterans 

receive the counseling, training, and guidance that they need to secure and make the most of meaningful employment opportunities. 

Today, I am going to talk about some of the initiatives Rockwell 

Collins has pursued to build our veteran workforce and the partnerships we maintain. These aren’t necessarily the only answer. In 

fact, I am sure there isn’t one single answer to this challenge. But 

we recognize that you are seeking a breadth of ideas, and I think 

we have some good ones. 

Internally, our company has practices and policies in place to ensure that we attract and retain veterans and their spouses as employees. Nearly 8 percent of our domestic workforce is made up of 

veterans, and at any given time, a number of them are serving active duty through the Guard and Reserve. In fact, we are a strong 

advocate of the principles of the Iowa Employer Support of the 

Guard and Reserve, or IESGR, which has been mentioned. 

The organization calls for companies to adhere to and go beyond 

the provisions of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, including maintaining benefits, contributing 

to employee 401(k)s during military active duty, and maintaining 

vacation accrual and raises. Because Rockwell Collins follows these 

guidelines and also promotes these principles to others in the community, we have earned a five-star rating from the IESGR. 

We also recognize that legal issues can be a burden on Iowa 

servicemen and women before, during, and after their deployment 

and provide ongoing support of the Iowa Returning Veterans 


ccoleman on DSK8P6SHH1PROD with HEARING
21 

Project to provide them with free legal assistance. Our human resources group has a full-time recruiter devoted to identifying and 

hiring military talent, and we allocate a specific and growing percentage of our annual recruitment advertising budget to military 

outreach. 

Through these efforts, we have consistently grown our share of 

veterans as a part of our total workforce, including a 4 percent increase over the past fiscal year. But there is more to go. 

Our leadership has identified the hiring of even more of yesterday’s warriors as a key business goal for fiscal year 2012. And we 

are launching an enterprise-wide strategy to increase our outreach, 

recruitment, hiring, and retention efforts for veterans and veterans 

with disabilities. 

Once hired, we further the well-being and retention of these individuals through a veterans employee network group, corporate networking opportunities, and special engagements such as transition 

think tanks and PTSD seminars. We collaborate with the Veterans 

Administration and other subject matter experts to ensure that the 

necessary supports and services are made available and are also 

accessible to our employees. 

We also recognize the importance of supporting veterans through 

our business contracting with suppliers. Year-to-date, Rockwell 

Collins has spent $57 million, nearly 5 percent of total corporate 

spending, with suppliers with veteran-owned small businesses and 

$13.6 million with service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. 

Now, we are fortunate to have gained some recognition for these 

efforts. Rockwell Collins has been named a top 100 military-friendly employer by GI Jobs magazine for the past 2 years, and we 

strive every day to continue to deserve that recognition. Beyond our 

own hiring practices, Rockwell Collins seeks to support initiatives 

that promote hiring of veterans across the Nation. 

We are a proud corporate sponsor of the jobs and internship program, a partnership championed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Student Veterans of America. In fact, we recently made 

a significant contribution to the Chamber, specifically earmarked 

for their partnership with the SVA and development of the Hiring 

Our Heroes Initiative. 

We attended the SVA’s leadership summit and career fair this 

past summer in Madison, Wisconsin, and we will support the SVA’s 

national conference this December as a corporate partner, exhibitor, and employment panel participant. 

An initiative that is a personal passion for me, we also work to 

bring disabled veterans into the workplace through a relationship 

with the National Organization on Disability, known as NOD, and 

its Wounded Warriors program. As a primary sponsor of the organization, one of our senior executives sits on the board for NOD 

and is engaged in communicating core messages, events, and opportunities for Rockwell Collins to both support and influence. 

And we continue to seek additional relationships or opportunities 

to promote veteran hiring wherever we do business and to talk 

about it at every opportunity, like we are here today. 

Now there is no one, single solution to the complex challenge to 

veteran unemployment, and it is a pleasure to hear from the other 


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22 

participants today and to get new ideas to consider. But I hope that 

my and Rockwell Collins’ contribution to the conversation is helpful 

as you consider the public and private strategies to tackle this 

issue. 

These men and women willingly accepted one of our Nation’s 

most vital and precious responsibilities of protecting the country 

from harm, and in turn, we commit to fulfill our responsibility to 

help them put the unique and desirable skills they developed in 

that endeavor to work for the well-being of themselves, their families, and their future. 

I welcome any questions you may have today, and I also encourage you to contact Rockwell Collins if you would like to know more 

specifics about some of the initiatives that I have outlined for you 

here today. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Timothy J. Carson appears on p. 51.] 

Mr. STUTZMAN. All right. Thank you very much to each of your 

testimony. It has, again, been very helpful. 

A couple of questions. Ms. Litchfield, I will start with you. First 

of all, we have all John Deere on our farm. We do have a couple 

of red ones. They are just for show, but—— 

Ms. LITCHFIELD. I am glad to hear that. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. STUTZMAN. In your written statement, you talked about the 

difficulties in matching veterans with the appropriate positions due 

to the numerous boards that are available. I am sure that is a challenge. Can you talk a little bit about have you ever used the National Labor Exchange’s job board, run by the Direct Employers Association, and kind of how can you—has one board been more successful than another? 

Ms. LITCHFIELD. I can’t speak specific to the job board success or 

nonsuccess, but we are in a partnership with Direct Employers Association. So we do use that particular job board. 

In regards to matching skill sets with openings that we have, I 

think it relates back to the comments we heard from Captain Robinson and Staff Sergeant Rose related to being able to clearly articulate what those skills and experiences are and as they relate 

to specific job openings. 

Each of our jobs are posted with specific requirements and experiences that we are looking for in candidates. And much of the 

process is an automated process, not an individual looking through 

that. So sometimes it is difficult to get a direct match when you 

are looking for key words or experiences on those resumes. And so, 

that does become a challenge for us. 

We have a number of openings right now in the U.S., and many 

of them are targeted around specific technical skills that we are 

hiring for. And sometimes we don’t get access to the candidates 

within the U.S. as well. 

So those are some of the challenges that we are facing. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Okay. And Ms. May, you talked quite a bit about 

the tax credit, and I would like to follow up a little bit more on that 

because I like where you are going with that. And one of the complaints that we have heard, though, is the intensive paperwork 

that goes along with that. 


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I mean, can you touch on that, and anybody else on the panel 

touch on that? 

Ms. MAY. It is only two forms. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Two forms? 

Ms. MAY. It is two forms. Two forms get added to the H.R. paperwork, and they complete those when they do their new hire paperwork. So when they are doing their W–4, they have these two 

forms. They answer a few questions, and based on that, we process 

and determine who is qualified and who is not. So it is not that 

complicated, not too bad. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. It doesn’t sound too bad. 

Ms. MAY. No. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Coming from an accounting background as well, 

that doesn’t, I mean, sound terribly hard. 

Ms. MAY. No, now computing the credit can get a little bit complicated because there are different target groups and different levels, and the legislation continues to change. And right now, there 

is pending legislation to add these two new target groups. 

So that is what we keep up on. So that makes it a little complicated if you are trying to do it in-house and do it on your own. 

But—— 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Okay. So doing it in-house might be more difficult? 

Ms. MAY. It may be because you would probably have to have a 

specific person dedicated to doing it and keeping up with the forms, 

sending them off to the appropriate State, then waiting for a certificate to come back and then processing the credit. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Okay. If I am a small business owner and I am 

looking to use the credit—which I am a small business owner and 

didn’t even know about the credit until becoming a Member of Congress and a part of this committee—what, do you find very many 

people interested in the credit, and how do they usually hear about 

it? 

Ms. MAY. They hear about it various ways. There are still businesses out there that aren’t doing it, yet it is something that gets 

promoted. You know, of course, there are different Government 

representatives talking about it. President Obama has been talking 

about this, in particular. He hasn’t actually said the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, but yet when you are talking about adding the 

veterans credit, it is specifically for that program. 

So, is there acknowledgment of the program out there for businesses? Yes. There are some businesses—retail, manufacturing, 

staffing, call centers—they are the ones that are more prevalent 

doing that program. But small businesses can benefit, too, because 

if they get one credit, if they are hiring one veteran, they could get 

a credit of $2,400, $4,800. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. And you mentioned increasing the tax credit. Any 

number that you have in mind? 

Ms. MAY. $5,600 for unemployed veterans and $9,600 for hiring 

unemployed veterans with a service-connected disability is what is 

out on the table right now. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Okay. And it is currently $2,400? 

Ms. MAY. Correct. There is two veteran credits right now currently with WOTC, and it is for a disabled veteran and for someVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:33 May 24, 2012 Jkt 071384 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 I:\WAYS\OUT\71384.XXX GPO1 PsN: 71384

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body who has been on assistance and is also a veteran. So those 

exist currently. 

And then, a year ago, they actually had an unemployed veteran 

as a target group, and that went away as of last year. Which is 

what they are trying to bring that one back and then increase the 

credit. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Do you find very many employers utilizing those 

credits? 

Ms. MAY. Definitely. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Yes? 

Ms. MAY. And making thousands and thousands of dollars in 1 

year, in 1 tax year. So there are a lot of companies that are benefitting from the Work Opportunity Tax Credit program. It would be 

a shame for it to go away. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Sure. Yes. 

What do we normally extend it? You said in your testimony that 

we have renewed it eight times since ’96. So—— 

Ms. MAY. Typically, it is a 2-year renewal. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Yes. 

Ms. MAY. Last time, because they extended—they didn’t renew 

it until December of the year that it needed to get renewed. So because of the big delay, they did 3 years. And so, that took us to 

the end of this year. And now the legislation is for another 3-year 

extension. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Okay. Mr. Braley. 

Mr. BRALEY. Well, Mr. Chairman, I am certainly not going to let 

you upstage me on tractor discussions in my hometown of Waterloo. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. BRALEY. And Ms. Litchfield, that steel-type tractor my father 

was driving was green. So let us just get that on the record. 

Ms. LITCHFIELD. Okay. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. BRALEY. One of the things that I was very interested in is 

your job title because you are listed as the manager of talent acquisition, and that got me thinking about the whole focus of this hearing. Because most employers that I talk to, when they are looking 

for someone to add to their workforce, they are looking for someone 

who is highly motivated, who has highly developed critical thinking 

skills, who has creative problem-solving experience, and who is disciplined. 

Does anybody disagree on this panel with what I just said? 

[No response.] 

Mr. BRALEY. And yet it seems like the two young men that we 

heard from earlier certainly meet that criteria. Most of the people 

who have experienced combat would not survive unless they had 

some level of experience with all of those criteria. Yet we have this 

enormous challenge of bridging the gap between military service 

experience and civilian workforce demands. 

So what can you share with us about those real world challenges 

that employers face in trying to identify workers who meet their 

job criteria and people like the two witnesses we heard from on our 

first panel, who are ready, willing, and able to work? How do we 

solve that problem? 


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Let us start with you, Ms. Litchfield. 

Ms. LITCHFIELD. Well, one of the challenges that I think we face 

is there is a number of job boards that are available for us to use 

to get access to military veterans and individuals interested in 

working for our organization and others. And I think if we could 

find a way to streamline how we get access to the right candidates 

for the right type of skills, that helps us then, in turn, get to a job 

opportunity for that individual and for us to get access to talent to 

help support our business objectives. 

And so, I think one of the challenges that we do face is there is 

a broad array out there for us to target and knowing which ones 

get you the best access to the right candidates. We have limited resources, just like any other organization does, and so we want to 

make sure we are spending our money around our advertising and 

our efforts targeted for recruiting on the right types of activities. 

So that would be one area that I think if we could come together 

and figure out how we get access to the right skills and capabilities 

to match up with the opportunities that we have to offer. 

Mr. BRALEY. I was kind of joking about that Rosetta Stone thing, 

but in reality, the Chamber is putting a lot of money into trying 

to help address this very problem. 

Ms. LITCHFIELD. Right. 

Mr. BRALEY. And it seems to me that the DoD and Veterans Affairs Departments, working in conjunction with private employers, 

could do a better job of trying to bridge this gap. 

Ms. LITCHFIELD. Absolutely. 

Mr. BRALEY. Major Studer. 

Major STUDER. Sure. I think it is obviously multiple front. I have 

been impressed with the ESGR work. There is some resume-building things that I think they have tapped into corporate America on. 

Send H.R. people in a non-interview mode to get soldiers over— 

most soldiers tend to be fairly humble. 

When you come through and say, hey, how am I going to compete 

for this job and orate the differences between what this guy is 

doing in the civilian sector and what I have just done for the last 

12 months? I think there are a lot of things to trump. But navigating and cross that bridge, they talked about a lot of the previous 

testimony as kind of white noise, but that last 30 days—— 

Mr. BRALEY. Death by PowerPoint? 

Major STUDER. A little bit. But the last 30 days in country and 

then the first 90 days that you are back here, soldiers are going 

through a lot. I think there are bridges to be built between corporate America and not necessarily trying to reach individual soldiers. But they all have a chain of command, a peacetime chain of 

command. 

We knew 3,500 soldiers were coming back to Iowa in a fairly finite amount of time. I would like to say all corporate citizens were 

as proactive as we should have been, but it is kind of looking in 

building the bridge between I think the military chain of command. 

They all have full-time civilian staff. 

That is one of the first people soldiers go to. ‘‘Hey, my unit administrator or my first sergeant, I need work.’’ They know about 

it there. It is just how do we get ‘‘I need work’’ from the unit itself 


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to a corporate? A lot of endeavors on how to bridge that, but it 

starts at the unit, and it ends at the employer. 

And that is where if we could have more, my opinion, more resources dedicated to—some companies don’t know the Reserve 

units that are local to them. Some companies don’t know how many 

veterans they currently have employed. It is increasing the awareness and starting the push. 

Mr. BRALEY. Well, and let us face it. We have three of Iowa’s 

largest employers represented here, and the resources your companies have to commit to this type of an outcome can be different 

than a small mom-and-pop business that may be no less patriotic 

in their commitment to hiring veterans, but just doesn’t have access to the same resources to help them make these choices. 

Ms. May. 

Ms. MAY. I would agree with Mr. Studer. I mean, the time to do 

it would be the time before they come back because there is downtime. My husband was deployed, and there is time at that point because of their downtime. I would think that would be the great opportunity to start working with them and talking about their resumes. 

I mean, the people that are going to need to get jobs, they do 

need to have the skills to be able to match up what is needed in 

corporate America versus what their military experience is, and I 

think that is key, and being able to do that before they come home. 

Because when they come home, there is a lot of challenges. Medically, there can be a lot of mental things going on. 

So if you try to do those things before they come back. Plus, I 

think that would give them peace of mind. Having a job and being 

employed is one of the most important things when you come back. 

Mr. BRALEY. Mr. Carson. 

Mr. CARSON. Yes. So I would say that some of the challenges that 

we heard from the first panel are no different than those that I 

faced 20 years ago when I got out of the Army, trying to translate 

military experience and training and schooling into the civilian 

workforce. 

What, of course, amplifies that today is our economy. And I think 

that it would be very helpful to continue to have these public discussions maybe in town hall forums on a drill weekend out at a Reserve center and get some of the larger employers there, where we 

walk through the facilities and H.R. representatives, hiring managers are able to see our soldiers in action, in drill, and understand 

what they do and then have a town hall discussion about that publicly. 

Mr. BRALEY. Well, and you and Ms. Litchfield both talked about 

the very important component of your companies’ businesses, 

which is small business suppliers who hire veterans. 

Mr. CARSON. Yes. Exactly. 

Mr. BRALEY. And I know, Ms. May, your company works with 

many small businesses, and not every veteran wants or is prepared 

to go to work for someone. And I think one of the unaddressed 

issues that we need to spend more time talking about is how we 

provide veterans who want to start their own small business the 

resources to be successful when the rate of failure for small business is so high and what types of different programming we need 


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to be offering them so they can achieve their dreams of being a selfemployed veteran some day, too. 

I see my time has expired, and so I will yield back, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Okay. Thank you very much. 

I guess I would just like to ask all of you on this particular panel. 

I mean, you heard the challenges that Mr. Rose and Mr. Robinson 

are having, and I know there are many more men and women that 

have the same challenges. But would, just asking as maybe a committee here, just if you could talk with them. And Mr. Rose mentioned challenges with his resume and I know Mr. Robinson is 

looking for a job—any ideas? 

Because I think that with their commitment to what they have 

done for our country and also your commitment to what you have 

done for job creation in this part of the country is crucial. But also 

connecting people is really what a lot of this is about. 

So I want to say just thank you to all of you for what you do do. 

Because I know we are going through some very difficult times, 

and your testimony has been very helpful. Appreciate the comments on tax credits and the challenges of connecting people. We 

are just going to continue to have to work at it, and I believe that 

we can be successful. 

So, with that, we will excuse all of you. Thank you again for coming. 

And at this time, we would like to welcome our third and final 

panel. Our third group of witnesses includes Colonel Benjamin 

Corell with the Iowa National Guard. This would be personal comments with Mark Hennessey, which I will explain in a little bit. 

And then Ms. Teresa Wahlert with Iowa Workforce Development 

and Mr. Anthony Smithhart with the U.S. Department of Labor. 

Of course, all of these will have 5 minutes. We had some issues 

logistically with Mr. Hennessey’s testimony. So he is appearing on 

his own behalf today. 

Mr. HENNESSEY. Yes, sir. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Which we appreciate you being here, and we do 

want to hear from you personally. 

So we will begin with Colonel Corell, and thank you for your 

service, and we recognize you for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENTS OF COLONEL BENJAMIN CORELL, COMMANDER, 

SECOND BRIGADE COMBAT TEAM, IOWA NATIONAL GUARD, 

JOHNSTON, IOWA; MARK HENNESSEY, IOWA COMMITTEE 

FOR EMPLOYER SUPPORT OF THE GUARD AND RESERVE, 

JOHNSTON, IOWA; TERESA WAHLERT, DIRECTOR, IOWA 

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, DES MOINES, IOWA; AND ANTHONY SMITHHART, IOWA STATE DIRECTOR, VETERANS EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING SERVICE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF 

LABOR 

STATEMENT OF COLONEL BENJAMIN CORELL 

Colonel CORELL. Yes, sir. Chairman Stutzman, Congressman 

Braley, I am Colonel Ben Corell. I am the commander of the Second 34th Brigade Combat Team just returned from service in AfVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:33 May 24, 2012 Jkt 071384 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 I:\WAYS\OUT\71384.XXX GPO1 PsN: 71384

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ghanistan, brought back about 3,100 troops to Iowa here in the 

July time frame. 

I am from a small town, too, and I take things in bite-sized 

chunks, and up in the Strawberry Point area. Congressman Braley 

knows this. But I look at what is the problem that we are trying 

to identify here? 

And from Ben Corell’s perspective, I think we are looking at Reserve and National Guard employers. And that is really my framework here. I think that includes veterans, but I think it is different 

when we talk about those coming off active duty. They have ended 

their service. They are reentering the workforce with really an active duty background behind them. 

As I look at what we have done in the Reserve and National 

Guard in the last 10 years, it is different because we continue to 

go back to the well. We continue to ask our employers to sacrifice 

as we continue to mobilize our Guard and Reserve for contingency 

operations, whether it be combat, peacekeeping, and in some cases, 

we have domestic responsibilities that we have within the borders 

of our own States. 

So I look at that a little bit differently. It is still the same problems that we have as far as how do we keep those soldiers employed? And how do we incentivize it to those Guard and Reserve 

employers that says I am going to go through that sacrifice? 

Because at some point, the patriotic aspect of it loses its attraction. You have to put some type of incentive that says I clearly 

want to keep this not because of all those other things that we 

talked about already in this hearing today about discipline and 

hard work, but because it is now costing my business something. 

I will give you a little bit of my background. I have deployed four 

times. The first time that I deployed, well, my first 15 years in the 

Reserve components, I did just like the commercial said, 1 weekend 

a month, 2 weeks in the summer. And I went to the schooling requirements that I had. 

In 2000, I had the opportunity to deploy into Saudi Arabia as 

part of Operation Southern Watch. We secured Patriot missile batteries. I thought that was my one and only opportunity to deploy 

onto active duty outside the United States and serve my country. 

So I took that with pride. 

I came back home. And that fall, 9/11 happened. At that time, 

I owned a small business. My brother-in-law and I were in partnership together. We had a BP–Amoco tank wagon business up in 

Strawberry Point, Iowa. 

I deployed again in 2003–2004 to do a peacekeeping mission in 

the Sinai. Came back. 2005, I deployed again as a battalion commander to Iraq. We got extended. I was gone 1 week short of 2 

years. 

When I came back to my small business, my brother-in-law said 

to me, ‘‘You know, this isn’t what I signed up for. We built the 

business for both of us to operate and make a living off of. It no 

longer fits my business model.’’ So I said I will go find something 

else to do. 

But I think that is reflective of others who are small business 

owners or who work for those small mom-and-pop companies that 


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only have a handful of employees. When one is gone, it is a significant impact on that business. 

And then I just returned from my fourth deployment as a brigade commander into Afghanistan. 

Our Nation’s military has sacrificed a lot in the last 10 years. 

One percent of our population has served in uniform. Take that out 

of the Reserve and the National Guard, I don’t believe that we 

could have been successful as a military without the Reserve and 

National Guard with what we have added to the fight, just based 

on my experience. And I think most of my brothers on active duty 

would echo those same comments. 

I think that we have spent a lot of time working very hard on 

building resume-writing capabilities. We do job fairs for our soldiers. We have a great team of ESGR representatives. A lot of volunteers that go in, and we do lunch and learns. We do those BOSS 

lists that Congressman Braley talked about. 

But I think it has got to go beyond that. I think we have to identify how do we make an incentive for an employer to hire a Reserve 

and National Guardsman. I think the veterans piece of it has to 

be included in that, but I think it is even more difficult when we 

talk about Guard and Reserve, who continue to be drawn away for 

different requirements. 

At some point, the well starts to go dry. And I think as we lay 

it out, if everything is equal, if I am that hiring board member, if 

everything is equal, I am not sure that being a member of the 

Guard and Reserve is a bonus when I look at that. Even though 

they may have some additional leadership qualities, that I don’t 

really know how I quantitate that because I think we have discussed that already. 

But if everything else is equal, I am probably going to lend the 

vote to this person that isn’t in the Guard and Reserve because I 

know they are going to be there every day, and I know that I can 

count on them to be there. With what we have done with the 

Guard and Reserve in the last 10 years, we can’t always say that. 

So whether that is some type of tax incentive, whether that is 

a grant, whether that is a forgivable loan, I think that is where the 

focus has got to be so we have some type of a reward. In my career, 

I worked in recruiting. And I know that when times get tough, everything is the same, people are going to join the Guard and Reserve because of patriotic commitment, because it is in their family 

lineage, or it is just something that they always wanted to do. 

Once you run out of those folks, then everything equals out, and 

you have to have some sort of incentive for those people to come 

in and say, well, I want to go to college, what can you give me? 

I want to help put food on the table, what can you give me? What 

incentive do I have to do something different to join the Guard and 

Reserve, compared to going and getting a part-time job somewhere 

else? 

And that is really what I see is the problem, how we identify 

that piece. I think that is all I have. I have submitted my written 

comments, and I will stand by for your questions. 

Thanks for the opportunity here. 

[The prepared statement of Benjamin Corell appears on p. 54.] 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Thank you. 


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Mr. Hennessey, we will go ahead and recognize you just for some 

personal comments, if you would like? 

STATEMENT OF MARK HENNESSEY 

Mr. HENNESSEY. Absolutely. Thank you, gentlemen. 

My name is Mark Hennessey. I live in Robins, and I am just here 

as a concerned civilian. 

My father was an Army vet. My father-in-law was a Navy vet. 

I have numerous friends that have served and several friends that 

are still active members of the Guard and Reserve, and just somebody that has talked on both sides of that with local employers in 

the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area, as well as veterans, and how to 

bridge that gap and get those two parties together, help them understand the needs that the employers have. 

And as we talked about translating that military resume to the 

civilian world, doing things that expand the initiatives, such as the 

ESGR initiative, such as the BOSS lists, those things like that. 

And so, it is just something that I hear echoed throughout the community. 

I am very involved in a lot of networking events. So I talk with 

a lot of people, and that is something that I regularly hear is how 

do we bridge that gap? 

[The prepared statement of Mark Hennessey appears on p. 54.] 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Thank you. 

Mr. Smithhart, you are recognized for your testimony. 

STATEMENT OF ANTHONY SMITHHART 

Mr. SMITHHART. Thank you, Congressman. 

Chairman Stutzman, Ranking Member Braley, and Members of 

the Committee, thank you for this opportunity to testify before the 

Committee about the work we are doing at the Department of 

Labor to address important issues of decreasing unemployment 

rate for veterans, National Guard, and Reservists. 

We also appreciate the—with over 240,000 veterans living in a 

State, it is critical that we provide them with the services and support they need to find and obtain good jobs. My name is Tony 

Smithhart, and as Iowa State director for the Department of Labor’s Veterans Employment Training Service, I am dedicated to 

helping our veterans and servicemembers returning and achieve 

that goal. 

VETS proudly serves veterans and transitioning servicemembers 

by providing resources and expertise to assist and prepare them to 

obtain meaningful careers, maximize their employment opportunities, protect their employment rights. We do this through a variety 

of nationwide programs that are an integral part of Secretary 

Solis’s vision of good jobs for everyone. 

I would like to begin by briefly discussing some of the programs 

along with initiatives to assist America’s veterans in getting to or 

back to work from, and then focus specifically on the information 

from Iowa that you requested. 

The first program I would like to highlight for you is the Jobs 

for Veterans State program. Under this program, the department 

offers employment and training services to eligible veterans by allocating funds to the State workforce development agencies. 


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The Jobs for Veterans program funds two programs, the Disabled 

Veterans Outreach Specialist and the LVERs. Congressman 

Stutzman, you had mentioned and asked I think it was Captain 

Robinson about that in Iowa. In Iowa, we absolutely have the two 

programs, but it is primarily DVOPs, and we call them veteran 

representatives. We put almost all of our positions are DVOP. So 

when they come in, they see a DVOP, they provide intensive services. 

So if he is being seen by one of our veteran representatives within the workforce, he is being case managed or receiving intensive 

service, effective October 3rd. But we call them vet reps, and there 

is a delineation, but they are DVOPs because we only have one and 

a half LVERs. The rest are DVOP. So absolutely we do that. 

Last year, nationwide, the Jobs for Veterans State grant provided services to nearly 589,000 veterans, 201,000 of those found 

jobs. To meet the needs of homeless veterans and help reintegrate 

them into the workforce, VETS administers the Homeless Veteran 

Reintegration Program. Through HVRP, the department provides 

competitive grants to States and local workforce investment boards, 

State agencies, local public agencies, and private nonprofits. 

HVRP grantees provide an array of services utilizing a holistic 

case management approach, directly assists homeless veterans, 

provide training services to help them successfully. Program year 

2009, we had over 14,000 homeless veterans participating in the 

program. Ninety-six grants, 8,470 were placed into employment. 

The 2010 numbers are still not available. 

Here, in Iowa, we are very fortunate. We have two programs, 

both of them located in the Iowa City area, with services being provided in the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids and in the Quad Cities. The 

Iowa City one is really new. This is their first year. It started August 5 th. And the other one, the Quad Cities, is very successful 

and love to show you that program if you would like to take time 

to tour the facilities and meet with the veterans. A really good program. 

I think you can all read, and my time is running low. So I will 

go to the information you asked about Iowa. You requested information about veterans in Iowa. While some specific data is unavailable, we have nevertheless been able to provide current information. 

As you know, Iowa operates the Public Labor Exchange and 

funded by the Department of Labor to assist veterans. While it is 

available to all populations, veterans are given priority within the 

services. The services and assistance offered range from employment preparation, comprehensive employment placement services, 

to intensive services through case management. 

The levels of education, in the past year, 19,687 veterans received services through Iowa Workforce Development. Of those, 

1,074 were less than a high school education; 9,000, or 45.7 percent, had a high school degree; and 31 percent had above that or 

a certificate. 

Talk about the average wage and the length of unemployment. 

We are not able to provide that, as far as how many—if there is 

a correlation between the age and the number unemployed. 


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The USERRA cases you could read there. Since 2007, you have 

seen a decline. One of the things, we work really hard with the 

Employer Support for Guard and Reserve, the Chamber of Commerce, the employer groups, the gentleman from Principal, and 

Kelly. We do presentations to employers to really talk about what 

the law requires and to try to be proactive versus reactive, as far 

as taking care of issues. 

So our cases have gone down. Now one of the anomalies, of 

course, is the big deployment. So coming back, we will see if all our 

work has paid off. So far, it has. Our number of cases are down. 

Right now, I have only got one active case. So good things are 

happening. So, any questions? 

[The prepared statement of Anthony Smithhart appears on 

p. 56.] 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Thank you. 

Ms. Wahlert. 

STATEMENT OF TERESA WAHLERT 

Ms. WAHLERT. Thank you. 

My name is Teresa Wahlert, and I am the director at Iowa Workforce Development. 

I am not going to read through my testimony. I am just going 

to recognize a couple of things that we are doing at Workforce Development. 

I know, of course, you have heard a lot from the representatives 

here on any number of issues, which, of course, are all contained 

in my written testimony. But the one area I would really like to 

talk about here today is the area of new deployment of technology 

that Iowa Workforce Development has been involved in for the past 

6 months or so. 

One of the things we recognized at Iowa Workforce Development 

was the issue of connectivity between a veteran or a National 

Guard/Reservist and the working world and how to really connect 

people with jobs. And so, we thought that it might be a great opportunity to really go out and visit with the National Guard as to 

how do they really connect their servicemen and women back into 

the community when they come home? 

And it is through those discussions that I am proud to say that 

on the 27th of July, we announced the first in the Nation partnership with the Iowa National Guard. With our access point technology, we are going to deploy services to veterans and returning 

Guard members in all of their 43 armories. So we are really trying 

to put access to services onto the campuses and in the areas where 

returning soldiers are most comfortable. 

I am also proud to say that, as of this past Friday, we have deployed 261 of these access points throughout the State of Iowa. We 

have over 850 new workstations that people can use. So not only 

at the armories, but in all of these other locations throughout the 

State of Iowa. 

We have a current list of about 120-some to install here in the 

next 2 or 3 weeks, and we have a list of interested partners outside 

of the National Guard, which include over 900 more partnerships 

throughout the State of Iowa for access to this technology, where 

we have things like job openings, things like career services, things 


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for unemployment, opportunities for businesses to also see where 

there are services there for them. 

Although we are a small State and have a small grant, we do deploy our DVOPs into all of our integrated centers. We have 16 integrated centers where we have specialists in all sorts of areas to assist and help not only all job seekers, but specifically, as Mr. 

Smithhart mentioned, veterans and National Guard folks. 

We have brochures that go throughout the State. I have some of 

them out at the front table. And it lists, of course, on the back of 

the brochure where each one of our 16 One-Stop shops are. The important thing about this is we have extended our hours so that people on their own time frame can then access our specialists, either 

by a toll-free call or by a live chat opportunity session through a 

computer. 

Our hours now are 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Monday through 

Friday, and 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays. And it is interesting, although this is a pilot program, we are finding that most 

of the interest and where we see our volumes increasing ever more 

are on Saturdays, a day we have never been open in the past until 

about the last 3 months. 

So we are really involved with this intensive deployment of services through technology, with also making our individual specialists 

open and available for questions, long hours and on Saturdays. 

Currently, we have converted 9 of the 43 armories that we have 

in the State, and within the next 2 weeks or so, we will have the 

rest of our armories converted to our new technology. 

The reason this is important is because we are putting this technology and this access onto the Federal system, and so the National Guard actually had to carve out some broadband capacity in 

order for us to be able to deploy our services, which they did successfully accomplish in the last couple of weeks. And so, it will only 

take us about another 10 days to get through to each one of the 

other armories. 

I am proud to say that our folks have worked very hard with National Guard and ESGR and many other organizations that do help 

our returning soldiers to get a connection back in the working 

world, and we will continue to try to do that throughout the rest 

of the time that I intend to be working at Iowa Workforce Development. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Teresa Wahlert appears on p. 60. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Thank you. 

A couple of questions, and I will start with Colonel Corell. Could 

you talk just a little bit about your veterans? How many are unemployed, who they are, the challenges that they have, and what they 

are hearing as they are out pursuing work. 

Colonel CORELL. I will do the best I can, and when I can, I will 

pass to Mark. He has, I think, got some of that data for me as well. 

There was three specific questions that when I got this were kind 

of contained of what your question is right now. Current level for 

unemployment, members in the Iowa National Guard, and this 

goes back as an aggregate of Army and Air Guard collectively, the 

most recent data we have is in August, which probably isn’t a good 


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representation of those of the brigade combat team that just came 

back. 

At 7 percent unemployment in August, I believe that what we 

are tracking today, for those members of the brigade combat team 

that just came back, we had 630 that were unemployed prior to the 

mobilization and 721 that we are tracking post mobilization, post 

deployment that are unemployed, looking for work. So somewhere 

in the figures of before deployment, 15 to 20 percent unemployment 

to now 20 to 25 percent unemployment within that small group. 

Reasons why? I think probably, you know, I think the increase, 

just like Captain Robinson indicated, was we had a lot of people 

that were on duty that had a job for a couple of years prior to the 

mobilization. And we knew the brigade was going to go out the 

door within this window. So with that comes the resources and 

Federal funding to bring more people on to get the organization 

ready to go out the door. So I think that is a significant number. 

I think when we go through the Yellow Ribbon process—we have 

completed Yellow Ribbon 1 events across the brigade combat team. 

I think as we go into the Yellow Ribbon 2, I think that as we track 

that information, I think we are going to be a little bit healthier 

than what these numbers indicate because I believe that, in some 

cases, people are going to go back to school because of the benefits 

that they have earned. 

It is in their best interest, number one, to get the education. But 

number two, with the incentives from the GI bill, post-9/11, they 

can get paid a pretty decent wage just to go to school as well. So 

I think that will mitigate some of that and get us through these 

difficult times that we are in, plus make them more marketable 

with a higher education as well. 

Did I answer what you were looking for? 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Yes, and Mr. Hennessey, any personal observations? 

Mr. HENNESSEY. Just from personal observations, what I am 

hearing is that individuals that are coming back, some of them feel 

that they are underemployed now. That they had a command role 

or a leadership role in the Guard and Reserve or active duty and 

have come back and have decided, no, this is not—my civilian job 

is not really what I am looking for right now. And then, again, it 

is how to translate that experience and find that right opportunity. 

We see a lot of opportunities. One of the things that I have seen 

out there, we talked earlier about job boards. One of the things, 

just for future reference, if you look at a job board called ‘‘indeed.com’’ and do a search just on your local area, I think you will 

be amazed at the number of openings that are out there. 

So there are jobs out there for individuals that really want to 

work. The problem is matching those up with those individuals 

that are looking for the work and then getting the employers to 

find those individuals. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Okay. Mr. Smithhart, how many veteran job 

placements did Iowa State Workforce complete in the last year, 

roughly? 

Mr. SMITHHART. I did not bring that information with me, but I 

will provide it to the Committee. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Okay. Okay, that is fine. 


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And then, Ms. Wahlert, what—and I will maybe reference this 

back to Mr. Smithhart. And I guess one of the comments that Captain Robinson mentioned about his friend the welder, and I think 

any time whenever men and women go into the military and they 

come out, obviously, we want them to better themselves and move 

on to better employment. 

But the welder situation, did that cause any concern with you 

about the situation, him coming back and not having a job? 

Mr. SMITHHART. Absolutely, sir. A lot of the information that 

Captain Robinson and the staff sergeant said really hit home because every day that is what we deal with. You know, we really 

want to help those folks. 

And especially in the Des Moines area, for that welder person, 

we have John Deere there that is hiring. They probably have 40 

or 50 openings. I don’t know if Stacy could tell me. In the Ankeny 

office area, we have a lot of openings and work really closely with 

them to do that. 

So it is really—there is a shortcoming in ours, within the Department of Labor and Workforce, of trying to match those individuals 

and for them to identify their skills and make sure that that match 

is what the employer needs. Because there are seats out there. We 

just have to be able to get that person. 

Now we are working with our current initiatives. In the Des 

Moines area, we are going to do a State-wide job fair on November 

8th with the Employer Support for Guard and Reserve. And to 

start that, on November 5th, we are going to have an employment 

program that will teach people how to present themselves, how to 

demilitarize their resumes. 

We are going to bring in—with the Employer Support for Guard 

and Reserve, we are going to bring in civilian employers to do mock 

interviews that afternoon to help those individuals do that. We are 

going to follow that up with a seminar on how to market yourself 

at a career fair, at a job fair. And then we are going to have the 

big job fair November 8th. 

And it is a State-wide one. So it is going to include from all, from 

Dubuque. You have employers from all over the State. Right now, 

we have 50 employers. 

Now the key is, as Colonel Corell and a lot of other individuals 

have said, it is getting the individuals to attend. We did the series 

of these seminars around the State. Did one in Waterloo on September 13th. We had to cancel it. We didn’t have enough participation. 

We just canceled one this week in Sioux City, again because we 

only had two individuals that signed up in that area. The ones that 

have come, they have been very happy. We have tested it, refined 

it. And so, it is really—the captain and the staff sergeant really hit 

home. It is to get the individuals that could use it and benefit, to 

get them to actually produce because unlike the active duty folks, 

these folks don’t get paid to be there. 

And Colonel Corell can attest, on a weekend drill, there is a lot 

of activities going on there that can we fit this in? That is the command’s thing, and I don’t know. So there is a lot going on. It is 

just—it is really we are missing getting it to the right individuals. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Sure. 


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Mr. SMITHHART. But the employers are there. The soldiers are 

there to match them, I don’t know. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Sure. Okay. 

Mr. Braley. 

Mr. BRALEY. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

One of the things that I need to do is embarrass Colonel Corell 

at this point because he has been a great asset to me during my 

entire period serving in Congress. But one of the things that was 

not mentioned was that all three of his sons are members of the 

Iowa National Guard and have deployed and served under their father in either Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi 

Freedom. 

And that is an extraordinary part of the legacy of Iowa’s proud 

military heritage. I can’t think of any place better to recognize that 

service than here in the home of the five Sullivan brothers. 

And Mr. Chairman, on Memorial Day weekend of 2007, CBS 

News devoted its entire 60 Minutes program to the extraordinary 

work of the Iowa National Guard in a program called ‘‘Fathers, 

Sons, and Brothers’’ that won an Emmy. And I think that it was 

a great way to honor the incredible sacrifice that all of our men 

and women in uniform make. But we are very, very proud of our 

National Guard, and I just wanted to make that point. 

To follow up on another point you raised, Colonel, and that is the 

extraordinary burden placed on our Guard and Reserve units even 

when they are not deployed in combat. And all you have to do is 

look at my brief career in Congress, and I just was thinking about 

this. 

February of 2007, I was sworn in in January. We had an ice 

storm that cost 500,000 people power in this State, and the Guard 

was out helping. I worked with them. Then you had the demobilization from Iraq, and all the welcome home ceremonies and all of 

the same things we are dealing with now after this Afghanistan demobilization. 

2008, in May, we had the worst tornado in the country here in 

this district, followed by the worst flooding in our State. And the 

Guard was active and involved in that. June of 2010, more flooding 

in our State, and the mobilization to Afghanistan with an extraordinary burden on the Guard. And then, this year, we have the demobilization and more record-setting flooding in our State. 

And I think that is a microcosm of the challenges that you were 

talking about when employers are constantly being stressed on 

their own level from all of these natural disasters. They have their 

own workforce being disrupted, and I think we don’t talk enough 

about these challenges and the extraordinary work that employers 

do who continue to live up to their commitment under USERRA. 

So, with that as a backdrop, how does that impact the work you 

and the other people at Camp Dodge are doing to try to keep this 

cohesion together? 

Colonel CORELL. I think the employers that we work with— 

through the dedication of the ESGR folks, the dedication of the 

leadership of the Iowa Guard—doing the outreach to inform and 

educate, I think it has bought us a lot. My concern is at some 

point, we are going to run out of that goodwill, and I think we are 

right on the edge of that, if we are not already past it. 


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And I think it comes back to there has got to be some incentive, 

and whatever that is, whether it is small, it doesn’t matter. But 

something that you can go in and leverage from an employer standpoint of those people that are out seeking veterans or National 

Guard and Reserve soldiers, looking to fill those vacancies in the 

workplace. There has got to be some leverage tool, and I will let 

you guys figure out the nug work on it. I can’t tell you what that 

incentive is, but I think it has got to be something. 

Day to day, we are out working it. It is just like those soldiers 

that continue to refine their resume. You can only do that so long. 

You can only send it out so many times before you reach the point 

of frustration. You can only go to so many job fairs. There has got 

to be a way to stick a pole in there and move yourself up the ladder 

of potential candidates, and the way to do that is to make some 

sort of incentive to do it. 

So is it hard work? Are we concerned about it? Every day we are. 

And that is why there is so much effort that has been put into our 

relationships with our employers, relationships with the Workforce 

Development folks to bring those access points into our armories. 

Because we know how critical it is because, number one, just because of the cost, you take the cost effectiveness of the Guard and 

Reserve, when you look at the cost of manning a full-time military. 

And you all know that better than what I do. But we have to 

have a way for those National Guard/Reserve component soldiers 

to feed their families in the interim when we don’t need them to 

be called up for some type of a peacekeeping mission, combat operation, or a domestic need here at home. And that is really what we 

are focused on and why we are here today and why this is so important to us. 

Mr. BRALEY. Well, I appreciate that, and we have talked previously about the Work Opportunity Tax Credit. And one of the 

things that I have introduced in Congress is a bill called the Combat Veterans Back to Work Act, modeled on the previous back to 

work incentives we had for employers to hire unemployed workers 

by giving them a break on their FICA taxes on the front end if they 

hire an unemployed worker, in this case an unemployed veteran, 

and then if they keep them on the payroll for a year, another modest, but important incentive so that we get more longevity out of 

those initial hires. 

And I think you are right. It is not going to make somebody decide to hire an employee, but if they are thinking about expanding 

their workforce, and we give them added incentives to get an unemployed veteran back to work, I think it can make a difference. 

Colonel CORELL. I agree, and I think the panel number two that 

had our friends in the corporate world here, they touched on it a 

little bit. Once they get those either former active duty military 

veterans in the door or the members of the Guard and Reserve in 

the door, they are great employees. And they are so good and so 

valuable to them, they are going to give them a pay offset when 

they do get called back to active duty that they will match whatever money shortfall there is between what they are making in the 

military and what they would make at their civilian job. 

Give us the opportunity. I think that is what we are saying is 

get us the incentive to get us in the door. We will sink or swim 


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on our own merits, but we are looking for a leverage point, an incentive to get us in the door. And that is the difference that I am 

talking about. 

Mr. BRALEY. Thank you. 

Ms. WAHLERT, I want to thank you for the tremendous work 

that your office is doing to try to address this. And you talked a 

little bit about some of the unique challenges a State like Iowa has. 

And you have talked about how you are deploying new technology and trying to make it available in more service areas. One 

of the things you talked about was the deployment of 261 

workstations. And since we have 45 armories and 16 veteran representative offices, can you give us some examples of where those 

other workstations might be? 

Ms. WAHLERT. Let me just—I would love to, Congressman. Let 

me just first clarify that 261 are new offices, new locations. We 

have over 800 workstations within each one of those new opportunities. 

For instance, we have also partnered with the Veterans Affairs 

offices. They are in every county seat. We are in courthouses. We 

are in halfway houses. We are in correctional institutions. We are 

at the three regent colleges. We are on many private university 

and college campus in the State of Iowa. We are in 13 of 15 community colleges and all of their campuses. 

We are at Goodwill. We are at faith-based organizations. We are 

at any place that can have public traffic other than the National 

Guard because we understand the special nature of the National 

Guard with soldiers and their families. 

So the thought here is the next place we are going to try to deliver the technology is through all of the high schools within the 

State of Iowa. There are 359 high schools. And the point of this is 

to, first, be able to have access to services, but to also have people 

understand what the expectation is of the corporate world when 

they go into the corporate world, whether it be out of high school 

or whether it be coming back from Afghanistan. 

The other important thing I just wanted to mention that seems 

to be ironic. I am from the business world, and so I bring kind of 

panel two with me when I came into this opportunity. And you 

would be amazed over the last 3 or 4 months. I have had new incentive business outreach by all of Workforce Development, and we 

have had a number of calls from small and medium-sized businesses who are crying for welders throughout the State. 

And who are crying for a lot of the kinds of technical programs 

and project management that you would assume that a returning 

serviceperson would have in their resume. And many of these companies have never thought of or considered hiring a veteran. 

And so, of course, we are now instituting an outreach from our 

office to help businesses, and the first folks we call, of course, are 

veterans within that geographical area. We can also understand 

where they are from, from their zip code area. But one of the 

things you really always need, and we have discussed this with the 

Guard on several meetings, and that is you need to have that continual hook back to the veteran, back to the Reservist so that when 

they have their downtime, when they are coming back into the 

community and reenergizing themselves, sometimes there is just 


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not the effort to go to an office or to get in the car and go somewhere. 

And part of the process we do is we make sure everybody has an 

email account. And so, that if it is midnight or if it is 2:00 a.m. 

or whenever the right time is for that person to go and to look at 

jobs or to work on their resume or to actually see what is new for 

them in their area, we have a way to connect with them. All those 

email services are free, just like our toll-free number and our live 

chat options as well. 

And so, the connection we make is really important. My goal is 

by the end of the year, Congressman, to have it so that there is 

no city or town in the State of Iowa that you drive through that 

there are not access points in. 

Mr. BRALEY. Great. Thank you very much. 

And I will yield back. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Okay. Thank you. 

This concludes our oversight hearing today. I just want to say in 

closing to our Iowa veterans that the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is committed to this issue, and I know Congressman 

Braley and I especially are very interested and want to help make 

sure that any veteran who wants a job gets one. 

And I know it is a tall order, but our chairman, Jeff Miller from 

Florida, has said that he wants to reduce unemployment for veterans to less than 5 percent or half of what it is currently. So that 

is a tall order, but I believe, working together, we can all accomplish that. 

And one final thing, and I know that the Colonel will appreciate 

this. Last week, the House passed a bill that was introduced by 

Congressman Tim Walz of Minnesota that will allow retirees of the 

Guard and Reserves to be called veterans. 

You know, it seems like a long time coming. But we passed that 

in the House, and I know while this bill doesn’t bestow any additional benefits, I definitely believe that it is worthy and needs the 

recognition. You all deserve the recognition to be called veterans 

for your service. 

Mr. Braley, any closing remarks? 

Mr. BRALEY. No, I just want to comment on that last statement 

because former Sergeant Major Tim Walz from Minnesota worked 

very closely with me and other Members of Congress to get muchneeded benefits for the Iowa National Guard when they came home 

from Iraq. And because of his real world experience in that capacity, he had an extraordinary voice, and we were very proud that 

we were finally able to make that happen last week. 

But I do also want to apologize to Mr. Smithhart and Mr. 

Hennessey. Because of the lack of time, and I know the chairman 

has to catch a flight, I did want to highlight a very important event 

that is coming up that you mentioned, Mr. Smithhart. 

And that is there is a State-wide Hiring Our Heroes job fair in 

Des Moines on November 8, 2011. It is going to be at Hy-Vee Hall 

from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and the U.S. Chamber, the Greater 

Des Moines Partnership, the Employer Support of Guard and Reserve, and DMAC and others are going to be there. And I hope that 

this is the first step in a very long process to address some of the 

concerns we have talked about here today. 


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Thank you both for your willingness to be here today and share 

your testimony with us, and to all the great witnesses who joined 

us today. 

And I will yield back. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Okay. Thank you. 

I want to thank everyone for being here today—to the witnesses 

for your testimony, to those who have served, thank you for your 

service. Thank our staff as well for their hard work in helping set 

this meeting up. 

And looking forward to having Mr. Braley in Fort Wayne. You 

will find the same hospitality, I am sure, in Indiana as I have here 

in Iowa. And I have enjoyed being here, and it feels very much like 

home. 

So I want to ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 

legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. 

Hearing no objection, so ordered. 

Mr. STUTZMAN. Thank you again, and this hearing is now adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 11:55 a.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.] 


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A P P E N D I X 

Prepared Statement of Hon. Marlin Stutzman, 

Chairman, Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity 

Good morning. I am delighted to be here in Waterloo with your Congressman, 

Bruce Braley and I thank him for bringing us to his district. My name is Marlin 

Stutzman. I am the Chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, and represent Indiana’s 3rd Congressional District in northeast 

Indiana. I have Iowa ties- my great-grandparents lived in Washington, Iowa, and 

are buried there. My aunt was born on Independence Day in Independence Iowa, 

where she lived alongside my grandparents. My district is very similar to Iowa’s 

first Congressional District. We are very proud of our Midwestern values and proud 

of America. In northeast Indiana, we are especially proud of our 48,000 veterans 

who have served our Nation. I am honored to serve as their voice in Congress and 

serve alongside Ranking Member Bruce Braley, who is a great member, veterans 

advocate, and a friend. 

We are here today to here from Iowans about the employment difficulties facing 

far too many members of the Iowa National Guard, the Reserves, and those returning from active duty. While the unemployment rate for all Iowa veterans in September was 5.8 percent, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that 35.6 

percent of America’s Gulf Era II veterans ages 20 to 24 were unemployed, while 8.8 

percent of Gulf Era II veterans ages 25–54 were unemployed. 

More shocking is anecdotal information that as much as 30 percent of returning 

members of the Guard and Reserves do not come home to a job. Clearly, we need 

to find ways to reduce all of those numbers. The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs has taken a first step toward that end last week by passing H.R. 2433, a bill 

that would provide up to a year of GI Bill benefits to unemployed veterans between 

the ages of 35 and 60. The bill now goes to the Senate and we hope to get the bill 

to the President by Veterans Day along with several other improvements to veterans benefits. 

Again, I am delighted to be with you today and I will now yield to the gentleman 

whose office is next to mine, the distinguished Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, my good friend, the Honorable Bruce Braley. 

f 

Prepared Statement of Hon. Bruce L. Braley, 

Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity 

I am honored to hold this field hearing today here in Waterloo and would like 

to welcome Chairman Marlin Stutzman to my hometown, my district and the great 

state of Iowa. I know you will enjoy your visit here with the good folks from Iowa. 

In July and August of this year, over 3000 Iowa National Guard troops returned 

from active duty in Afghanistan, and we have a number of these hard working 

Guardsmen looking for jobs. Iowa and our servicemembers, National Guard, Reservists, and veterans are not immune to the economic hardships facing the rest of the 

country. That is why I am glad to have the opportunity today to hear about these 

growing concerns surrounding veterans; specifically, employment, transition, and 

education matters affecting National Guard Members, Reservists and veterans in 

Iowa, and across the Nation. This is a great opportunity to be part of an open discussion to find solutions to these problems. 

Transitioning services are critical for the success of our men and women in the 

Armed Forces. Joining the military is not just about following orders and completing 

the mission, it’s a way of life. But when it’s time to join the civilian world, it can 

sometimes be a challenge to translate skills learned in the military into talking 

points on a job resume. That’s why it is crucial that transitioning services should 

be provided to everyone leaving the military. 


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An education can help you learn a new skill or reinforce the skills you already 

know, but it can also help you adapt as a civilian. The Committee recognizes the 

importance of servicemembers and veterans pursuing an education which is why we 

continue to fight so hard to improve education benefits. Current education benefits 

allows certain veterans to attend school full-time while getting a housing stipend, 

thus allowing veterans to be fully engaged in academics. 

We are all well aware of the current employment crisis facing our Nation. With 

an unemployment rate of 6.1 percent in Iowa, I am constantly working with my colleagues in Congress to find solutions to the recent economic downturn. I understand 

how these hardships can be, and I find the high unemployment rate for veterans 

unacceptable. 

Earlier this year I introduced a bill to cut payroll taxes for businesses that hire 

unemployed veterans. The Combat Veterans Back to Work Act provides employers 

with a payroll tax break if they hire recently returned veterans who are unemployed. After their distinguished service in Afghanistan and Iraq, we should do all 

we can to help veterans and members of the Iowa Guard find employment in their 

communities. This legislation will support our friends and neighbors in the Iowa National Guard, Reserves, and other military branches who have recently returned 

home and face a difficult job market. 

Today I look forward to hearing from Iowa National Guard Members about some 

of the challenges they face as they make the transition back into society after serving overseas. I have invited local businesses to testify to hear about initiatives they 

are taking to get veterans back to work. I also look forward to hearing from different agencies and the work they are doing related to veterans employment. 

I hope we can all have an open and honest dialogue about problems and concerns 

facing our veterans today that will continue after this hearing in Washington, DC 

as we work together to address these issues. Servicemembers and veterans are dedicated and hard working. Their experience is invaluable. Thousands of Iowans have 

returned home after serving proudly overseas this past year alone. Now we must 

support them and help them transition their great experience and talent back into 

the Iowa workforce. 

Mr. Chairman, I look forward to this hearing. Thank you and I yield back. 

f 

Prepared Statement of Staff Sergeant Nathaniel Rose, 

ARNG, North Liberty, IA 

Chairman Stutzman, Ranking Member Braley and Members of the Subcommittee. 

I would like to extend my gratitude for being given the opportunity to testify at this 

hearing today. It is an honor to lend my voice to my fellow veterans and the ongoing 

economic struggles we face. 

My Name is Nathaniel Rose. I am currently a Staff Sergeant in the Iowa Army 

National Guard as well as a senior at the University of Iowa. I have been deployed 

to Iraq and I have just returned from a deployment to Afghanistan in July. To help 

pay for my studies I currently receive the GI Bill along with state and Federal tuition assistance. I speak based solely on my experiences in the Iowa Army National 

Guard and experiences of those that have served with me. I cannot accurately speak 

regarding any other branch of service or any other state’s National Guard. 

I decided to join the National Guard during my freshman year of college, looking 

for adventure, but also for economic reasons. I come from a hard working middle 

class family and if I wanted to attend college I would have to pay for it myself. I 

did not receive many scholarships and I did not want to incur a large amount of 

student loan debt so I joined the National Guard because the tuition assistance and 

GI Bill would pay for my education. If it wasn’t for tuition assistance and the GI 

Bill I might have quit going to school or not have joined the National Guard at all. 

Joining the military is a very hard decision to make but the benefits one might receive help make the decision easier. 

The GI Bill has been one benefit that I have come to appreciate more over time. 

When I first began receiving the benefit it was not a large amount. This was fine 

because state and Federal tuition assistance paid for all my tuition and fees and 

I could use the GI Bill for other things. After two deployments I now receive a much 

larger amount because it is prorated based off the active duty amount and how 

much time I’ve spent deployed. The amount is actually enough, when coupled with 

my drill pay every month, that I do not have to work. I am able to concentrate completely on my studies, which any senior will tell you, is a hard thing to do. 

I, however, do not have all the obligations that a number of soldiers I know have. 

I have no wife, no children, no car payments and so on. Many National Guard solVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:33 May 24, 2012 Jkt 071384 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6604 Sfmt 6621 I:\WAYS\OUT\71384.XXX GPO1 PsN: 71384

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diers cannot go to school full time and take care of their family with tuition assistance and GI Bill alone, especially if they have not been deployed and receive a 

smaller pro-rated amount. This forces them to work while attending school. There 

is nothing wrong with working while going to school but for some soldiers I know 

personally they have had to stop going because they needed to move to full time 

at work, their grades were slipping or they weren’t spending as much time with 

their family as they wanted to. The Post-9/11 GI Bill has attempted to address some 

of these issues by paying basic allowance for housing to students. The only problem 

with this is that once again it is pro-rated for National Guard members. One solution to this problem might be to have National Guard members pay into the GI Bill 

like active duty members do. Another possible solution would be to put everyone on 

the same level and not pro-rate the payments. Neither of these solutions is perfect 

but they might be a good starting point. 

Education benefits, to me, seem more complicated. If a soldier doesn’t sit down 

with an expert it’s hard to figure out the ins and outs of the benefits. The difference 

between the 5 GI Bill programs is not easily ascertained by looking at the Web site 

or reading pamphlets. If soldiers are better informed about their benefits it’s easier 

for them make decisions about whether they can afford to go back to school or not, 

especially those with families. The GI Bill needs take into account that soldiers do 

have families. They may not be able to support a family and go to school at the 

same time. 

The National Guard has delayed my education twice but I cannot fault them for 

that because they are essentially paying for it. Also I believe that my time in the 

National Guard has made me a more marketable person and when my education 

is over I hope being more marketable aids me in securing not just a job but a career. 

The problem with this is how do I convey to potential employers the significance 

of what I’ve done, experienced and learned in the National Guard? 

Resumes are the most popular way of conveying these things. Some of my experiences are difficult to put in a resume. If I put ‘‘led over 150 combat missions in Afghanistan’’ in my resume most employers would not understand the significance of 

that nor would many soldiers know how to convert that into a resume friendly statement. One way soldiers could translate their skills into civilian terms would be to 

get help from a resume writing professional. I could receive help on my resume from 

the career center at my school but I feel that they don’t understand what I’ve done 

either, so the significance of it won’t be conveyed in my resume if they help me. I’m 

lucky enough to go to a school that has a large veteran population, someone is always available to critique my resume if need be. Many National Guard soldiers are 

not that lucky and must either drive long distances or email resumes to more qualified help. Educating job recruiters or resume helpers better on the military may 

help remedy the problem, but it is easier said than done. I believe that by bringing 

in military resume writing professionals on drill weekends or by incorporating them 

more at demobilization sites might be the help that soldiers need. 

I am set to graduate in May and I have been exploring job possibilities and what 

I am qualified for. The economy may be down but there is a plethora of job postings 

on internet job search sights, companies’ Web sites, in newspapers, etc. The hard 

part becomes determining what employers are looking for and if I am qualified. I 

have spoken to many soldiers since returning from Afghanistan and this process is 

the one that they are having the most trouble with. A suggestion that a fellow veteran presented to me would be to bring job recruiters from the mobilized units’ area 

to the demobilization site and recruit from there. Soldiers and recruiters would have 

a chance to speak about qualifications, job descriptions and even do interviews if 

need be. Even if soldiers did not get hired they would have an understanding of 

what employers are looking for and how to better prepare themselves for the job 

search once their mobilization is over. 

Another cause for problems is that many civilian employers don’t know enough 

about the military to effectively hire or help a veteran. If soldiers can learn to effectively market themselves and civilian employers can learn more about the military 

both sides could reach a common ground so soldiers aren’t passed over for jobs and 

employers don’t miss opportunities to hire great workers. 


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I appreciate what the government and the military has done for me but I think 

more can be done to help soldiers, sailors, airman and marines. I have noticed 

things improving in my 6 years in the military, from drill to drill and deployment 

to deployment. There are many new programs starting up throughout the country 

and within our government that are dedicated to helping veterans which is a sign 

of forward progress. Mr. Chairman, this concludes my testimony. I would be honored to answer any questions that the Committee might have. Thank you for giving 

me the opportunity to testify and thank you for all that this committee does for my 

fellow veterans. 

f 

Prepared Statement of Captain Aaron Robinson, 

ARNG, Des Moines, IA 

My Name is Aaron Robinson. I reside with my wife and two children in Des 

Moines. I am a commissioned officer in the Iowa Army National Guard. I recently 

returned from a 1-year deployment to Afghanistan. In my civilian career, I am currently pursuing jobs related to business, Project Management or data-analysis. 

I want to share with you today three impressions I have from looking for a job, 

post-deployment. 

First, repeated military deployments have given Iowans like me world-class skills 

and experiences, but that these are not widely recognized or rewarded when searching for civilian work in our home state. 

Second, employers are nearing the exhaustion of their patriotic feelings toward 

veterans. Despite the existing laws protecting against discrimination based on military service, employers seem to shy away from hiring citizen-soldiers. 

Third, searching for a job while deployed overseas is next to impossible—and 

waiting until after deployment adds more stress to an already stressful situation: 

reintegration with family and friends. 

Let me tell you where I’m coming from: 

I grew up on a farm approximately an hour west of Des Moines in Yale, and graduated from Perry High School in 1992. I studied Mass Communication at Grand 

View College in Des Moines. After college, I bounced around various retail jobs. I 

enlisted with the Iowa National Guard in 1998, and was trained as a tank mechanic. 

In 2002, I commissioned as an officer specializing in tanks and other armored vehicles. I married my wife Katie, in 2003 and I deployed to Kosovo, where I commanded a platoon. My first child, Amelia, was born while I was overseas. 

When I returned home, I transferred to Military Intelligence and attended multiple military schools. In my civilian career, I worked as an employment counselor 

for homeless veterans, and as a general manager of a convenience store. After that 

I spent a number of years on temporary full-time active-duty here in Iowa, helping 

train and mobilize more than 16 National Guard units for overseas deployment. 

Last year, I was deployed to Afghanistan where I served as the Intelligence Officer of Iowa’s 113th Cavalry Squadron. The experiences that I received there were 

excellent and I could not have received them anywhere else. Since coming home to 

Iowa in late July, I have been steadily seeking employment. As of today, however, 

I have been unable to find work. 

I am not alone. 

For example an enlisted soldier friend of mine was the database manager for our 

unit’s personnel records pertaining to security clearances. (That’s 500 records—the 

size of a good-sized company.) However, now that he’s back at home, civilian employers don’t seem to recognize his abilities to learn new computer systems, and to 

manage highly sensitive data on a daily basis. To add insult to injury, he can’t even 

find work in his old civilian occupation—he’s a welder. 

I’ve faced similar challenges to that of my friend, trying to figure out how to 

translate military language into civilian Human Resources-speak. After some resume coaching, I found my work in intelligence most closely applies to business 

analysis and project management. However, unlike my purely civilian counterparts, 

I’m not necessarily versed in the latest business acronyms and buzz-phrases, which 

decreases the likelihood of getting through H.R. filters. Also, while I am proficient 

in military computer software and hardware, I am not specifically trained in systems most-familiar to potential civilian employers. 

Employers, politicians, and even the media talk up certain ideas about veterans: 

that we’re hard-working and motivated, that we’re mission- and people-focused, and 

that we handle pressure extremely well. Beyond this, however, and the occasional 

job-fair and ‘‘welcome home’’ PowerPoint show, veterans don’t seem to get a lot of 


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practical help in getting hired. I have said many times that everyone wants to help, 

but no one seems to know how. I have received lots of well intended suggestions, 

sometimes conflicting, but none of them have gotten me much farther in my job 

search. 

Maybe employers are getting burned out. Ten years of war—and Iowa’s river 

floods and blizzards and other state emergencies—might do that. Maybe they’re 

worried that we’re going to get deployed again. Maybe they really don’t see the economic values inherent in our military skills and experiences. 

I know times are tough for a lot of Iowans. I don’t want to get a job just because 

I am a returning veteran, but I would at least like a chance to get to an interview 

and prove I am a good employee. I also want to keep my family in Iowa, to give 

my kids the same kind of values and experiences I had. 

For now, however, our life is on hold. The military gave me time off after the deployment to unwind and reintegrate into ‘‘normal’’ life. I do not feel like I have done 

that. I plan to go back to school, but I am putting that off because of a lack of stability in my life and the life of my family. Interviewers do not ask me about my 

military experience, but they know it is there. If I didn’t put it on my resume, you 

would be able to tell just from talking to me. I am proud of the work I have done 

and the people with whom I have served. 

I’m just an Iowa farm kid that just got a chance do some exciting things, in some 

pretty unpleasant places, with some really great people. I just want to get back to 

my civilian life, get a normal job, and be a regular person for a while. 

My family would like that, too. 

Thank you for this opportunity to talk about my experiences looking for employment. 

f 

Prepared Statement of Stacy Litchfield, Regional Manager, 

Talent Acquisition and Performance Consulting, 

Deere & Company, Inc., Moline, IL 

Congressman Braley and distinguished Members of the Committee, my name is 

Stacy Litchfield. I am the United States Regional Manager, Talent Acquisition for 

Deere & Company. On behalf of John Deere, thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony today on this important topic. 

John Deere is a worldwide leader in providing advanced products and services for 

agriculture, forestry, construction, turf care, landscaping and irrigation. We’re a 

leading manufacturer of off-highway diesel engines and one of the largest equipment 

finance companies in the United States. We have operations in 30 U.S. states. 

Attracting Veterans at John Deere 

As an employer, we focus on attracting, developing and retaining the best global 

talent from all backgrounds. At times our recruiting efforts focus on access and visibility to specific groups. One is veterans. We identify organizations that provide the 

broadest reach and help our staffing team leverage various military recruiting initiatives and related events. 

John Deere staffing participates in several recruiting events targeting veterans, 

including career fairs, conferences and virtual career fairs. 

We also work directly with the military when appropriate. We’ve participated in 

the Army Partnership for Youth Success (PaYS) Program since its inception. Young 

men and women can enter the service knowing that they will receive specialized 

training and develop skills that are in demand in the private and public sectors, 

and Deere gets access to a pool of skilled candidates. 

John Deere is also active in a variety of outreach programs and job boards that 

help us connect with veterans who offer a broad array of skills and experience. We 

also work with military staffing organizations to recruit veterans. For example, the 

Army Partnership Program, a job posting and resume database, has provided us 

with candidates for both mid-career and wage positions. 

Along with employing veterans, we support programs that help veterans start 

businesses and become suppliers to companies like ours. Our suppliers include 

about 200 veteran-owned businesses, and about 50 businesses owned by service-disabled veterans. 

Developing and Retaining Veterans at John Deere 

At John Deere, we recognize that engaged employees working together create a 

competitive advantage. We cultivate an environment of inclusive teamwork through 


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programs such as our employee networks. One of these resource groups is composed 

of employees who have a connection to the U.S. military. The group brings employees together to build relationships, provide support and sponsor military outreach 

activities. 

Deere also has military leave of absence provisions for reservists and guardsmen 

who are called up for active duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. To help ease the financial 

hardship endured by these soldiers and their families, Deere voluntarily provides 

up to 2 years of differential pay where applicable along with health benefits, life 

insurance, and other benefits. The impact on retention has been significant. Since 

2001, more than 200 Deere employees have been deployed. Over 96 percent of those 

soldiers still work for John Deere. 

Decreasing Unemployment among Veterans 

Even though veterans are purposely included in our recruiting, development and 

retention efforts, we face challenges in effectively bringing them into our organization. 

First, with the variety of organizations and job boards available, it’s difficult to 

determine the best way to connect with job candidates from the military workforce. 

Our recommendation would be a central data source that offers links to standardized job, industry, and geographic classification codes to other reported Federal 

labor, employment, economic and census data. This would help improve results for 

job posting visibility among the right candidates. 

Additionally, many veterans are challenged to translate their education and skills 

to fit requirements for non-military positions. Transitioning military may also be at 

a disadvantage without accreditation or certification required by some professions. 

To remedy this, all levels of government could implement solutions that effectively 

balance current challenges with educational system gaps, the accreditation of job 

seekers, and the fiscal demands and resources of employers. 

In closing, I want to highlight again the importance, priority and demonstrated 

focus John Deere places on hiring, outreach, skill development and training of veterans. Thank you again for the opportunity to share our views on improving employment 

opportunities for veterans. I will be happy to respond to any questions. 

f 

Prepared Statement of Major Kerry M. Studer, USA, Assistant 

Managing Director, Commercial Real Estate Division, 

Principal Financial Group, Waterloo, IA 

Chairman Stutzman, Ranking Member Braley and Members of the Subcommittee, 

thank you for the opportunity to discuss the Principal Financial Group’s commitment to protecting the job rights of veterans and Guard/Reserve members. 

1 am Kerry Studer, a recently deployed Anny Major and assistant managing director in the commercial real estate division of the Principal Financial Group. I have 

been mobilized for deployments three times in my military career and have had the 

opportunity to see firsthand how two different employers and one university handled my time away from the office or school. My most recent deployment was in 

2009–20 I 0 when I was employed with the Principal Financial Group. 

The Principal Financial Group, based in Des Moines Iowa, is a FORTUNE 500 

company and a retirement and global investment management leader. We have 

roughly 8,900 employees in Iowa and more than 13,000 worldwide. 

The Principal offers businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range 

of financial products and services, including retirement, investment services and insurance. As an employer with more than 200 veteran and active military employees and 

the experience of having nine employees on emergency military leave in the last 2 

years, The Principal is committed to protecting the job rights of employees who 

serve their state and country through the uniformed services. 

I am here today to talk with you about that commitment. 

We, as employers, have clearly come a long ways in supporting Soldiers and families since my first deployment in 1990 for Desert Shield/Desert Storm. While I have 

clearly seen improvements over my 22 years of military service, I had the opportunity during my last deployment to command over 300 Soldiers from 19 different 

states, and I saw firsthand how Soldiers view the ir civilian employer while they 

are deployed. 

Personally, I had the benefit of working for an exceptional company that clearly 

supported me, my family and my unit. Given this experience, I was asked by our 


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Chairman, President and CEO, Larry Zimpleman, to testify here today to discuss 

insights on how employers can successfully support their Soldiers whether they are 

deployed or serving in a peacetime mission. 

Recruiting and Retention 

The first step in the process is recruitment and retention. The Principal has targeted outreach efforts in order to attract and retain members of the military. We 

maintain an ai11nnative action plan for covered veterans and actively pursue good 

faith efforts in recruiting practices to target veterans and individuals with a military background. 

Specifically: 

• Our recruiting team receives education and awareness through our partnership 

with Iowa Works, Iowa ESGR and U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs. • In return, our recruiting team is available to train Iowa veterans on interview 

and resume writing skills as they re-enter the workforce. • We post job opportunities on military-specific Web sites, and recruitment representatives attend military related job fairs. • We have a designated H.R. department that manages military leaves, USERRA 

requirements, etc. In addition, we provide USERRA information to leaders to 

raise their awareness. • We have a very active internship/co-op program, which I personally do a fair 

amount of recruiting for, with the help of our campus relations group in Human 

Resources. We have been successful in hiring previously deployed veterans who 

are currently completing their 4-year degrees. These students have already had 

to delay their education due to the deployment, and we see great benefit in providing an internship or co-op to these young veterans. These internships/co-ops 

greatly benefit the student/Soldier in providing a corporate experience and give 

us as an employer an insight as to how we can attract some of the best talent 

available before they graduate from college. 

Benefits for employees who are Servicemembers 

For employees who are servicemembers, our military leave policy ensures full pay 

for eligible emergency military leave for 30 days. In addition, we pay a differential 

for the remainder of the first year. This is something we’ve chosen to do-not only 

to comply with the letter of the law, but what we believe to be the spirit of the law. 

Regarding all other benefits: 

• Medical, vision and dental coverage continue for the employee and their dependents for 12 months. • Regarding our pension plan, military service is counted for vesting and accrual 

service. • With our 401(k) plan, military service is counted for vesting service. When you 

return from leave, you may make up missed elective deferral contributions, and 

the company will make the corresponding match based on the salary you would 

have received had you remained active with the company. The time period to 

make up missed payments is three times the period of military service (up to 

a maximum of 5 years). 

In addition, reservists who volunteer for active duty are eligible for continued pay, 

and we cover all servicemembers in any military branch. 

Benefits for military family members 

The Principal ensures military family members are taken care of. In addition to 

the community of support I’ll discuss later, two specific benefits help this group: 

• Military Family Active Duty Leave This program allows up to 12 work 

weeks of unpaid leave in a calendar year in the event an eligible family member 

is called to full-time covered active duty or is on full-time active duty. The program is designed to allow for management of family, child care or financial matters that may arise because of a family member’s covered active duty military 

service. • Military Family Leave to Care for a Covered Servicemember or Veteran 

Employees are allowed up to 26 work weeks of unpaid leave in a calendar year 

to care for their spouse, parent, child or next of kin who is a covered servicemember. This leave applies if the covered servicemember has a serious illness 

or injury sustained in the line of military duty and is on active military duty. 

It also applies if a veteran, for up to 5 years after he/she leaves the military, 


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has a service related injury or illness that was incurred or aggravated while on 

covered active duty. 

Internal support of our Military and Military Families 

In addition to employee benefits, a number of other resources contribute to a supportive environment for employees who are members of the military, as well as their 

families: 

• As a 2011 winner of the Freedom Award from the Employer Support of the Reserve and Guard (ESGR), based upon my personal nomination, our internal 

support for Soldiers and military families is well documented. But I wanted to 

highlight just a few examples of what sets The Principal apart from other companies. 

Not only did my company support me, my family and my unit, they took the 

time to understand what deployments do to both the Soldier overseas and also 

the spouse/children back home. While I–IR guidelines and corporate support are 

all important to supporting deployed Soldiers, the very best companies take a 

personal approach to company support and extend assistance at a very personal 

level. It is this personal touch that solidifies the commitment both to and from 

the Soldier and his/her family. 

Here is a brief list of examples of those personal touches with the Soldier, the 

family and the unit: 

• Occasionally bringing over food to the family just to say hello and ask if anything is needed 

• Taking the dependent children to high school and college sporting events 

• Offering to assist with lawn care/snow removal 

• Raising money 10 purchase unit specific physical fitness uniforms for the unit 

overseas 

• Designing and purchasing unit coins that were distributed to Soldiers overseas 

• Sending countless care packages not only to the deployed Soldier but also to 

other Soldiers within the unit who maybe do not receive as many care packages 

• Providing the occasional babysitter for the state-side spouse to enjoy some 

time away from the everyday grind of being a single parent 

In addition: 

• Employees returning from military service receive education and support as 

they transition back to work. 

• Employees may network with other employees via the Military Family Support 

Special Interest Public Folder in our email system. 

• Employees returning from military service and their families receive support 

from their departments and individual employees. For instance: 

• Various departments have honored those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan by 

promoting Red Shirt Day and creating care packages. 

Raising awareness at The Principal The Principal ensures its entire employee 

population supports its commitment to active military and veteran employees 

through a number of initiatives. 

• Our Chairman, President and CEO Larry Zimpleman annually sends a personal 

note of thanks to all employees who are veterans, military, guard and reserve. 

• During National Veterans Awareness Week, employees who are veterans or 

Guard/Reserve members are invited to a special event honoring them for their 

service. A member of senior management provides the keynote address each 

year. In addition, we seek ways to honor veterans each year-the nature of which 

vary from year to year. This year we’re providing all veterans with a unit coin. 

• While this may seem like a small token from senior leadership, I can assure 

you that this one event has a great impact with our currently employed veterans. Not only do you get to hear firsthand from our C-level executives, you 

clearly leave knowing that your military service is valued within the halls oft 

he Principal Financial Group. It is also a time for all the veterans to get together and discuss their respective experience and service within the military 

ranks. Most veterans are generally humble in nature but our senior executives take the time every year to remind each of the veterans of their personal 

sacrifice and the fact that our company genuinely appreciates our service. 


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• Human Resources representatives, department leaders and senior leaders have 

participated in ESGR’s Boss Lift. This event familiarizes employers with the 

National Guard and Reserve’s role in our Nation’s defense by letting them experience some of what their employees in the Guard or Reserve go through. During the 2010 event, one of the participants blogged about her experience for the 

company’s intranet so all employees could gain appreciation for the Guard and 

Reserve. 

• Our internal communications regularly highlight military employees, veterans 

and military family members for their service and sacrifices and to share their 

experiences and lessons learned. 

Community Outreach and Support 

In addition to supporting our own military and veteran employees, we encourage 

other companies in the communities in which we have locations to develop similar 

programs which we believe benefit the veterans, their families and the community 

at large. 

Senior leaders at The Principal personally and publicly express support of military employees, family members and veterans through: 

• Hosting an Employer Support of Guard and Reserve Statement of Support and workshop event. This past January, our Chairman, President and 

CEO Larry Zimpleman hosted ill1 event where he encouraged attendance from 

other local businesses to sign the SGR Statement of Support and to learn more 

about ESGR and the services they offer, including hiring of those returning 

from Iraq and Afghanistan. 

• I was personally invited to this event and witnessed the amount of positive 

influence that one company can have on other companies within a community. Larry’s comments clearly demonstrated his and our company’s sincere 

commitment to the members of the Guard and Reserve. The event provided 

a venue for companies to discuss and ask what we can do better to support 

our local military. We would encourage more of these types of events with 

broader participation. If done correctly with the right participants and support, the awareness of supporting the Guard and Reserve will be increased 

exponentially. 

• Participation in Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad’s inaugural event saluting the 

Iowa National Guard. Ralph Eucher, senior vice president of human resources, 

attended on behalf of The Principal. 

• Participation in Gov. Branstad’s recent ESGR event to recognize the three 

Iowa nominees for the National Freedom Award. Dan Houston, president-retirement, insurance and financial services at The Principal, accepted the award on 

behalf of The Principal. 

Our support extends to the community in other ways, including: 

• Placing an ad in the Des Moines Register, thanking our veteran and military 

employees and retirees 

• Offering a Military Appreciation Day during The Principal Charity Classic, one 

of the top golf Champions Tour events 

• Encouraging employees to use their 8 hours of Volunteer Time Off each year, 

which they can use to volunteer at an organization of their choosing, including 

military-related causes 

• Providing financial and in-kind contributions to non-profit military-related organizations through our Foundation, including the following: 

• Children of Fallen Servicemembers Scholarship fund (The Principal donated 

$25,000 as part of the Branstad-Reynolds Scholarship Fund.) 

• Iowa National Guard Officers Auxiliary 

• Sight for Soldiers 

• Iowa Gold Star Museum 

• Fort Des Moines Museum and Educational Center 

• Veterans of Foreign War 

• Disabled American Veterans 

• Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. 

Recognition 

In recent years, The Principal’s commitment to military and veteran employees 

has been recognized by several organizations, including: 


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• The Above and Beyond Award: The Principal received the ‘‘Above and Beyond’’ 

Award from the ESGR in 2010 and 2011. The award recognizes employers at 

the state and local level that have exceeded the legal requirements for granting 

leave and providing support for military duty for employees who serve in the 

Guard & Reserve. • The Patriotic Employer Award: The Principal received this honor from the 

ESGR in 2009. • The 2011 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award: The Principal is one of 15 recipients for 2011 out of a field of 4,049 nominations submitted by Guard and Reserve servicemembers. Freedom award recipients distinguish themselves by going to extraordinary lengths to support their military 

employees. 

As I mentioned earlier, I have been mobilized or deployed three times in my 22+ 

years of military service. Without question, The Principal has set itself apart from 

all others in supporting me, my family and my unit. 

While all deployments are hard on families and Soldiers, I personally experienced 

what actions can be taken by a proactive company committed to supporting deployed Soldiers. It is clearly these actions that will be remembered by both the Soldier and his/her family long after the deployment is over and the Soldier is back 

at work. 

Because of the support from The Principal, I was able to focus completely on the 

critical tasks at hand in Iraq with the knowledge that my family was taken care 

of, my job was waiting for me when I got back and my co-workers were rooting for 

me, praying for me and supporting me. Itmade all the difference, 

With this type of support, you are able to be a better Soldier and a better employee when you return. 

That’s why I felt compelled to nominate The Principal for the Secretary of Defense 

Employer Support Freedom Award. I’m so proud they were selected from thousands 

of nominations to get the recognition I feel they so richly deserve. 

Call to action 

The cumulative effect of all of the programs, events and activities I’ve mentioned 

today is a work environment where military and veteran employees feel supported 

in their military leave while they’re away and valued for the service they’ve provided to their state/country once they return. While senior management can lead 

with their support and encouragement, each employee plays a role in creating that 

supportive culture. 

J can’t say enough about the commitment our leaders and employees have shown, 

personally and publicly, by expressing support of military and veteran employees at 

The Principal and beyond. 

I’m lucky to be a citizen of this great country, a Major in our great Army and 

an employee of The Principal. I feel I’ve benefited from a best case scenario in terms 

of the relationship between my military service and my employment at The Principal. 

What we need is for marc companies to step up and create a platform for even 

more best case scenarios, so they can become the norm, not the exception. I look 

forward to that happening, and I’m happy to help in any way I can, 

I’m honored to be here today, Thank you for your time. 

f 

Prepared Statement of Stacey May, Manager, Tax Credit 

Program, Honkamp Krueger & Co., P.C., Dubuque, IA 

Hire Heroes 

According to the Department of Labor, the unemployment rate for veterans ages 

18 to 24 in 2010 was 20.9 percent. Even more astonishing is that veterans, as a 

whole, accounted for a total 1,020,000 people looking for work in the United States. 

To make matters worse, on October 5, Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke 

warned, while addressing Congress, that the economic recovery, as it currently 

stands, ‘‘is close to faltering.’’ He later stated, ‘‘We need to make sure that the recovery continues and doesn’t drop back and that the unemployment rate continues to 

fall.’’ 

To sum it up, we need action, action to keep this economic recovery going and 

action to make sure businesses continue to hire, otherwise, the unemployment rate 

for veterans and the country as a whole will continue down a path toward higher 


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unemployment and further economic turmoil. I believe the core part of the action 

needed to sustain a continued recovery is a permanent employment tax credit that 

incentivizes businesses to hire. The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) does just 

that. 

The WOTC program is a perfect example of a successful government program that 

rewards businesses for hiring employees from certain groups that have consistently 

faced barriers in seeking employment. These groups, known as target groups, include veterans, people on government assistance, the disabled and ex-offenders. According to the Department of Labor, the WOTC program processed 849,868 certificates in fiscal year 2010 that allowed employers to claim the tax credit on their income tax return. Currently, employers that hire qualifying employees generally may 

be eligible for a 1-year Federal income tax credit worth anywhere from $1,200 to 

$4,800 and in some cases a 2-year credit worth up to $9,000. Unfortunately, the 

WOTC program is set to expire at the end of the year, December 31, 2011, which 

would be an additional blow to the veteran community when seeking employment. 

I believe that we can get our unemployed veterans back to work with the WOTC 

program by making three changes. 

1. Make the Work Opportunity Tax Credit permanent 

• Since its creation in 1996, the WOTC program has been up for renewal eight 

times. By making the program permanent, it would add stability in the hiring 

process. 

2. Expand the program by adding a target group for hiring unemployed veterans 

• President Obama mentioned this in his proposed American Jobs Bill, naming 

it the Returning Heroes Tax Credit. It would allow unemployed veterans to 

qualify their employer for WOTC. 

3. Increase the maximum tax credit amount an employer may receive for hiring 

qualified veterans. 

• Increasing the tax credit amount would further incentivize employers to hire 

veterans. 

The unemployment rate for the veterans in our country is too high. We need action by our leaders in Washington to help veterans who served our country get back 

to work. With modifications to the WOTC program, such as making the WOTC program permanent, creating an unemployed veterans target group, and increasing the 

tax credit for hiring veterans, it will not only fuel employers to create jobs, it will 

fuel employers to hire our brave veterans. 

f 

Prepared Statement of Timothy J. Carson, Manager, 

Veterans Initiatives, Office of Diversity, 

Rockwell Collins, Inc., Cedar Rapids, IA 

Executive Summary 

As a global company pioneering innovative communication and aviation electronic 

solutions for both commercial and government/defense applications, Rockwell Collins 

is deeply invested in the well-being of military personnel, and that concern continues after their active duty is complete. The high rate of veteran unemployment— 

which is higher than the national average—demands private and public response. 

In that spirit, Rockwell Collins pursues an aggressive veteran recruitment strategy internally, and works with a number of organizations externally to extend this 

approach to other employers across the Nation. 

The components of this strategy include: 

• Support of organizations that advocate for employee rights and benefits during 

active service with the Guard and Reserve such as the Iowa Employer Support 

of the Guard and Reserve (IESGR). 

• Support of organizations offering legal assistance to servicemen and women before, during and after deployment. 

• A full-time recruiter devoted to identifying and hiring military talent and advertising budget targeted toward veteran recruitment. 

• Support and retention efforts such as Rockwell Collins’ Veterans Employee Network Group, corporate networking opportunities and special events, and collaborations with the Veterans Administration to ensure necessary supports and 

services are available. 


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• Working with suppliers that are veteran-owned and service disabled veteranowned small businesses. 

• Support for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Student Veterans of America’s 

jobs and internship program and ‘‘Hiring Our Heroes’’ initiative. 

• Collaboration with the National Organization on Disability’s Wounded Warriors 

Program. 

We hope the ideas embedded in this multi-pronged strategy contribute to the important national discussion surrounding this issue and help move businesses and 

policy makers closer to a strategy that reduces the veteran unemployment rate and 

helps veterans put the unique and desirable skills they developed to work for the 

well-being of themselves, their families and their future. 

Prepared Remarks 

Thank you, Congressman Braley and Congressman Stutzman. My name is Tim 

Carson. I serve as a manager of veterans initiatives with the Office of Diversity at 

Rockwell Collins, a global aerospace and defense company headquartered in Cedar 

Rapids, Iowa. In my position, I work closely with Rockwell Collins’ human resources 

organization and a variety of external partners to promote outreach to veterans and 

veterans organizations. 

I am pleased to have the opportunity to talk to you today, and appreciate that 

you are taking time to listen to the perspectives of business and the community. 

It is particularly germane to this state, which has the one of the highest number 

per capita of reservists serving on active duty of any state in the union. 

And on behalf of Rockwell Collins, I would like to express my sincere appreciation 

for the invitation to speak about the importance of helping veterans secure meaningful employment. 

The valuable service these men and women provide is undeniable. And so are the 

core skills they developed in the service—leadership, discipline, responsibility and 

technological savvy—that can be invaluable to civilian employers. 

However, today more than 870,000 young veterans are unemployed—a rate higher 

than the national unemployment rate, according to the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. And the wind-down of engagements abroad will lead to an additional million seeking civilian employment in the next 5 years. 

When Rockwell Collins talks about these soldiers, we’re not just speaking about 

them as a simple subpopulation amongst all of today’s many unemployed. We’re 

talking about the people we serve. 

They’ve relied upon our communication technology to stay connected with their 

leadership in harsh, remote settings around the globe. They’ve used our navigation 

systems to ensure the pinpoint accuracy of weapons systems in areas where civilians and combatants often live side by side. They’ve identified friend and foe with 

our helmet-mounted displays. And they’ve given us feedback, based upon their own 

experiences, to make these systems better for the next generation of warfighters. 

We are grateful for their service, and are dedicated to helping them successfully 

transition from their military service and bring their skills and experiences to the 

civilian workforce. 

To that end, Rockwell Collins has always prioritized the hiring and retention of 

veterans, and advocates that businesses across the state and nation do so as well. 

We also believe it’s important for us and other companies to partner with local and 

national organizations to ensure veterans receive the job counseling, training and 

guidance they need to secure and make the most of employment opportunities. 

Today, I’m going to talk about some of the initiatives Rockwell Collins has pursued to build our veteran workforce, and the partnerships we maintain. These aren’t 

necessarily the only answer; in fact, I’m sure there isn’t one single answer to this 

challenge. But we recognize you’re seeking a breadth of ideas, and I think we have 

some good ones. 

Internally, our company has practices and policies in place to ensure we attract 

and retain veterans and their spouses as employees. 

Nearly 8 percent of our domestic workforce is made up of veterans, and at any 

given time a number of them are serving active duty through the Guard and Reserve. In fact, we are a strong advocate of the principles of the Iowa Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, or IESGR. The organization calls for companies to 

adhere to, and go beyond, the provisions of the Uniformed Services Employment and 

Reemployment Rights Act, including maintaining benefits, contributing to employee 

401(k)s during military duty, and maintaining vacation accrual and raises. Because 


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Rockwell Collins follows these guidelines and also promotes these principles to others in the community, we have earned a five-star rating from the IESGR. 

We also recognize that legal issues can be a burden on Iowa’s servicemen and 

women before, during and after their deployment, and provide ongoing support of 

the Iowa Returning Veterans Project to provide them with free legal assistance. 

Our human resources group has a full-time recruiter devoted to identifying and 

hiring military talent, and we allocate a specific and growing percentage of our annual recruitment/advertising budget to military outreach. Through these efforts, we 

have consistently grown our share of veterans as part of our total workforce, including a 4 percent increase in the past fiscal year. 

But there’s more to go. Our leadership has identified the hiring of even more of 

yesterday’s warriors as a key business goal for FY 2012, and we are launching an 

enterprise-wide strategy to increase our outreach, recruitment, hiring and retention 

efforts for veterans and veterans with disabilities. 

Once hired, we further the well-being and retention of these individuals through 

a Veterans Employee Network Group, corporate networking opportunities and special engagements such as Transition Think Tanks and PTSD seminars. We collaborate with the Veterans Administration and other subject matter experts, to ensure 

that the necessary supports and services are made available and are accessible to 

our employees. 

We also recognize the importance of supporting veterans through our business contracting with suppliers. Year to date, Rockwell Collins has spent $57 million— 

nearly 5 percent of total corporate spending with suppliers—with Veteran-Owned 

Small Businesses, and $13.6 million with Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small 

Businesses. 

We are fortunate to have gained some recognition for these efforts. Rockwell Collins has been named a ‘‘Top 100 Military-Friendly Employer’’ by G.I. Jobs magazine 

for the past 2 years, and we strive every day to continue to deserve that recognition. 

Beyond our own hiring practices, Rockwell Collins seeks to support initiatives 

that promote hiring of veterans across the Nation. 

We are a proud corporate sponsor of the Jobs and Internship Program, a partnership championed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Student Veterans of America (SVA). In fact, we recently made a significant contribution to the Chamber, specifically earmarked for their partnership with the SVA and development of the ‘‘Hiring Our Heroes’’ initiative. 

We attended the SVA’s Leadership Summit and Career Fair this past summer in 

Madison, Wis., and will support the SVA’s National Conference this December as 

a corporate partner, exhibitor and employment panel participant. 

In an initiative that is a personal passion for me, we also work to bring disabled 

veterans into the workplace, through a relationship with the National Organization 

on Disability, know as NOD, and its Wounded Warriors Program. As a primary 

sponsor of the organization, one of our senior executives sits on the board for NOD 

and is engaged in communicating core messages, events and opportunities for Rockwell Collins to both support and influence. 

And we continue to seek additional relationships or opportunities to promote veteran hiring wherever we do business, and to talk about it at every opportunity, like 

we are today. 

Now, there’s no single solution to the complex challenge of veteran unemployment, and it’s a pleasure to hear from the other participants today and get new 

ideas to consider. 

But I hope my and Rockwell Collins’ contribution to the conversation is helpful 

as you consider the public and private strategies to tackle this issue. 

These men and women willingly accepted one of our Nation’s most vital and precious responsibilities, of protecting the country from harm. And in turn, we commit 

to fulfill our responsibility to help them put the unique and desirable skills they developed in that endeavor to work for the well-being of themselves, their families and 

their future. 

I welcome any questions you may have today. I also encourage you to contact 

Rockwell Collins if you’d like to know more specifics about some of the initiatives 

I’ve outlined for you today. 

Thank you again for your time and attention. 

Response to House Rule XI clause 2(g)(5): Tim Carson did not receive any Federal 

grant or subgrants thereof during the current fiscal year or either of the two previous fiscal years. 

f 


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Prepared Statement of Colonel Benjamin J. Corell, 

Commander, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry 

Division, Iowa National Guard, Johnston, IA 

Executive Summary 

I appear in front of you today to ask for your help in addressing the continued 

issue of high unemployment rates for returning Reserve and National Guard veterans of our Nation’s wars. I know that addressing this issue and applying additional resources to help solve this problem is the right thing to do. Our Nation has 

been at war now longer than any other armed conflict in the history of our country. 

This last decade has been a long, tough fight for our military forces. I, like others 

have personally answered the call to duty time and time again. I have witnessed 

our hard-earned success in both Iraq and in Afghanistan. I have seen the sacrifice 

required by our men and women in uniform and by our families. Reserve and National Guard employers have quietly sacrificed at great costs with little thanks and 

no financial incentives to hire and retain our veterans. 

The burden of carrying out the directives of our senior leadership and prosecuting 

these conflicts has been borne by less than 1 percent of our Nation’s population. 

These are the dedicated men and women of our Nation’s military. Never before has 

our Nation asked for so much from an all-volunteer military. Never before has our 

Nation and the senior military leadership asked so much of the Reserve and National Guard. Not since the days of a national draft and conscription for World War 

II have we asked so much from our civilian employers. They have gone without 

some of their best and brightest who have left to support the war effort as we call 

up our Reserve Component servicemembers. I am here today to ask you to start the 

process to produce incentives for those employers who hire and retain our veterans 

in their workforce. In addition, we need to find a way to provide incentives for small 

business owners who are members of our Reserve Components in order to help these 

veterans sustain their livelihood after they return from answering our country’s call. 

Our Nation and our people are currently in challenging financial times. Hard discussions and difficult decisions about spending are occurring not just in Washington 

DC, but across this Nation. These same hard discussions are taking place at every 

business, large and small and at kitchen tables across our country. Our returning 

veterans, our Reserve and National Guard members have repeatedly answered the 

call to duty serving in these current wars. It is because of their continued sacrifice 

that America has remained safe while allowing the pursuit of these wars with a 

smaller active military force and with no draft. These veterans have skills and experience that many employers desire. The aggregate unemployment rate for our veterans is habitually higher than the national average rate of unemployment. I need 

your help to correct this. All of the job fairs and resume writing workshops in the 

world will only get my fellow veterans so far. I believe that we need to review and 

update the 1994 Cold War-focused Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994. Concurrently we must develop and implement legislation 

that will provide real incentives to the business sector and for those veterans that 

own small business or private professional practices. Once that is completed, we 

need to market it to employers and ensure that it is enforced. 

This effort will introduce true benefits for hiring and retaining our veterans and 

enable veterans who own a business to remain competitive in today’s challenging 

environment. I need your assistance to do this, and I ask for your help today. 

f 

Prepared Statement of Mark Hennessey, Iowa Committee for 

Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, Johnston, IA 

Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve 

Iowa Committee for Employer Support 

Johnston, IA. 

13 October 2011 

The Honorable Marlin Stutzman, 

Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity 

335 Cannon House Office Building 

Washington, DC 20515 

Re: ‘‘Hiring Heroes: Job Creation for Veterans and Guard/Reserve Members.’’ 

Chairman Stutzman, 


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Executive Summary 

The primary missions of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserves (ESGR) are 

to educate, provide consultation to, and assist with reemployment challenges for 

Iowa employers, National Guard members, and Reservists. The Employment Initiative Program (EIP) was added to our mission in the fall of 2010 and is designed 

to facilitate employment opportunities for unemployed and underemployed servicemembers and their spouses. 

The Iowa National Guard’s returning 2nd Brigade Combat Team survey results 

of 2,356 Soldiers, 721 consider themselves unemployed on their return. Prior to 

their deployment 630 of them considered themselves unemployed according to the 

Civilian Employment Information (CEI) data. Statewide statistics are less comprehensive. Data has not been effectively gathered from servicemembers outside of 

the Brigade deployers. 

Each military component enters CEI data into separate systems that eventually 

are filtered into the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) where employment information is managed. The different entry system’s of each military component creates challenges when attempting to draw accurate statistics. What it does provide 

is a picture of the % of fulltime vs. part time jobs, top occupations, types of employers that most often hire servicemembers, and types of industries. 

ESGR have partnerships with Employer Partnership of the Armed Forces (EPO), 

Iowa Workforce Development, the National Guard and Reserves, Job Connections 

Education Program (JCEP) and a large number of Association groups. These partnerships are solid and will be vital to assisting our servicemembers in their employment search. ESGR volunteers are also be a link statewide and can assist in the 

efforts by directing servicemembers and employers to the sources that will benefit 

them both. 

The Iowa ESGR team will continue to facilitate with our partners Employment 

Assistance Training Events statewide. We will also continue to participate and assist in the promotion of job fair activities through our Guard and Reserve contacts. 

The primary missions of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserves (ESGR) are 

to educate, provide consultation to, and assist with reemployment challenges for 

Iowa employers, National Guard members, and Reservists. The Employment Initiative Program (EIP) was added to our mission set in the fall of 2010 and is designed 

to facilitate employment opportunities for unemployed and underemployed servicemembers and their spouses. This program is an outgrowth of our ESGR Outreach 

Programs, corresponds with the current economic realities in our state, and is consistent with our President’s New Veterans Employment Initiative. 

This past July, the Iowa National Guard’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team recently returned home from a 1-year deployment to Afghanistan. As they were out processing 

from this deployment at Ft. McCoy, Wis., 2,356 of these Soldiers completed a survey 

regarding their employment status. 721 Soldiers responded they considered themselves unemployed on their return to Iowa. According to the Civilian Employment 

Information (CEI) data collected from these same Soldiers prior to the deployment, 

630 of them considered themselves unemployed. CEI data is entered into the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) by the servicemembers and is only as accurate as the information they entered. We are able to request data through National 

ESGR regarding statistics on the ‘‘not’’ employed status of our servicemembers of 

all services. 

National ESGR has partnered with the Employer Partnership of the Armed 

Forces (EPO) under the EIP program. EPO specializes in identifying civilian employers that are seeking to hire servicemembers and their spouses. They also assist 

servicemembers and spouses in all phases of the job search process. This organization is one resource ESGR refers servicemembers and employers to in order to 

match job seekers and job providers for civilian employment positions. 

Iowa ESGR has also partnered with Iowa Workforce Development (IWD), offering 

free Employment Assistance Training (EAT) workshops to servicemembers and their 

spouses. These workshops are designed to teach job search skills to job seekers. Topics covered include the Transition Assistance Program (TAP), resume’ writing, job 

interview skills training, and online job search techniques. Civilian human resources representatives volunteer to provide constructive critiques on prepared 

resume ́s and also provide practice interviews for participants with immediate feedback of their interview. 

Since September 2011, ESGR and IWD have offered employment events around 

the state in Waterloo, Des Moines, and Iowa City. These locations were selected 

based on the survey results acquired in July during Soldier out processing at Ft. 

McCoy. Unfortunately the Waterloo event was canceled due to a low number of 

RSVPs. Individuals interested in attending the Waterloo event alternatively schedVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:33 May 24, 2012 Jkt 071384 PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 6604 Sfmt 6621 I:\WAYS\OUT\71384.XXX GPO1 PsN: 71384

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uled individual sessions with the local Veterans Representative at IWD. The Des 

Moines event had 18 registrations with 9 actual attendees. Iowa City had 10 registrations, with 7 individuals participating in the training. When compared to the 

survey results and the fact that more than 400 2nd Brigade Combat Team Soldiers 

expressed interest in receiving employment assistance while out processing at Fort 

McCoy, the rate of participation is much lower than expected. From our perspective 

potential reasons for the low participation could be that the employment events 

were scheduled too soon after their return home, Soldiers are not in a duty status 

and simply want a break from the military, knowledge and use of unemployment 

benefits, or they simply are not ready to think about finding a job. 

Iowa ESGR is working with Guard and Reserve units to promote not only the 

training events, but job fair opportunities throughout the state. ESGR volunteers 

have briefed the job search opportunities and training events during the Yellow Ribbon post-mobilization events (reintegration briefings and activities) and also during 

unit annual briefings. Information regarding upcoming employment events is consistently emailed to all interested individuals, including command and staff of the 

Guard and Reserves, Guard and Reserve members returning from deployments, and 

ESGR military outreach volunteers. 

The Iowa National Guard has worked closely with the National Guard Bureau to 

hire an individual to work one-on-one with unemployed Guard members as they 

search for employment. This individual will assist servicemembers on resume ́ writing and job search resources. They will also build relationships with employers 

statewide to encourage the hiring of our qualified servicemembers. ESGR will also 

work closely with them, sharing resources, contacts, and strategies to build a productive employer network. 

ESGR has a long and successful history of helping Guard and Reserve servicemembers and their employers understand their rights and requirements under the 

Uniform Servicemembers Employment and Re-Employment Rights Act (USERRA). 

Now, with the Employment Initiative Program and associated partnerships, we 

have the opportunity to assist servicemembers and employers connect more effectively and more often. 

f 

Prepared Statement of Anthony Smithhart, Iowa State Director, 

Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, U.S. Department of Labor 

Chairman Stutzman, Ranking Member Braley, and Members of the Committee: 

Thank you for the opportunity to testify before the Committee about the work we 

are doing at the Department of Labor (DOL or Department) to address the important issue of decreasing the unemployment rate for Veterans, National Guard, and 

Reservists. We also appreciate the opportunity to discuss the work we are doing 

here in Iowa. With over 240,000 veterans living in the state, it is critical that we 

provide them with the services and support they need to find and obtain good jobs. 

My name is Tony Smithhart, and as the Iowa State Director for the Department 

of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS), I am dedicated to 

helping our Veterans and returning Servicemembers achieve that goal. 

VETS proudly serves Veterans and transitioning Servicemembers by providing resources and expertise to assist and prepare them to obtain meaningful careers, 

maximize their employment opportunities and protect their employment rights. We 

do this through a variety of nationwide programs that are an integral part of Secretary Solis’s vision of ‘‘Good Jobs for Everyone.’’ 

I would like to begin by briefly discussing some of those programs along with 

other initiatives that assist America’s Veterans in getting to or back to work and 

then focus specifically on information for Iowa you requested in your invitation. 

Jobs for Veterans State Grants Program 

The first program that I would like to highlight for you is the Jobs for Veterans 

State Grants (JVSG) Program. Under this grant program, the Department offers 

employment and training services to eligible Veterans by allocating funds to State 

Workforce Agencies in direct proportion to the number of Veterans seeking employment within their state. 

The Jobs for Veterans State Grants (JVSG) program funds two occupations, the 

Disabled Veterans Outreach Program specialist (DVOP) and the Local Veterans Employment Representatives (LVER). DVOP specialists provide outreach services, and 

intensive employment assistance to meet the employment needs of eligible Veterans. 

LVER staff conducts outreach to employers and engages in advocacy efforts with 


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hiring executives to increase employment opportunities for Veterans, encourages the 

hiring of disabled Veterans, and generally assists Veterans to gain and retain employment. 

Last year, the JVSG provided services to nearly 589,000 Veterans, and 201,000 

Veterans found jobs. 

Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program 

To meet the needs of homeless Veterans and help reintegrate them into the workforce VETS administers the Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP). 

Through H.R.VP, the Department provides competitive grants to state and local 

workforce investment boards, state agencies, local public agencies, and private nonprofit organizations, including faith-based organizations and neighborhood partnerships. HVRP grantees provide an array of services utilizing a holistic case management approach that directly assists homeless Veterans and provides training services to help them to successfully transition into the labor force. 

In Program Year (PY) 2009, over 14,000 homeless Veterans participated in this 

program through 96 grants, and 8,470 were placed into employment. Data for PY 

2010 is not yet available, as figures for the 4th quarter are still being verified. Here 

in Iowa, the HVRP has touched many lives and helped hundreds of homeless Veterans because of grants to programs such as the Goodwill Industries of the Heartland and Shelter House Community Shelter & Transition Services. 

Veterans’ Workforce Investment Program 

Yet another way the Department is working to help Veterans get back to work 

is through the Veterans’ Workforce Investment Program (VWIP). Through VWIP, 

the Department awards competitive grants geared toward focused training, re-training and employment opportunities for recently separated Veterans, Veterans with 

service-connected disabilities, Veterans with significant barriers to employment and 

Veterans who served on active duty during expeditions or campaigns for which specific badges were awarded. These grants are awarded to meet the needs of employers for qualified workers in high demand industries, particularly those occupations 

requiring a license or certification. These grants also promote the integration of public, private, and philanthropic organizations with the workforce system to create 

synergy and encourage innovative strategies to serve our Veterans better. 

In FY 2009, VWIP was refocused to provide training and employment services in 

green energy occupations as envisioned in the Green Jobs Act of 2007. There are 

currently 22 grants serving 4,600 Veterans. 

Transition Assistance Program 

Our primary program for assisting individuals with their transition from the military to the civilian workforce is the Transition Assistance Program (TAP). TAP is 

an interagency program delivered via a partnership involving the Department of Defense, DOL VETS, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of 

Homeland Security. VETS provides an employment workshop that is a comprehensive two and a half day program during which participants are provided relevant 

skills and information, such as job search techniques, career decision-making processes, and current labor market conditions. 

Currently, VETS uses a mix of contractors, VETS Federal staff, DVOPs, and 

LVERs as TAP facilitators. Starting in late 2012, VETS will transition to all skilled 

contract facilitators. 

As you know, VETS is currently in the process of redesigning and transforming 

the TAP employment workshop. We are creating experiential, effective, and enduring solutions for a successful transition from military to civilian life and employment. The new TAP will be based on established best practices in career transition. 

Last year, nearly 130,000 transitioning Servicemembers and spouses attended a 

TAP employment workshop given at one of 272 locations world-wide. 

Employer Partnerships 

VETS is also implementing a new approach to employer outreach that involves 

pilot programs and partnerships with the private sector, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). These 

partnerships are giving us much broader access to employers so that we can communicate the value of hiring a Veteran and how to access this extraordinary source of 

talent. It also allows us to educate employers about the unique skills Veterans bring 

with them based on their military experience. Connecting the talent pool with the 


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many companies looking to hire Veterans allows for a more efficient hiring process 

for many Veterans and employers. 

The Chamber is working to hold 100 hiring fairs exclusively for Veterans, 

transitioning Servicemembers and their spouses. In the partnership, the U.S. Chamber and its affiliates focus primarily on securing the participation of employers 

while the VETS team focuses on obtaining participation by Veterans, transitioning 

Servicemembers and their spouses. 

In fact, VETS is participating in our State-wide 2011 ‘‘Hiring Our Heroes’’ Job 

Fair in Des Moines, Iowa on November 8th, 2011. The event will be held at the HyVee Hall (Hall ‘‘C’’), 730 Third Street, Des Moines, Iowa, 50309 from 10:00AM– 

4:00PM and is being put on by the Greater Des Moines Partnership, and the U.S. 

Chamber of Commerce along with the Iowa Works, the Employer Support of the 

Guard and Reserve (ESGR), Des Moines Area Community College, and the Military 

Services. 

VETS is working with SHRM to identify opportunities for VETS state managers 

to meet with local SHRM chapters to connect Veterans seeking employment with 

companies who are hiring. For VETS this is an effective and efficient way to connect 

employers and Veterans. We are also working with SHRM in the development of 

an H.R. Toolkit that will provide employers with the methods and procedures to establish a Veteran hiring program and to hire Veterans. 

Iowa Specific Information 

In your letter of invitation, you requested certain information about Veterans in 

Iowa. While some specific data is unavailable, we have nevertheless been certain to 

provide the most current information available. As you know, Iowa operates a Public 

Labor Exchange primarily funded by the U.S. Department of Labor to assist all job 

seekers with their employment needs. While it is available to all populations, Veterans are given priority of service. In Iowa, the Public Labor Exchange is known 

as the Iowa Workforce Development (IWD). The services and assistance offered at 

IWD range from employment preparation and comprehensive employment placement services, to intensive services through a case management approach for Veterans with special needs. 

Level of Education of Veterans Seeking Employment Assistance 

Over the past year, 19,687 Veterans have received services through IWD. Of the 

total population of Veterans served through the public labor exchange, 1074 or 5.5 

percent reported less than a high school diploma while 9,000 or 45.7 percent have 

a high school degree or a GED. The total number of Veterans reporting achievement 

of a post-high school degree or certification is 6144, or 31.2 percent. (See table 

below.) 

Data Element Iowa Percent 

Total Number of Vets, Eligibles and Transitioning Servicemembers 19,687 

Total Number of Vets, Eligibles and Transitioning Servicemembers who were not HS Graduates 1,074 5.5% 

Total Number of Vets Eligibles and Transitioning Servicemembers who had a HS degree or GED 9,000 46% 

Total Number of Vets, Eligi8bles and Transitioning Servicemembers who had a Post-Secondary degree or are Certified 6,144 31% 

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration 

Form ETA 9002 A: ‘‘Services to Participants’’ July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011. 

U.S. Department of Labor, and Employment and Training Administration Form 

ETA 9002 D Services to Participants, April 1, 2010 through March 31, 2011. 

Education level is not a required field when registering with the One-Stop Career 

Center system; therefore, the breakdown by education level does equal the total 

number of Veterans served. 


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Average Placement Salary by Level of Education for Veterans. 

In Iowa, the 6 month Average Earnings for veterans are; $15, 346 or $30,692 per 

annum. The principle source of information for this data element is the U.S. Department of Labor’s, Employment and Training Administration from the ETA 9002, 

Services to Participants for Program Year Period July 1, 2010 through June 30, 

2011. While specific placement salary data by education level are not available, the 

ETA 9002, Performance Outcomes for Veterans, Eligible Persons and Transitioning 

Servicemembers does provide Average Earnings data. 

Length of Unemployment for Veterans by Education Level 

The Current Population Survey provides national data about the employment status of the civilian non-institutional population by educational attainment, age, sex, 

race, and Hispanic or Latino and Non-Hispanic ethnicity. The same source provides 

data for unemployed persons by duration of unemployment, educational attainment, 

sex, and age as an annual average for the general population. However, data for 

length of unemployment by education level for Veterans as a separate population 

is not available. 

Rate of Unemployment for Veterans by Education Level 

In terms of unemployment rates for the general population, the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) reports a 6.1 percent rate for Iowa in 2010. Comparatively, the Current Population Survey (CPS), collected by the Census Bureau for the 

Bureau of Labor Statistics, shows that the unemployment rate for Veterans was 6.4 

percent in Iowa in 2010. Unemployment rate data by education level by state is not 

available. (See table below.) 

Data Element Iowa 

Unemployment Rates: 6.1% 

Calendar Year 2010 (LAUS) General Population 6.1% 

Calendar Year 2010 (CPS)-Veterans 6.4% 

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics 

Number of Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act 

(USERRA) Complaints Filed 

VETS is honored to serve our Nation’s Veterans. One of the agency’s top priorities 

is to protect the employment rights of servicemembers when called to serve on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces. The goal of the USERRA is to ensure that no 

member or prospective member of the U.S. Armed forces endures any disadvantage 

or discrimination in employment because of their affiliation with the military, and 

to secure the reemployment rights of members of the military after active duty service. 

VETS works closely with DoD’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Reserve Affairs’ Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) to ensure that servicemembers are informed on their USERRA rights before and after they are mobilized. 

We conduct continuous USERRA outreach to educate and inform servicemembers 

and employers of their rights and responsibilities under the law. 

The use of the National Guard and Reserves has increased dramatically in recent 

years, with more called to active duty than any other time since the Korean War. 

This has increased the complexity of issues resulting from the challenges faced by 

servicemembers and their families due to lengthier and multiple deployments. This 

is true for all servicemembers but because many National Guard and Reserve Units, 

in particular, contend with civilian employment issues, the claims activity post 9– 

11 has increased dramatically nationwide. Employers face equal hardships in the 

reintegration of servicemembers into the labor force as they deal with lengthy and 

multiple absences. 

Your invitation asked for the number of USERRA complaints filed in Iowa. Below, 

is the breakdown of complaints filed within the last 5 years. Despite the increase 

nationally, the number of complaints have decreased in Iowa over this time period. 


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Data Element Iowa 

USERRA Complaints Filed: 

Federal Fiscal Year 2007 38 

Federal Fiscal Year 2008 39 

Federal Fiscal Year 2009 34 

Federal Fiscal Year 2010 24 

Federal Fiscal Year 2011 19 

Source: USDOL/VETS Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment 

Rights Act Information Management System 

Conclusion: 

Thank you again for allowing me to testify today and for your tireless support and 

commitment to our Nations Veterans. DOL and VETS look forward to continuing 

to work with you and your staff on Veterans’ employment initiatives. I look forward 

to responding to your questions. 

f 

Prepared Statement of Teresa Wahlert, Director, 

Iowa Workforce Development, Des Moines, IA 

Strengthening Veteran Employment Opportunities in Iowa 

Throughout the country countless men and women have dedicated their lives and 

made extreme sacrifices for the safety of everyone. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have deployed to serve our great country, yet when they come home a fundamental step in returning to a civilian life is difficult to obtain: employment. Iowa 

is one of the few states without an active military installation; however our National 

Guard and Reservists have been deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and other world locations in record numbers, often for multiple deployments. 

Iowa receives a small grant for the veterans program within our 16 one-stop integrated centers. As such, we have developed creative alternatives to ensure our entire workforce staff members are trained in providing priority of service activities 

for Iowa’s veterans. This allows our targeted veteran staff members to focus on active case management for veterans in need. This level of case management has developed new meaning with the record number of returning servicemembers over the 

last few years. Recently, Iowa welcomed home nearly 3,000 servicemembers from Afghanistan follow a long deployment. While this should be a time for celebration for 

our returning heroes, the Adjutant General of the Iowa National Guard, Major General Tim Orr, recently noted that nearly 25 percent of these individuals would be 

seeking full-time employment. Unfortunately, our servicemen and women have faced 

hiring difficulties and problems with USERRA compliance upon their recent return. 

Although Federal regulations require veterans be returned to their former positions, 

frequently this is not the case. Further promotion of USERRA requirements is needed to ensure our veterans are treated appropriately. 

Iowa is working to develop a new service delivery model that benefits all job seekers, including veterans. The integration service delivery model works to identify the 

needs and barriers of job seekers early on to ensure the client receives all of the 

benefits of programs within the workforce system. This allows staff members to 

quickly identify veterans to ensure their immediate connection to a veteran specialist. A significant barrier for individuals transitioning to civilian employment is 

translating the military skill set to civilian skills. It’s difficult for the veteran who 

is so entrenched in military language to develop the talking points to sell his/her 

skill sets as valuable within the civilian workforce. Iowa’s veteran specialists work 

diligently on a daily basis to assist with this process and to educate employers on 

the benefits of hiring veterans. 

Although Iowa is a smaller state, time and time again we’ve been recognized for 

our outstanding efforts in providing services to veterans. Our staff developed a veteran’s services guide that details programs and services for veterans in a format 

that is easy to navigate and understand. Additionally, the department instituted a 


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peer-to-peer case review system on a quarterly basis to provide ongoing training and 

develop best practices for all program specialists to use throughout the state. Both 

of these initiatives have been replicated by states throughout the country. 

On July 27th, Iowa Workforce Development announced a first in the Nation partnership with the Iowa National Guard. The state’s workforce access point technology 

is being introduced onsite at the 43 National Guard Armories across the state. This 

is the same virtual service deployed across Iowa in hundreds of new sites. Veterans 

will have immediate access to job search technology, re ́sume ́ development software, 

labor market information, veteran specific resources, unemployment information 

and access to one-stop workforce specialists via live chat or a toll free number from 

8:00AM to 8:00PM Monday through Friday and 10:00AM to 2:00PM on Saturdays 

all from an environment where the veterans currently seek a variety of services and 

contacts. 

Although Iowa is a small state with a limited grant, we’ve taken innovative approaches to maximize the funding for the entire state. Iowa focuses its staffing dollars towards the DVOP case management side and trains everyone on our business 

outreach teams to educate employers and promote the hiring of veterans. Our entire 

workforce team works to educate employers on the benefits of hiring veterans. This 

provides our state with a larger portion of resources to direct at intensive case management activities. This process has been recognized by other states such as Oregon, 

Nevada, Connecticut and others as a best practice for ensuring veterans receive 

dedicated services. Every year, states are allowed to use 1 percent of their veteran 

services grant as incentive awards to the regional one-stop centers. Iowa Workforce 

Development uses this opportunity to reward our specialists who go above and beyond in service delivery and develop creative means for reaching veterans in the 

community. The inventive awards are used in a variety of ways including providing 

bedding for local veteran homeless shelters, purchasing gas cards to ensure the veteran has the means to attend an interview, sponsoring honor flights and more. In 

2010, a DVOP specialist received the distinguished national Mark Sanders Award 

for outstanding service to disabled veterans in Iowa. 

While Iowa and other states have taken creative steps to assist veterans, more 

needs to be done to ensure that veterans find successful, sustaining employment opportunities that meet their unique needs and allow each individual to utilize the 

skills developed during their selfless service to the country. 

f 

Prepared Statement of Rear Admiral T. L. McCreary, USN (Ret.), 

President, Military.com 

Chairman Stutzman, Ranking Member Braley, and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for your focus on the critical issue of veteran employment. 

As a 27 year veteran of the Navy and the current President of Military.com, I 

have experienced the issue of veteran employment from both sides. As such, I would 

like to share with you what our organization is doing to help veterans find career 

opportunities as well as our belief that aligning government and the private sector 

will best connect our servicemembers with jobs. 

Post-WWII our country experienced what can be called the ‘‘Golden Age of Higher 

Education.’’ Armed with their GI Bill Benefits, 4.4 million servicemembers went to 

college to build the foundation for a better life. 

While today’s veterans and servicemembers in transition are still pursuing their 

educational dreams with the enhanced GI Bill, a weakened economy makes it tougher to find excellent job opportunities. There is a disconnect with the private sector 

on the transportability of military skills and our veterans are finding it more difficult than ever to translate their total military experience into a civilian career. 

The numbers are disturbing. The unemployment rate for all veterans remains 

stubbornly at 9 percent, the unemployment rate for post 9/11 veterans is roughly 

11 percent—higher than the national average. Young male veterans between the 

ages of 18 to 24 had an unemployment rate of 21.9 percent% in 2010 and female 

veterans face unemployment at a rate of 13.5 percent, versus 8.4 percent for nonveteran women. 

Many Americans enter the military because of the opportunity to acquire marketable skills along with the ability for advanced degrees. Yet when the time comes 

to transition today, they are not finding as much opportunity in today’s economy. 

Worse yet, the connection between unemployment and homelessness is irrefutable. 

Right now the VA estimates there are over 100,000 veterans who have no home. 


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The reality is, as we continue to reduce our troop end strength, more veterans 

will be looking for civilian employment while job growth has not accelerated as 

much as hoped. 

Competition will be stiff and we already know that unemployment is higher for 

veterans than for civilians. 

Military culture, language and job skills are not easily translated to the civilian 

world. Potential employers have very little understanding of the diverse jobs and 

skill sets one can learn in the military. Additionally, our veterans are coming out 

of the service with little experience in writing a civilian resume and no exposure 

to private sector business culture or language. 

There is no doubt that given the service these veterans have provided us during 

wartime, we owe them the best support possible in their post-service life. 

So how do we do that? 

First, programs that allow those who have served in uniform and who desire to 

continue their government service in a civilian capacity should be embraced. There 

is great value in the government competing for these outstanding men and women. 

But the majority of transitioning servicemembers do look to the private sector for 

employment so focus should be put on public, private efforts to land veterans jobs. 

So to assist, military personnel need more exposure to the private sector before 

they leave the service. That exposure needs to happen in the form of enhanced 

Transition Assistance Programs (TAP), where the focus needs to be on the veteran 

getting ahead rather than just getting out. The employment curriculum of TAP 

needs to be taught by human resource professionals from the private sector with 

some military knowledge so instructors can provide the best chance for the military 

member to find the best opportunity on the outside. It must include skill-specific 

resume writing services, information on private sector business culture and handson training on how to use all available private sector resources so veterans can get 

in front of the employers and compete in the human resource networks that exist 

in the private sector. And it must teach networking and where to find those who 

can help and give our veterans insight into the marketplace. 

Post-service employment preparation should be focused on how to enter the civilian job market rather than trying to create stand-alone programs run by the government. The vast majority of companies in the private sector have very good and generally very efficient ways to find good talent. The key must be to help the veterans 

get into that system, be identified as veterans . . . and compete. 

Second, if government wants a program they can sink their teeth into, it should 

fund training for those in the field of human resources on how to understand military skill sets and how those skills apply to the civilian world. This training needs 

to include explanations for primary, secondary and tertiary duties an individual 

may have had in the service. The Department of Labor has a basic program around 

this but it could be greatly enhanced. 

Third, a better understanding of how military certifications translate to civilian 

professional certifications should be addressed with all state governments. 

My Military.com director of community outreach visited a number of military installations overseas in February of this year. During his visit to Marine Corps Base 

Camp Butler in Okinawa Japan, he met a Navy Hospital Corpsman Second Class 

who had recently returned from his second tour in Afghanistan. The Navy Corpsman earned a Bronze Star with a Combat ‘‘V’’ for his heroic efforts in performing 

a tracheotomy on a wounded Marine during a firefight engagement with insurgents. 

This Navy Corpsman has the exceptional skills and abilities to perform such a task 

under extreme hazardous conditions and do it effectively, yet does not warrant becoming a qualified emergency medical technician in the civilian community unless 

he goes through a full training and certification program where he probably is more 

qualified than the instructor. 

It astounds me that a soldier, sailor, airman, Marine or Coastguardsman can perform surgery on the battlefield but not be certified an EMT in the civilian world 

without starting from scratch. An all-out effort between VA, Labor and DoD with 

the 50 states could probably develop a program of what knowledge, skills and abilities would be accepted as certifications within all states with a very short testing 

period. 

Finally, leveraging the expertise of private companies like Monster.com and Military.com is crucial to sustaining any successful, long-term veteran employment efforts. 

Military.com knows the private sector; with our parent company, Monster.com we 

can and do specialize in harnessing the best technology along with the most effective methods to connect our servicemembers with employers. And while most employers don’t tell us how many vets they hire, we do know they continually search 


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resumes with veteran status and continually advertise their positions on Monster 

and Military.com 

While the government assists servicemembers with getting out through the Transition Assistance Program, we at Monster.com and Military.com help them get 

ahead by tapping into our large data base of jobs and providing the guidance needed 

to enter the civilian job world. 

Military.com was founded in 1999 by a young Navy reservist to revolutionize the 

way our 30 million Americans with military affinity stay connected and informed. 

Today, Military.com is the largest military and veteran membership organization 

with more than 10 million members and we’re one of the largest news destination 

sites on the Internet. Our free membership connects servicemembers, military families and veterans to each other and to all the benefits of service at all stages in their 

lives — government benefits, resources and career services, education information 

and scholarships, discounts, news and discussion forums to share the great stories 

and challenges inherent in military life, and more. 

In 2004, Military.com joined forces with Monster Worldwide to accelerate our 

growth and change the playing field for career and educational opportunities for active duty personnel, as well as Guard and reservists, veterans and military spouses. 

We work hard every day to serve those who serve our country and we’re committed 

to helping our members find work and enter into career paths that will compliment 

and build on the skills they acquired in the military. 

We do this both online and offline. 

Online, we offer a comprehensive offering of services, resources and information 

to support every stage of a military career, from recruitment to boot camp to promotions, retirement, education and second careers. 

Military.com created a veteran career center using technology to successfully deliver a personalized experience with a variety of interactive tools and resources. We 

offer the largest veteran job board in the world featuring military-friendly employers 

as well as hundreds of thousands of job postings available through our Monster.com 

database. 

We also offer personalized email alerts for new postings that match a veteran’s 

resume and job interests, as well as resume writing tools, education and training 

information, mentoring through our Veteran Career Network, and electronic newsletters with news and employer information. 

To help veterans begin their new career search, we developed our Military Skills 

Translator. We use the Department of Labor’s online resource known as ‘‘O–Net,’’ 

or Occupational Data Network as a baseline to translate current and older military 

occupational specialty codes into civilian occupations 

Then Military.com is taking it one step further. We present the veteran with 

equivalent jobs currently posted on the Monster job board, including those posted 

by thousands of military employers specifically looking for veterans. The veteran 

can immediately apply to one of these jobs from our site or review the job postings 

and learn what specific experiences, skills, education, and training employers are 

seeking for this type of position. This information can help the job seeker better 

‘‘civilianize’’ their military experience on their resume and best communicate the 

skill, knowledge, and abilities they acquired while in service. Over the last year, we 

had over 250,000 separate individuals use our translator an average of 4–5 times 

per person. 

Through the Military Skills Translator, not only are veterans empowered to apply 

to currently available jobs, they can also see members of our Military.com’s Veteran 

Career Network who have indicated they held that same Military Occupational Specialty. 

One of our fastest growing services that is still in beta form is this mentor network that connects veterans seeking new careers with employed veterans as well 

as military supporters. Military.com members who volunteer for this feature create 

a profile containing details about their military experience, professional interests, 

and their current job position and employer. 

Veterans using this feature can find a career network mentor by company, government agency, career field, industry or geographic location. Once the veteran job 

seeker has identified someone with whom they would like to network, he or she can 

contact a mentor directly through our secure Military.com email tool. 

Since the implementation of our Veteran Career Network in 2007, over one million Military.com members have signed on to network with other veterans and help 

transitioning servicemembers jumpstart their civilian careers. 

Our members also access financial information and guidance. Our Finance Channel drew over 450,000 views in March 2011 because of the comprehensive information VA home loans and our relocation guide which helps military families through 

their mandatory moves. 


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For example, in March of 2011 alone we had 3 million views on our Benefits and 

Education Channel which includes information on Tricare, GI Bill, VA health care, 

survivor benefits and information on PTSD resources and support. 

We keep our members in touch with the latest information about their benefits 

and interests with our email newsletters, of which 35 million are sent each month 

to our members who subscribe to them. Our most popular newsletters are the Veterans Insider with over 8 million subscribers, our Careers newsletters with over 

800,000 subscribers and our Active Duty Insider with over 4 million subscribers. 

These newsletters offer tailored content and feature relevant information and resource links for our audience. 

Offline, we actively engage with the communities we serve through in person 

events. 

Currently we host, in conjunction with our non-profit partner, the Non-Commissioned Officers Association, over 40 career expos a year. 

In 2010, over 15,000 members attended our 33 career fair events across the country. Since January of this year, we have held 11 career fair events, attended by 

more than 3500 veterans and transitioning servicemembers. We have also recently 

begun hosting Veteran Power Seeker Workshops in advance of our career fairs to 

help attendees write resumes, acquire interviewing and networking skills and research employers so they are prepared to most successfully engage with employers 

at the event. 

These career fairs are important because it gives us one to one interaction with 

both employers and transitioning servicemembers. Here we are able to walk job 

seekers through the interview process, review resumes and counsel them about the 

many opportunities outside of the government that they may not have known they 

were qualified for. Conversely we get the chance to meet with employers and ‘‘decode’’ the military skills or vernacular they are seeing on resumes and point out 

what skills sets will best fit their needs. 

If you question the ability of the private sector to embrace and assist our veterans 

in their job search, look no further than Military.com and the solid relationships we 

have created between our servicemembers, veterans and employers. 

In conclusion, we no longer have finite wars with treaties being signed on the 

deck of a battleship. Today’s changing global environment means that any time our 

military can be called to action, tapped for humanitarian assistance or used to quell 

instability around the globe. 

As such, we have a much longer-term obligation to understand veterans and the 

employment they seek. Rather than the ‘‘home from war’’ mentality of previous generations, we now have to see veteran’s employment as a rolling responsibility that 

will remain a permanent fixture on our national landscape. 

Just as the Post WWII generation enjoyed the ‘‘Golden Age of Education’’ we can 

and should see this as our opportunity to create the ‘‘Golden Age of Employment’’ 

for those who have served our Nation so proudly. We are fortunate enough here in 

our country to have an all-volunteer force, one that emerges from, and ultimately 

goes back into the civilian population. 

It stands to reason that a crucial component in ensuring jobs for those veterans 

who return to civilian life is leveraging the expertise and involvement of the private 

sector. 

Madam Chairwoman and Members of the Subcommittee, this concludes my statement. I would be pleased to answer any questions you may have. 

f 

Prepared Statement of Jennifer J. Suchan, Assistant Registrar 

and Coordinator, Veterans Student Services, University of Northern Iowa 

OCTOBER 21, 2011 

The Honorable Marlin Stutzman, Chair 

House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity 

The Honorable Bruce Braley, Ranking Member 

House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity 

Dear Congressman Stutsman and Congressman Braley: 

The University of Northern Iowa commends the Committee for its commitment 

to economic opportunity for returning veterans. Education is directly related to an 

individual’s economic opportunity. On behalf of the University, I would like to share 

with you our commitment to veterans, as well as provide for your consideration 

some recommendations to further assist returning veterans. 


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The University of Northern Iowa established the Veterans Student Services Committee in fall 2009. The 21 members include students, faculty and staff, officers with 

the ROTC program, and members of the Cedar Valley community. Preference for 

appointments are given to individuals who are veterans, who have particular research or content knowledge about veterans’ matters, or who have professional responsibilities related to military service. 

In the 2 years since its creation, the Committee has: 

• Conducted a survey to determine the needs and desires of student veterans 

• Launched the UNI Student Veterans Association 

• Initiated participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program 

• Initiated campus-wide recognition activities for Veterans Day 

In July 2011, I was appointed Coordinator, Veterans Student Services (VSSC). 

Among my duties is serving as Chair of the Veteran Student Services Committee. 

The following goals have been set for the 2011–12 academic year: 

• Conduct a faculty and staff awareness survey 

• Create a university veterans-specific Web site 

• Establish a faculty/staff-to-student veteran mentoring program 

• Launch UNI VETS (UNI Veterans Educating Tomorrow’s Students) 

• Add elements into the existing orientation programming to meet the specific 

needs of veterans 

The VSSC is comprised of four Subcommittees: (1) Communications and Outreach; 

(2) Education and Assessment; (3) Transitions and Retention; and (4) UNI Student 

Veterans Association. Each Subcommittee has a number of goals and initiatives that 

they work to accomplish. Today’s hearing sheds light on some additional goals that 

could be pursued: A job fair and on-campus interviews specific to student veterans; 

resume-critiquing and mock interviews to aid student veterans in translating their 

military skills, training, and experience in civilian terms; and encouragement of student-veterans to partake in the many internship opportunities that are available. 

UNI is also proud to announce that it was included in the 2012 Military Friendly 

Schools List published by G.I. Jobs magazine. The list recognizes the top 15 percent 

of colleges, universities, and trade schools that are supporting the educational pursuits of veterans. Criteria for inclusion in the Military Friendly Schools List include 

a strong commitment to recruiting, retaining, and providing financial, academic, and 

social services to student veterans. 

Recommendations: 

We are committed at all levels to supporting the transition from ‘‘boots to books,’’ 

and as a result, support measures that contribute to a more seamless transition 

from military to civilian life. Colleges and universities should be urged to provide 

an office or staff person to serve as coordinator for veterans services and to expand 

the availability of training on veterans’ needs and issues for campus officials, faculty 

and staff. 

We would be pleased to meet with you and Members of the Committee to discuss 

further these comments, as well as to respond to questions and provide additional 

information. 

Sincerely, 

Jennifer J. Suchan 

Assistant Registrar and Coordinator, 

f 

Veterans Student Servicesq02 


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MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD 

QUESTION FOR THE RECORD FROM 

CHAIRMAN STUTZMAN TO MR. SMITHHART 

Mr. STUTZMAN. How many veteran job placements did Iowa State Workforce complete in the last year, roughly? 

Mr. SMITHHART. For the period ending on December 31, 2011, the number of Veterans/eligible persons that were reported as entered employment in Iowa was 6,209. 

Æ 


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