Jeannie Lehowicz, a vocational counselor stationed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, said she has a steady stream of inquiries from executives and recruiters -- sometimes dozens a week, and typically more than the 50 to 75 soldiers she is working with at any given time.
Most of the companies are government contractors around the Capital Beltway, she says, but calls have come in from firms throughout the country. One day it might be a giant defense contractor from Bethesda, and the next a small biomedical firm from Montana, she said.
"Veterans are getting good jobs right now," says Army Capt. Lonnie Moore, who lost his leg last year. Sgt. Robert Faulk, a physical therapy assistant, helps with his recovery.
(Susan Biddle -- The Washington Post)
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"It's overwhelming. You want to respond and say 'Oh here's this guy I've got for you,' but that's not always the case," Lehowicz said.
More than 11,190 service members have been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Pentagon statistics. Some have months of rehabilitation left before they'll be released from the hospital, Lehowicz said, and others are more interested in going back to school than getting a job right away. Many are adamant that they will stay in the military despite their disabilities, she added.
Even if they choose another route, the prospect of having opportunities can be an important buoy for wounded soldiers, Lehowicz and others say.
Potential opportunities were on display at a career fair held at Walter Reed in December. Thrown together in a matter of weeks, the event's organizers expected a dozen or so companies to participate. But more firms requested space at the event, and by the night of the fair, more than 30 companies, including BAE Systems PLC, Science Applications International Corp. and Oracle Corp., had set up booths to pass out brochures and collect names.
"The equipment that we work on and maintain for the military is the same as they would have used," said Eugene C. Renzi, president of defense systems at ManTech International Corp., a Fairfax government contractor that sent recruiters to the career fair. "So when they get out of the military, we can put them right to work and utilize the skills they already have."
Joe Davis, spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, said outreach efforts among government contractors is partly driven by executives with military backgrounds. There is a de facto alumni network, he said, and a collective memory of the way disabled veterans were treated after previous conflicts, particularly Vietnam.
"Who runs the country now? It's the Vietnam era and they vowed never again, and so you got all the corporations, every nonprofit, all the associations and lobby arms doing everything they can," for this generation of soldiers, Davis said.
Contractors like ManTech have another incentive to recruit former soldiers, regardless of disability: Many have security clearances that are in short supply in the workforce, but necessary in order to do an increasing number of government projects.
