Veterans Struggle To Join Work Force

Veterans Struggle To Join Work ForceGovernment Report Says Pay, Stability Fall Short at HomeBy YOCHI J.DREAZENWASHINGTON -- A new government report paints a dire picture of the employment prospects of returning military veterans, concluding that young veterans earn less and have a harder time finding work than do civilians in the same age group.The report prepared for the Veterans Affairs Department found that the percentage of veterans not in the labor force -- because they couldn't find jobs, stopped looking for work, or went back to school -- jumped to 23% in 2005 from 10% in 2000. Half of the young veterans -- ages 20 to 24 -- with steady employment earned less than $25,000 per year, it found.Article continues below: (use left/right arrows in screen to view more videos)Young veterans "face career challenges when transitioning from the military service to the civilian workforce," and suffer from higher unemployment than their civilian peers, the report said."Transitioning into civilian life and the workforce requires help and guidance," the report concluded. "The federal government might consider reevaluating or refining how it serves...these returning young service members to ensure a successful transition process."Public attention has long focused on the death toll from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The number of Americans killed in Iraq since the 2003 invasion rose to 4,000 Sunday, a milestone the White House described as a "sober moment." Last year was the deadliest year for U.S. forces fighting in the two countries.But military and civilian policy makers increasingly are concerned about a different aspect of the long wars -- the physical, mental and financial well-being of the young veterans who leave the military and attempt to reintegrate into the civilian world.Many veterans are struggling with physical wounds and psychological maladies such as post-traumatic stress disorder, which can cause depression, sleeplessness and even suicide. Arthur Blank, a national expert on PTSD, testified in federal court this month that as many as 30% of the combat veterans from the two wars eventually could be diagnosed with the disorder.Even for military personnel who make it through the wars unscathed, adjusting back to civilian life -- and finding a stable job -- can be difficult.A survey in November by military. com, a division of online recruitment site Monster. com, found that 81% of returning military veterans didn't feel fully prepared to enter the work force. Of that figure, 76% said they were unable to translate their military skills to the civilian world, and 72% felt unprepared to negotiate salary or benefits."They come from a lifestyle where every day they're told what to wear and what to do, and suddenly they're on their own," said Todd Bowers, the director of government affairs for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, a nonprofit organization in New York.The new government report, which hasn't been publicly released, highlights some of the challenges facing veterans seeking stable employment in the civilian world.The Army has long pitched military service as a way for recruits to gain valuable work experience, but the report found that most of the returning veterans were unable to find civilian jobs that matched their previous military occupations.The only exceptions were the veterans working for private-security firms such as Blackwater or in the maintenance and repair fields, and the report suggested that the government steer veterans to those types of jobs."Perhaps it would be helpful to promote jobs...that match their military skills and in which their military skills can be applied," the report said.Many of the government's efforts to help returning veterans find work appear to be falling short, the report found.The Veterans Affairs Department offers educational-assistance programs for young veterans, but the report said the initiatives had little impact on the employment status or salaries of the former military personnel.VA spokesman Matt Smith said the report was "an important first step in identifying issues so we begin to address some of the obstacles" facing veterans seeking to enter the job market."The VA's interest is in ensuring a veteran's road to employment after military service is smooth and successful," he said, adding that the VA itself hired more than 9,000 veterans last year.Write to Yochi J. Dreazen at yochi.dreazen@wsj.com ------------------------- posted by Larry ScottFounder and EditorVA Watchdog dot Org--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Printed from: http://www. vawatchdog. org/08/nf08/nfMAR08/nf032608-1. htm

Fear breeds Fear and Fear causes inaction.

As most of you know my passion for finding solutions for post-traumatic stress disorder takes me to many places (in my mind and otherwise).
The bulletin I posted earlier is from Zero Limits: The Secret Hawaiian System for Wealth, Health, Peace, and More by Dr. Joe Vitale and Ihaleakala Hew Len, PH.D

Self Identity through Ho`oponopono is about opening doors to greater understanding and deeper awareness of life and one's purpose as an individual incarnated on earth as an inhabitant of humanity.


You as a soul are precious. Knowingly and unknowingly you impact all about you through thoughts, words, deeds and actions.


Self Identity through Ho`oponopono is a process of letting go of toxic energies within you to allow the impact of Divine thoughts, words, deeds and actions.



Ho'oponopono means to make right.

Essentially, it means to make it right with the ancestors, or to make right with the people with whom you have relationships. I believe that the original purpose of Ho'oponopono was to correct the wrongs that had occurred in someone's life including Hala (to miss the thing aimed for, or to err, to disobey) and Hewa (to go overboard or to do something to excess) which were illusions, and even 'Ino (to do harm, implying to do harm to someone with hate in mind), even if accidental.




The main steps to this practice are to take responsibility for everything in your life. for instance Ihaleakala Hew Len, PH.D healed a whole ward of certified criminally insane patients without ever seeing one patient. He read there charts and over each chart stated the following.
"I'm sorry", "I Love you" "Please forgive me" and "God bless you" silently or aloud. This created a healing cleansing with DR. Hew Len.



It is a new perspective in everything I have studied to this point. I am amazed at the things that have happened to me in the last two days after practicing the principles of Ho'oponopono .



Ho'oponopono
the Hawaiian Code of Forgiveness, and it's an important thought, because when we forgive others, who are we forgiving? Ourselves, of course.




There is much more and I hope, no I expect you to examine Ho'oponopono for yourself.


Self I-Dentity Through Ho'oponopono states that:
I operate my life and my relationships according to the following insights:1. The physical universe is an actualization of my thoughts.2. If my thoughts are cancerous, they create a cancerous physical reality.3. If my thoughts are perfect, they create a physical reality brimming with LOVE.4. I am 100% responsible for creating my physical universe the way it is.5. I am 100% responsible for correcting the cancerous thoughts that create a diseased reality.6. "There is no such thing as out there." Everything exists as thoughts in my mind and their feelings in my body.THE BASIS OF Ho'oponopono:We are 100% Responsible For The Problems of Others Who Come Be4 Us