"Let's get more cops on
the beat, let's get more rangers in the parks, let's get more firefighters on
call, and in the process, we're going to put more veterans back to work.” This
was said by Present Obama at an Arlington, VA firehouse. This proposal is part of the President’s
attempt to put soldiers back in the work force after serving our country. The President also said, "They've
already risked their lives defending America. They should have the opportunity
to rebuild America,"
Obama is particularly
intending to aid the soldiers from 9/11 terrorist attacks. The President is mainly concerned with this
population as they are experiencing the most dramatic employment rate
lose. The soldiers that have served as a
result of the the 9/11 terrorist attacks are experiencing an unemployment rate
of “9.1 percent as veterans, versus 8.7% for non-veterans, according to the
government's jobs report for January.”
Obama is confident that this
program will be effective due to the success of the 1930’s Civilian
Conservations Corps which succeeded in putting 300,000 men to work during poor
economy. Other programs such as Helmets
to Hardhats have been developed and have aided soldiers in gaining
employement. Obama’s proposal seems as
though it will act along the same capacity as the previous, however; will be
more beneficial for soldiers as it will allow them professional employment
rather than traditional labor field employment.
To allow soldiers the
opportunity to gain employment within law enforcement and fire department
agencies the President is proposing grant money. The president is going to offer extra grant
preference points to agencies which hire soldiers. Obama is also attempting to increase the
amount of grant money accessible to police and fire agencies which will allow
them the opportunity to potentially employ more officers and firemen.. The President is proposing “an additional $4
billion for the Community Oriented Policing Services program, or COPS” . He will propose an additional $1 billion for
miscellaneous firefighter grants.
As a criminal justice
student actively testing for police departments, this article makes me
nervous. The criminal justice system is
an extremely competitive field with sometimes 500 people testing for 2 or 3 available
positions. With soliders already
receiving as many as 5 preference points in the testing process, this proposal
will make it near impossible for civilians for gain employment over any
soldiers. If departments are given
preference points for hiring soldiers and have something to gain by hiring an
soliders, does this pose an unfair advantage for students who have gone to
universities and obtaining degree in law enforcement. What can students do to be more competitive
within the law enforcement and firefighting job market?
I believe this is an
extremely important topic for society to think about and now future law
enforcement personnel and firefighters.
We certainly want to put soldiers back to work and allow them the
opportunity to gain employment within a field they enjoy, however; we want them
to be the best candidate for the job as well.
This is indeed an interesting topic Aaron. Being a veteran myself, I of course am going to have a bias about how I feel in regards to Obama's plan to hire more veterans. I'm a firm believer in that just because you have a college education doesn't mean you're more qualified for a position than someone who doesn't and the same holds true for someone who has military experience vs. someone who does not. With that being said, I do believe that more often than not, veterans have real-world experiences that better prepare them for the civilian workforce than do traditional college students. Being somewhat familiar with the hiring process of law enforcement agencies, I know that someone with a bachelor's degree gets the same amount of preference points as someone with military experience. In this case, there is obviously no advantage to either candidate. The problem I think you're talking about is whether or not it is fair to give additional preference points to someone like myself who has both military experience AND a college degree, and my answer is absolutely it's fair.
ReplyDeleteThere is a certain skill set that is learned while serving and that definitely should be taken into account. I do understand where you're coming from though and can appreciate your concern over future employment opportunities. The fact of the matter is, it's not a good time to be trying to find a public service related job such as a firefighter or police officer right now regardless of military experience or college degrees.
I appreciate the service you provided for our county Jacob! I also agree that some soldiers can provide more practical experience for law enforcement positions and rightfully deserve preference points equivalent to that of a four year college degree. I do not have any problems with allowing the military preference points and college education to be combined. If someone earned military preference points and a college degree then hell yeah, they deserve to be awarded the credit for those accomplishments. The issue I am pointing out is police and fire departments being awarded preference for grants based on hiring military personnel when we all know the federal government is pathetically in debt. Is that the best thing for the Community Oriented Policing which the grant money is intended to support? I also recognize the issue that our country will face when all the soldiers return from the Middle Eastern countries during a recession and have no means of employment. It is an interesting issue and I am very curious to see what comes of the proposal.
DeleteSince you are a veteran, how do you feel about this topic? Do you feel it will successfully give an advantage?
As a person with the utmost respect for people that join the military and know that a lot of them are having a hard time finding work after their service to their country is over with. I have personally seen this with my sister's fiance and my brother who (also has a college degree) soldiers need all the help they can get especially one who have seen heavy combat like my future brother in law. He has explained to me that soldiers who have seen what he has seen, and had to watch people die are a liability and no one wants to hire them. I believe soldiers should be hired over civilians and they should also be hired over people with disabilities and affirmative action hires. Even if the soldier themselves did not see combat just knowing that fact that they gave four plus years to a higher cause makes makes them a little higher on the social status compared to others. I can see what you are saying with we went to college and did not want to join the military we should get some hiring perks as well. We are both doing our duty to our country one by trying to protect it and its values and in another way by trying to educate our population so me can become a greater society.
ReplyDelete"I believe soldiers should be hired over civilians and they should also be hired over people with disabilities and affirmative action hires." Soldiers are awarded preference points for there service, and rightfully deserve them. If they so chose to further their education and obtain a degree then that should rightfully be combined with preference points. I absolutely do not feel that just because you served the country that you deserve a law enforcement or firefighter job to be handed to you. I also know many self respecting soldiers who agree that they do not want to be handed a job. They want to earn the job and obtain employment because they are the best candidate for the position. Based on your philosophy; why offer civilians the opportunity to gain law enforcement and fire employment?
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ReplyDeleteVery interesting topic a lot of information that i was unaware of. I as well have been actively testing and applying for jobs. But the places i have tested for offer a flat 10 points that can't be compounded. meaning if you have a bachelors degree you get ten points, if you are prior military you get ten points, but if you have both you get ten points. so i wonder if Obama is talking about giving them extra points on top of that?
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting Joe, I have no yet heard of any departments that conduct points like that. I do not agree with that testing scale either. I think military personnel should get points for their service in addition to any education points. And no Obama is not talking about giving extra points. He is proposing give the actual departments grant money for hiring military personnel. The proposal will have no weight on their individual score, however; it will offer departments incentive to hire military personnel over non military.
ReplyDeleteGreat topic you have chosen! I feel this way when it comes to the advantages of a veteran, dont they deserve it? I think making soilders some sort of liability is wrong this could be a reason why some soildrs snap. Hard as they have fought for our country I think it is selfish for a person to worry about the debt crisis, when soilders didnt worry abot their lives when they put it on the line to fight.I truly dont think this credit would give college students any disadvantges either. I think it would make it harder for the average person off the street with no education, to get a job in the police or fire fighting field, not college students. I also feel as though this would be a good perk to making people return to school and get a degree. Making America a little more smart!
ReplyDeleteI do feel soldiers/veterans deserve extra points, but then again there are qualified citizens as well who work as hard or even harder than veterans in order to obtain law enforcement jobs. This was a good eye opener for many.
ReplyDeleteI must say that as a veteran I like this idea, but as a citizen who lives in his community with his family, i.e. wife and kids, I do not. I think that it is important to give some preference to veterans; it is just one of the perks. I believe however that when we are talking about something like law enforcement and the protection of the community the best person for the job should be hired. This is one of the problems I have with the affirmative action quotas that departments have to fill. I am not racist or sexist but I don't think it's right that someone gets a job because of their race or sex either. In this field it is extremely important to hire the best person for the job regardless of their sex, race, creed, or whether or not they served in the military.
ReplyDeleteAfter saying all that I believe the point of this article is a moot point. I personally believe this is nothing more than political posturing to garner some votes. It is not a huge secret that the majority of the military will vote for whoever the Republican candidate is regardless of the policies or issues. I witnessed this kind of talk almost daily on active duty. I think that this country has way too much debt for this to actually happen. This is nothing more than a political move. I will also say that I was the exception to this and I tend to vote for more Democrats. I don't blindly follow either party however, I base my judgements on the issues themselves. I think the party politics both sides play are doing nothing but hurt the country.