thedrifter
10-21-05, 05:20 AM
Friday, October 21, 2005
Veterans of hard campaign, Marines are back and looking for civilian jobs
The Associated Press
CLEVELAND - Just a few months ago, Sam Gagliardi and Matthew Thresher were part of sniper patrol on streets in Iraq, ready to confront and gun down insurgents. Some of their fellow Marines lost their lives in the platoon's duty.
On Thursday, they tried to transition back to their civilian lives at a networking lunch to link up with potential employers. The event at the downtown Galleria shopping mall gave them a chance to practice their professional skills.
"Now we just want to network to see what's out there and what the opportunities may be we don't see right off the bat," Thresher said at the Marine For Life "Leatherneck Lunch" program, which is funded by the corps.
The attitude of Marines makes them strong candidates for a variety of jobs, said Marine Reserve Capt. Mark Montoya, the Marine For Life "Hometown Link" for the recently returned 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, based in nearby Brook Park.
"They are hard working and very motivated, and companies are looking for individuals who they can depend on," Montoya said.
He said the Cleveland Clinic and FedEx are among the possible employment links.
The battalion, activated in January, lost 48 members in Iraq this year. The battalion's Columbus-based Lima Company lost 16 Marines.
Most of the battalion returned from Iraq to Camp Lejeune, N.C., at the end of September, and a week later emotional homecomings were held in Ohio in the Cleveland area, Akron and Columbus, and for battalion companies in Buffalo and Moundsville, W.Va.
Before deployment, Gagliardi was a restaurant server and bartender, and Thresher ran heavy equipment for an excavation company.
Marine Major Francis Piccoli, in Quantico, Va., a spokesman for the national Marine For Life office, said the small event in Cleveland is typical of networking meetings, which have increased nationally since the transition organization was formed four years ago.
He said the Marine For Life Web site lists about 5,500 potential employers and about 1,000 jobs.
"A Marine on active duty for four years may need more assistance, for example, than a Reserve Marine, who might be more entrenched in a community to begin with and might have served less than a year in active duty," Piccoli said.
Carl Savino, president of Competitive Edge Services of Fairfax Station, Va., which organizes free job fairs near military outposts across the country, said guardsmen and reservists looking for work typically are older and more experienced than many veterans.
Ellie
Veterans of hard campaign, Marines are back and looking for civilian jobs
The Associated Press
CLEVELAND - Just a few months ago, Sam Gagliardi and Matthew Thresher were part of sniper patrol on streets in Iraq, ready to confront and gun down insurgents. Some of their fellow Marines lost their lives in the platoon's duty.
On Thursday, they tried to transition back to their civilian lives at a networking lunch to link up with potential employers. The event at the downtown Galleria shopping mall gave them a chance to practice their professional skills.
"Now we just want to network to see what's out there and what the opportunities may be we don't see right off the bat," Thresher said at the Marine For Life "Leatherneck Lunch" program, which is funded by the corps.
The attitude of Marines makes them strong candidates for a variety of jobs, said Marine Reserve Capt. Mark Montoya, the Marine For Life "Hometown Link" for the recently returned 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, based in nearby Brook Park.
"They are hard working and very motivated, and companies are looking for individuals who they can depend on," Montoya said.
He said the Cleveland Clinic and FedEx are among the possible employment links.
The battalion, activated in January, lost 48 members in Iraq this year. The battalion's Columbus-based Lima Company lost 16 Marines.
Most of the battalion returned from Iraq to Camp Lejeune, N.C., at the end of September, and a week later emotional homecomings were held in Ohio in the Cleveland area, Akron and Columbus, and for battalion companies in Buffalo and Moundsville, W.Va.
Before deployment, Gagliardi was a restaurant server and bartender, and Thresher ran heavy equipment for an excavation company.
Marine Major Francis Piccoli, in Quantico, Va., a spokesman for the national Marine For Life office, said the small event in Cleveland is typical of networking meetings, which have increased nationally since the transition organization was formed four years ago.
He said the Marine For Life Web site lists about 5,500 potential employers and about 1,000 jobs.
"A Marine on active duty for four years may need more assistance, for example, than a Reserve Marine, who might be more entrenched in a community to begin with and might have served less than a year in active duty," Piccoli said.
Carl Savino, president of Competitive Edge Services of Fairfax Station, Va., which organizes free job fairs near military outposts across the country, said guardsmen and reservists looking for work typically are older and more experienced than many veterans.
Ellie