Hiring veterans is aim of symposium at Lewis-McChord base

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD — A one-hour flight in an Air Force C-17, and a demonstration of medical-evacuation techniques cannot by themselves reverse the distressingly high unemployment rate among America's military veterans.

But by bringing military officials and private-sector employers together, they can help, say organizers of a symposium that drew more than 200 Thursday.

Recent data showing a 21 percent jobless rate for young veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan added a sense of urgency to the daylong session sponsored by a 3-year-old nonprofit, "Hire America's Heroes."

The Puget Sound-area organization was created by some of the region's major corporations, including Boeing, Starbucks and Microsoft, each of which has in-house efforts to add military veterans to its payroll. At Thursday's session, nearly 50 companies and agencies, and every branch of the military service, were represented.

"There's a lot of people trying to help veterans find jobs. We try to help jobs find veterans," said Marjorie James, Hire America's Heroes president and a manager with Redmond-based Volt Workforce Solutions.

The sluggish economy will be a lingering obstacle to connecting veterans and jobs, James said, adding that even when the economy begins to turn around, businesses will be more likely to hire their own laid-off workers before opening their doors to newcomers.

But another, less obvious, challenge is presented by the very nature of America's volunteer military. James said it has helped create a business world in which a smaller portion of corporate decision-makers are people with military service.

Misconceptions about the dedication, stability and qualifications of veterans can thrive when few people in a company have direct contact with them.

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, a sponsor of the recently introduced Veterans Employment Act of 2010, addressed the group via a video presentation.

The bill would help veterans start their own businesses, create pilot programs to help service members transition into private-sector jobs and allow veterans greater latitude to use GI Bill education funds for training and apprenticeship programs.

Thursday's session was hosted by the Air Force Reserve's 446th Airlift Wing, based at McChord. The day began with about 60 attendees taking a flight over the Cascades in a C-17, while others toured McChord Field operations, learning about critical skills taught in Air Force support teams.

The 446th Airlift Wing's commander, Col. William Flanigan, said veterans deserve a chance to show their "discipline, commitment and pride in their work."

Among several "Corporate Champions" discussing their organizations' efforts to hire veterans was Tay Yoshitani, CEO of the Port of Seattle and a graduate of the West Point Military Academy.

The Port's Veterans Fellowship Program, started three years ago, provides six-month internships for veterans, helping them identify and refine their job skills and land employment.

So far, every graduate of the program has found work, but it only takes on three veterans at a time.

"We'd like to encourage other companies and agencies to adopt our model and expand this," Yoshitani said, "so we're not just talking about three veterans, but 300 veterans and eventually 3,000."

Doug Kight, Boeing's vice president for human resources, said his company has had long ties to the military and needs many of the skills men and women learn in the service. Of the company's 150,000 employees, he said, some 26,000 have military experience.

Jack Broom: 206-464-2222 or jbroom@seattletimes.com