{"id":2808,"date":"2011-12-13T07:20:23","date_gmt":"2011-12-13T14:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/?p=2808"},"modified":"2012-01-26T15:23:18","modified_gmt":"2012-01-26T22:23:18","slug":"jobless-in-idaho-soldiers-struggle-to-translate-war-experience-into-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2011\/12\/13\/jobless-in-idaho-soldiers-struggle-to-translate-war-experience-into-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Jobless in Idaho: Veterans Look For Work After War"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Jessica Robinson \/ Northwest News Network<\/p>

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Name: David Hampton<\/h4>\n

Age: 21<\/h4>\n

Unemployed Since: September 2011<\/h4>\n

“I’m a team player.\u00a0 That’s all there is to it.\u00a0 I’m just hoping they’ll give me the chance.\u201d<\/h4>\n

The Idaho Department of Labor estimates nearly 70,000 people in the state don\u2019t have jobs.\u00a0 That doesn\u2019t include thousands more who are underemployed or have stopped looking for work.\u00a0 This latest story in our \u201cJobless in Idaho\u201d series is from Northwest News Network Correspondent Jessica Robinson.<\/em><\/p>\n

Here’s a line most entry-level job seekers don’t have on their resume: \u201cOperated a high-caliber machine gun, in Baghdad, Iraq.\u201d\u00a0 Many of the 2,700 National Guard soldiers from the Northwest who just returned from Iraq aren\u2019t old enough to have much of a pre-deployment work history.\u00a0 Now, many soldiers struggle to translate their war experience into a civilian career.<\/p>\n

<\/object> Jobless in Idaho: Soldier Struggles to Translate War Experience into Employment<\/a><\/p>\n

In Iraq, Specialist David Hampton was an IT guy.\u00a0 His formal job title was information management officer.\u00a0 But back in Idaho, it’s a different story.\u00a0 \u201cRight now I\u2019m trying to get by,” Hampton says, “driving around, putting in job apps, submitting resumes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hampton figured his tech skills would easily transfer to the civilian workforce.\u00a0 \u201cI had my office in the backroom, I had all these computers and monitors stacked up, everyone would come to me and say, ‘Hey my computer’s not working, my printer’s not working, my account’s frozen for some reason,\u201d Hampton says.\u00a0 Only, those accounts Hampton is talking about were connected to a classified military network.<\/p>\n

At 21, Hampton’s now looking for his first full-time job outside a combat zone.\u00a0 “Really the only thing I’m disappointed with right now is not having a job and having no responsibility except for paying my car insurance,” says Hampton.\u00a0 “I’m a team player.\u00a0 That’s all there is to it.\u00a0 I’m just hoping they’ll give me the chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

But so far \u2013 no luck.<\/p>\n

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