{"id":5531,"date":"2012-03-12T07:30:56","date_gmt":"2012-03-12T13:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/?p=5531"},"modified":"2012-03-12T08:55:40","modified_gmt":"2012-03-12T14:55:40","slug":"jobless-in-idaho-national-guard-soldiers-seek-deployment-in-face-of-job-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/03\/12\/jobless-in-idaho-national-guard-soldiers-seek-deployment-in-face-of-job-market\/","title":{"rendered":"Jobless in Idaho: National Guard Soldiers Seek Deployment In Face Of Job Market"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_5533\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"Spc. David Hampton, 21, returned to Hayden, Idaho, in September and is still looking for work. \" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/03\/121211JR_SoldierJobs.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5533\" title=\"121211JR_SoldierJobs\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/03\/121211JR_SoldierJobs-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/03\/121211JR_SoldierJobs-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/03\/121211JR_SoldierJobs-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/03\/121211JR_SoldierJobs-220x146.jpg 220w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/03\/121211JR_SoldierJobs.jpg 650w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Jessica Robinson \/ Northwest News Network<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Spc. David Hampton, 21, returned to Hayden, Idaho, in September and is still looking for work.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em>The Idaho Department of Labor estimates there are at least 63,000 people in the state without work.\u00a0 <em>That doesn\u2019t include thousands more who are underemployed or have stopped looking for a job.\u00a0 This is the latest story in our \u201cJobless in Idaho\u201d series, that follows several Idahoans in their search for\u00a0work.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<p>We brought you a story a few months ago about two soldiers from the Northwest. They had just returned from Iraq with their National Guard unit. Both started looking for new civilian jobs. Neither is satisfied with what they found. Both soldiers are now thinking about signing up for another overseas tour with the military. <!--more--><\/p>\n<p><object width=\"100%\" height=\"81\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"https:\/\/player.soundcloud.com\/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F39480108&amp;show_comments=true&amp;auto_play=false&amp;color=8d1300\" \/><embed width=\"100%\" height=\"81\" type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https:\/\/player.soundcloud.com\/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F39480108&amp;show_comments=true&amp;auto_play=false&amp;color=8d1300\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" \/><\/object><\/p>\n<p>The last time we met Specialist David Hampton, he was cranking out applications for IT jobs and brushing up on his interviewing skills.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m a team player, that\u2019s all there is to it,&#8221; he says. &#8220;I just hope they\u2019ll give me the chance.\u201d\u00a0 That was last fall, shortly after Hampton\u2019s return from Iraq.<\/p>\n<div class=\"related-content alignleft\"><h4 class=\"related-header\">Related<\/h4><div class=\"links\"><h5>Posts<\/h5><ul><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/02\/17\/maximum-jobless-benefits-for-idahoans-likely-scaled-back-to-63-weeks\/\">Maximum Jobless Benefits For Idahoans Likely Scaled Back To 63\u00a0Weeks<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2011\/12\/13\/jobless-in-idaho-soldiers-struggle-to-translate-war-experience-into-work\/\">Jobless in Idaho: Veterans Look For Work After\u00a0War<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/03\/06\/new-unemployment-data-shows-a-stagnant-idaho-economy\/\">New Unemployment Data Shows A Stagnant Idaho Economy<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><div class=\"topics\"><h5>Topics<\/h5><p class=\"topic\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/02\/AppScn3-60x60.jpg\" height=\"60\" width=\"60\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/topic\/unemployment-app\/\">Work in Progress: Idaho\u2019s Unemployment App<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<p>I went to meet Hampton at his parents\u2019 house in Hayden, Idaho, where he\u2019s living. It turns out, Hampton is still looking for a job.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing\u2019s really changed,&#8221; Hampton says. &#8220;I\u2019ve had interview after interview and nothing seems to be working for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There is one change &#8212; Hampton\u2019s now on unemployment, something he was initially reluctant to apply for.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecuase I didn\u2019t want to use the system to get extra money,&#8221; he says. &#8220;But now I need to because I can\u2019t seem to find a job anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The unemployment check is based on Hampton\u2019s National Guard job in Iraq. The jobless pay comes to about $300 a week. To pass the time, he\u2019s been volunteering at a local soup kitchen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s the one thing I do each week that I feel is important and makes a difference,&#8221; he says. &#8220;That\u2019s why I joined the Guard. I wanted to make a difference. And now that I\u2019m back from deployment, there isn\u2019t really much to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you ever miss it?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll the time,\u201d he responds.<\/p>\n<p>Hampton is looking at going to school. But there\u2019s something else in the back of his mind. He has a friend in the California Reserves who\u2019s deploying to Afghanistan next year. And Hampton is seriously thinking about going with him instead.<\/p>\n<p>National Guard officials say it\u2019s not uncommon for soldiers to request a deployment &#8212; even transfer to an out-of-state unit that\u2019s been assigned a mission. The military doesn\u2019t keep numbers on how often that occurs. But Col. Tim Marsano with the Idaho National Guard says the 15 percent-plus unemployment rates among National Guard soldiers likely play a part.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, they come home to a job market that\u2019s maybe not what they were hoping to come back to,&#8221; Marsano says. &#8220;But sometimes it\u2019s to re-experience the camaraderie on a combat deployment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite the dangers of combat, Marsano says 100 more soldiers volunteered to go to Iraq last year with the Idaho National Guard than the mission had space for.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5534\"  class=\"wp-caption module image left\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"Spc. David Hanson, 24, of Coeur d\u2019Alene, Idaho, has been working as a private security guard since returning home from Iraq last fall.\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/03\/121211JR_SoldierJobs2.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5534\" title=\"121211JR_SoldierJobs2\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/03\/121211JR_SoldierJobs2-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/03\/121211JR_SoldierJobs2-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/03\/121211JR_SoldierJobs2-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/03\/121211JR_SoldierJobs2-220x146.jpg 220w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/03\/121211JR_SoldierJobs2.jpg 650w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Jessica Robinson \/ Northwest News Network<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Spc. David Hanson, 24, of Coeur d\u2019Alene, Idaho, has been working as a private security guard since returning home from Iraq last fall.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cPrior to my deployment I was unemployed, scraping together what little money I could just so I could eat and keep a roof over my head,\u201d says 24-year-old Specialist David Hanson. He\u2019s the other Idaho National Guard soldier &#8212; also named David &#8212; that we met a few months ago.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRight now I\u2019m currently working on an interstate transfer over to Washington National Guard,\u201d Hanson says.<\/p>\n<p>He does have work.\u00a0 Hanson landed a private security guard job after returning from Iraq. But it\u2019s not very satisfying. He thinks in Washington state he\u2019d have more opportunities to be re-trained with the military &#8212; and eventually be re-deployed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know, it sounds crazy to the average American, but I &#8212; for one thing &#8212; I felt I was accomplishing more than I am sitting on the side of the road as a security guard,&#8221; Hanson says. &#8220;And, all in all, I did make more money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s uncertain how this will work out. The unprecedented pace of National Guard deployments overseas appears to be subsiding. The last units returned from Iraq in December. And President Obama has started the process of drawing down the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n<p><em>Jessica Robinson is a correspondent with the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nwnewsnetwork.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Northwest News Network<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Idaho Department of Labor estimates there are at least 63,000 people in the state without work.\u00a0 That doesn\u2019t include thousands more who are underemployed or have stopped looking for a job.\u00a0 This is the latest story in our \u201cJobless in Idaho\u201d series, that follows several Idahoans in their search for\u00a0work. We brought you a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":5534,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14],"tags":[106,74,133],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5531"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5531"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5531\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5538,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5531\/revisions\/5538"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}