January 1, 2008
By Tammi Slater, Corridor Inc.

Veterans residing in Anne Arundel County will now have an advantage when vying for county jobs.

A recently passed county bill is intended to aid military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan in finding work. "I've made advocating for veterans my business," said Councilman Jamie Benoit, District 4, who introduced the bill. "Military folks are about twice as likely to be unemployed and we owe these people an opportunity to find meaningful employment and get on with their lives."

The bill gives preferential treatment to all veterans applying for county jobs. There is no guarantee the veteran will get the job but he or she is guaranteed consideration for the position.

"Veterans bring excellent skill sets to the table and this bill recognizes the great sacrifice they make for the freedom we have," said County Executive John R. Leopold, who supports the bill.

This isn't the first time Leopold has advocated for veterans.

For example, while a member of the General Assembly, where he served for 20 years, Leopold sponsored and enacted legislation for disabled veterans for state jobs.

The county bill is appropriate in Anne Arundel, where the military presence with Fort George G. Meade and the U.S. Naval Academy is growing all the time, said Benoit, a retired Army lieutenant.

Currently, 53,870 veterans live in the county, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

"We in Anne Arundel County should be taking the lead on this," said Benoit. "It's not something the county should hide under a rock but I'm optimistic and think this is a good first step for the county."

The skill sets that veterans bring to the workplace stand unmatched, said Jeff Johnson, chief operating officer of Argo Systems LLC.

The Glen Burnie-based, veteran-owned construction services company helps clients such as the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Agriculture with program management support.

Johnson, a graduate of the Naval Academy, said he targets veterans when hiring for his company because "they have a sense of loyalty, don't make a lot of excuses, they're typically a team player and fit in well."

Approximately 85 to 90 percent of Argo's 25 employees are veterans.

"You grow up pretty quick when you go into the service at 17, 18 years old," he said. "You go through situations and have to make some tough decisions which may take someone else twice as long to reach and that translates to any job."

Veterans returning from military service should be hot commodities, said Bill Dozier, Veterans of Foreign Wars' (VFW) assistant director for employment and homelessness.

"Everyone coming out of the military has computer skills, they've matured through combat, their outlook on life is completely different and they bring a lot to the workplace," said Dozier, a former U.S. Marine.

Most veterans don't request a preference, said Johnson.

"They are proud of what they've accomplished and what they do," he said. "This is their job and most of them don't look for favoritism or things like this bill; they just press on."