thedrifter
04-19-09, 08:45 AM
April 19, 2009
Smoothing transition for wars' veterans
From military to civilian careers
COLTS NECK
Eventually, they will come home, soldiers and sailors, men and women, from Iraq, from Afghanistan, from wherever it was that they agreed to put their life on the line for their country.
Some will come back whole. Others will not. Either way, they will have two things in common: They will still be young, and they will need jobs.
And, they will keep coming. In New Jersey, for example, 200 Marine reservists returned from Iraq just last week. In July, some 3,000 National Guardsmen from New Jersey are scheduled to come home.
"Nobody has a handle on who's coming back, or how many, or how it's going to impact on the job market in New Jersey," says Jim Sfayer.
The same could probably be said for every state across the land.
Meanwhile, before these veterans find jobs and enter into careers, they must first make the difficult transition from war zone to civilian work place.
This is where Sfayer comes in.
Quick resume: Retired from Marine Corps in 1994 as a lieutenant colonel, ran ROTC program on Staten Island, moved to New Jersey in 2002 and developed ROTC program at Colts Neck High School, took leave of absence in 2007 to participate in Marine Civilian Development Program, designed to help Marine veterans make transition to civilian life.
"Sitting face-to-face with those 500 young Marines — that's why I'm doing this," Sfayer says of the new program he has developed, adapted to fit to all veterans, specifically those from Monmouth and Ocean counties.
"Watching first-hand, seeing the effect Gen. (Martin) Steele had on those Marines, that told me everything I needed to know."
He spoke with each Marine individually. Many of them said it was a life-changing experience.
"There's nothing like it. Nobody gets down to that level with veterans."
Sfayer went to the Freehold Regional High School District and pitched his new idea, the Military Civilian Transition Program. H. James Wasser, the superintendent, liked the idea. So did Keith Land, the principal at Colts Neck High School. So did Chris Placitella, a board member. Sfayer also found a champion for his cause in Lillian Burry, the freeholder.
Monday night, he is holding his first organizational meeting at the high school, to see who else he can get involved in the program. In all likelihood, he will find some other willing converts.
He can be very persuasive, this Jim Sfayer. At age 59, his energy level is that of a man 20 years younger. If the energy doesn't get you, the high-octane enthusiasm surely will. There is a reason the guy has won all sorts of teaching awards, going back to 1987 when he was named instructor of the year at West Point.
"They said I told a great joke," he cracks.
Back to being serious, he credits his mother with teaching him everything he knows. Diagnosed with cancer, practically a death sentence in the early 1960s, Mae Devine Sfayer set out to teach her 12-year-old son all about the world. That's how she spent the last two years of her life.
"She taught me how to dance," he remembers. "She told me, "Girls like guys who know how to dance.' She taught me the value of sports. She taught me how to speak. She taught me about being a parent. She taught me that being a parent is about being a leader, that it's the most important leadership role there is.
"I didn't connect all the dots on what she was doing until much later. She had two years to live, so she wanted to make sure I knew what to do when she was gone. She was quite a person."
He is now trying to follow in those footsteps, not only with his two daughters, who are in the early 20s, but with the kids in his ROTC course at the high school. Taking this one step further, he wants to help smooth the transition for the veterans coming back from overseas.
"They want to know that what they did mattered," he says. "They want to know, "Are we going to be appreciated, or are we going to be looked at like the Vietnam veterans were?' After the parade, what are we doing for them? There are 3,000 of them coming back in July. What's the plan?
"They don't know how to translate the skills they learned over there to civilian terms, so civilians can understand them. They still talk like military guys. . . . We're taking guys who've been out of the loop and trying to sell what they've got to someone who has no idea what they've been through.
"They're a gold mine for our country because of the complexity of the skills they've learned. They're an untapped resource."
But first they need to learn a new language, the civilian language. They need to know how to write a resume, how to dress for a job interview, how to talk to a prospective boss. No more military shorthand either, no more MOS. They have to spell it out: military occupational specialty.
The more local veterans he reaches, the greater the possibilities.
"We could set up a template for the rest of the country," Sfayer says.
The idea is a timely one, with so many young veterans scheduled to come home over the next couple of years. In the business world, they call it being proactive, addressing an issue before it becomes a problem.
"In many cases, the Marines we talked to were more afraid of the unknowns of the civilian world than they were of the uncertainty and danger of the combat patrols in Iraq," Sfayer says.
He doesn't see why it would be any different for other veterans.
"If I'm remembered for one thing in my life," he says, "I hope it's that Jim Sfayer looked out for kids who were coming back after serving their country."
Ellie
Smoothing transition for wars' veterans
From military to civilian careers
COLTS NECK
Eventually, they will come home, soldiers and sailors, men and women, from Iraq, from Afghanistan, from wherever it was that they agreed to put their life on the line for their country.
Some will come back whole. Others will not. Either way, they will have two things in common: They will still be young, and they will need jobs.
And, they will keep coming. In New Jersey, for example, 200 Marine reservists returned from Iraq just last week. In July, some 3,000 National Guardsmen from New Jersey are scheduled to come home.
"Nobody has a handle on who's coming back, or how many, or how it's going to impact on the job market in New Jersey," says Jim Sfayer.
The same could probably be said for every state across the land.
Meanwhile, before these veterans find jobs and enter into careers, they must first make the difficult transition from war zone to civilian work place.
This is where Sfayer comes in.
Quick resume: Retired from Marine Corps in 1994 as a lieutenant colonel, ran ROTC program on Staten Island, moved to New Jersey in 2002 and developed ROTC program at Colts Neck High School, took leave of absence in 2007 to participate in Marine Civilian Development Program, designed to help Marine veterans make transition to civilian life.
"Sitting face-to-face with those 500 young Marines — that's why I'm doing this," Sfayer says of the new program he has developed, adapted to fit to all veterans, specifically those from Monmouth and Ocean counties.
"Watching first-hand, seeing the effect Gen. (Martin) Steele had on those Marines, that told me everything I needed to know."
He spoke with each Marine individually. Many of them said it was a life-changing experience.
"There's nothing like it. Nobody gets down to that level with veterans."
Sfayer went to the Freehold Regional High School District and pitched his new idea, the Military Civilian Transition Program. H. James Wasser, the superintendent, liked the idea. So did Keith Land, the principal at Colts Neck High School. So did Chris Placitella, a board member. Sfayer also found a champion for his cause in Lillian Burry, the freeholder.
Monday night, he is holding his first organizational meeting at the high school, to see who else he can get involved in the program. In all likelihood, he will find some other willing converts.
He can be very persuasive, this Jim Sfayer. At age 59, his energy level is that of a man 20 years younger. If the energy doesn't get you, the high-octane enthusiasm surely will. There is a reason the guy has won all sorts of teaching awards, going back to 1987 when he was named instructor of the year at West Point.
"They said I told a great joke," he cracks.
Back to being serious, he credits his mother with teaching him everything he knows. Diagnosed with cancer, practically a death sentence in the early 1960s, Mae Devine Sfayer set out to teach her 12-year-old son all about the world. That's how she spent the last two years of her life.
"She taught me how to dance," he remembers. "She told me, "Girls like guys who know how to dance.' She taught me the value of sports. She taught me how to speak. She taught me about being a parent. She taught me that being a parent is about being a leader, that it's the most important leadership role there is.
"I didn't connect all the dots on what she was doing until much later. She had two years to live, so she wanted to make sure I knew what to do when she was gone. She was quite a person."
He is now trying to follow in those footsteps, not only with his two daughters, who are in the early 20s, but with the kids in his ROTC course at the high school. Taking this one step further, he wants to help smooth the transition for the veterans coming back from overseas.
"They want to know that what they did mattered," he says. "They want to know, "Are we going to be appreciated, or are we going to be looked at like the Vietnam veterans were?' After the parade, what are we doing for them? There are 3,000 of them coming back in July. What's the plan?
"They don't know how to translate the skills they learned over there to civilian terms, so civilians can understand them. They still talk like military guys. . . . We're taking guys who've been out of the loop and trying to sell what they've got to someone who has no idea what they've been through.
"They're a gold mine for our country because of the complexity of the skills they've learned. They're an untapped resource."
But first they need to learn a new language, the civilian language. They need to know how to write a resume, how to dress for a job interview, how to talk to a prospective boss. No more military shorthand either, no more MOS. They have to spell it out: military occupational specialty.
The more local veterans he reaches, the greater the possibilities.
"We could set up a template for the rest of the country," Sfayer says.
The idea is a timely one, with so many young veterans scheduled to come home over the next couple of years. In the business world, they call it being proactive, addressing an issue before it becomes a problem.
"In many cases, the Marines we talked to were more afraid of the unknowns of the civilian world than they were of the uncertainty and danger of the combat patrols in Iraq," Sfayer says.
He doesn't see why it would be any different for other veterans.
"If I'm remembered for one thing in my life," he says, "I hope it's that Jim Sfayer looked out for kids who were coming back after serving their country."
Ellie