Your Best Bet Is a Vet!

(Reposted from the June 28, 2014 blog of Veterans in Media and Entertainment, formerly Veterans in Film and Television - https://vftla.org/blog/your-best-bet-vet.)

Last week, I attended a presentation on Working with Veterans. Despite the best intentions of the organizers, it seemed that a few people in the audience may have gotten an unintentionally inaccurate and negative impression of our former military personnel. As a veteran of Afghanistan myself and an active member of Veterans in Film and Television, it’s important to me to help correct that misconception.

While the information provided in the presentation could be useful in some circumstances, it focused on possible challenges faced by veterans transitioning into civilian careers. In contrast, I present the following more positive points about military folks as workplace assets:

- Due to their training and experiences, veterans tend to have character strengths in areas such as leadership, teamwork, perseverance, responsibility, entrepreneurship, planning, organizational ability, interpersonal skills, problem-solving, grace under pressure, and high performance standards.

- Contrary to common media portrayals, 70-80% of troops returning from combat do NOT suffer from post-traumatic stress, and of the remaining 20-30%, a large portion have the condition treated or under control, so that there are no outward symptoms to affect people around them.

- Veterans are more likely than civilians to be employed* and to do volunteer work and are less likely to live in poverty (*6.6% unemployment rate in 2013 versus 7.4% in the overall population, per BLS).

- Veterans are smart and academic achievers – in the small sample population of the 105 students I have taught at the Los Angeles Film School from January to May of this year, the 39 veterans averaged final course scores of 90%, compared to 86% for non-veteran students.

So, while it is somewhat important for employers and coworkers to be aware that there are a minority of veterans who can benefit from special considerations, it is equally important to understand that the vast majority of veterans are indistinguishable from their colleagues, except maybe in favorable ways.

Most significantly, if anyone has the perception that former service members pose any kind of risk or threat at work, this is simply a glaring misrepresentation. The opposite is much closer to the truth. Military people tend, instead, to contribute to stability and safety in a workplace, thanks to having proven themselves in crisis and pressure situations, along with their confidence and emotional maturity.

Vets have been indispensable resources in American society for many decades, going back at least to World War II vets, and this latest surge of transitioning combat troops are already reinforcing the value of a military background in civilian settings.

In summary, whether an employer is a film company, TV network, studio, large corporation, small business, non-profit, school, or any other organization, remember …

Your best bet is a vet!

_______________________

The author is a veteran of Afghanistan with twenty years in the Army and Army Reserve and assignments in the Infantry, Airborne, and Special Operations. He is a film producer and member of the Producers Guild of America, was a media production advisor to General Petraeus in Kabul, was a visiting film professor at the University of Notre Dame, and taught at the Los Angeles Film School. He has a son, Collin.