European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 14, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Battling for work in Europe after life in the army by David Hamilton something Isnit right Here. After 20-plus years of often excruciating army life in Mon the verge of retirement from the military. How Many times in be yearned for the privilege of sleeping until a civil hour doing a Job that / really wanted to do and yes daring to utter that fateful phrase a take this Job and shove it a # was it Only a fantasy though i am destined to depart the service in the midst of the severest recession of my lifetime. To add to the difficulty i have focused largely on Landing a position Here in Europe where in be lived the past nine years. But there seems to be an endless succession of roadblocks to finding that elusive Job. Its not like i did no to prepare myself. I diligently attended school throughout my career amassing a masters degree and a number of bachelors degrees an Honor graduate everywhere in be been proved myself to be adept at Oral and written communications even did some specs writing for Gen. Colin Powell when he commanded v corps and held positions of significant responsibility to include being responsible for Over $50 million Worth of air defense equipment. Well ahead of retirement i captured these Sterling titbits in a detailed of 171, the infamous Naf form resumes letters of introduction and leaned Forward in my foxhole tingling with excitement and certain that the Battle to fight off prospective employers would be formidable indeed. I mean what could go wrong i even had the a a intangibles working for me. Great health almost never on Siek Call. Reliable and a proven performer under deadlines. Unquestioned loyalty to my organization. Easily capable of assimilating analysing and producing As Well As disseminating All kinds of data. Hey computers could never do the things i could. What More i reasoned could any employer want the painful a and confusing a answer to that seems to be plenty although i think its actually a Case of not being a a in and having to butt my head against too Many regulatory requirements and restrictions that Are sadly and grossly prejudiced against Many of the Best available Job seekers. Most devastating is the frustration i experience trying to land a Job Here in Germany. In be discovered 1 have plenty of company. Recently i sought guidance from a Counselor at the army career and alumni program Aca which purports to be one of the better available tools for separating soldiers looking for life after Uncle Sam. My Counselor was a retired army major. He related his own a horror Story to me seems like All retirees in Europe have one. It seems he was out of work Dave Hamilton does no to warm to pizza Job. For something like eight months after he retired stumbling and bumbling around Germany trying to figure out How to pay for German rent and Gas at the same time. He too had sought out a Counselor who after analysing All of his experience and education balanced it against his status As a a a tourist a word that gives me Shivers. The fellow told me that his Counselor recommended that he flip hamburgers or work at a pizza parlor. Experience counted for squat. So did education. Ditto ability. Only those blasted restrictions mattered. When i inquired As to whether he relented and sizzled that ground round he muttered something about a going to the gym twice a Day until he finally got a break. Needless to say he did no to do a lot to bolster my morale. But from what in be  so far he was shooting pretty straight with me. I began my Job search in Earnest last August. I shot off All kinds of correspondence and inquiries to firms and companies attended every Job fair i heard of Heck i even wore my alexanders pin striped suit and called up countless contacts. At first assuming i could even get a response people would say a ooh you re talking to us Way too Early. Try again when you re closer to  that sounded logical but i drove on bugging everyone i could. Most of All i got a kick out of some of the newspaper ads run by companies allegedly looking for workers. One was especially interesting. This firm was scheduled to visit Germany in a week or so to conduct interviews. Bubbling with enthusiasm i called their number Long distance to the states Only to hear some indistinguishable screeching computer noise at the end of the line. Another More recent and implored those interested to Quot Call or visit to  since the Job seemed ideally suited to my qualifications and situated in a Community i preferred i dialled each of their two advertised numbers at least 700 times each. Busy signals every time. Determined to go the extra Miles 1 took off in an Auto Odyssey to visit the organizations Home office. After hours of searching for the right Cavern the right building the right floor the right office and the right person a not to mention screaming obscenities at myself for being stupid enough to Wear Wool pinstripes on a warm Day a i calculated i was in the office for four seconds before a smiling old lady said a Well sir we can to even take an application from you until you have your do form 214 in hand proving that you re out of the army a Aniie Yeeee its enough to make a Man rip the hair out of his head As if i have much anyway. Military retirees 100 per 100 Active duty military members retirees worldwide those in Europe �?�00,000 �?�00,000 ,000 Navy and Marin army air fore the worst part is this a a tourist business. Give me a break. If i had a Nickel for every a a tourist who despised Germany and  wait to get Back to the so called a world a id rival Perot at the Bank. Why not give a fair shot to us retirees who have a German degree who have a thorough working knowledge of How the army in Europe functions and most of All who have elected to retire and live Here a forever done to give me the rot about spouses needing to work to supplement the family income. Who a going to supplement mine supposed agreements and regulations governing civil servants and local nationals Are equally crocks. I know a Man who held his Active duty id card in one hand and his is id in the other the Day he separated. Plenty of people have managed to forego the six month a waiting  funny thing is they All seem to have been previously part of some Good old boy network and a More often than not have held higher ranking positions in their communities. Done to get me wrong. I do appreciate some of the rationales for regulations. But the cold fact remains that the most qualified most motivated and most promising people Are Many times neglected and not because some bureaucrat decides to shut him out quoting scripture and verse from some 3-Inch-thick document no one has read in the last decade. Who suffers As a result everyone. The Job Hunter is left cynical and frustrated denied the Opportunity to meet his potential despite the fact his qualifications May Dwarf other applicants. The employers who have every reason to demand workers who will profit their organizations Are shortchanged. Last but not least the Consumers must contend with a myriad of poorly motivated poorly qualified workers who frequently fail to meet their expectations. I guess in a thinking of a perfect world but somehow it seems if there can be exceptions based on who one knows there can surely be exceptions for those who hold the Best qualifications. Still i Haven to Given up Hope. Yesterday i was practising tossing pizza dough. Staff sgt. David Hamilton who works in Darmstadt Gormany is sch Odulo to retire july 1f an outfit that a firm on hiring sex military so who is eager to hire sex soldiers Edward d. Jones amp co., for one. The St. Louis based financial services firm says nearly 30 percent of new investment representatives that it hired in the past six months have come from the ranks of the armed forces. Jack Cahill the firms principal in charge of sales hiring says when we began aggressively recruiting military personnel for our sales Force we hoped that 25 percent of All new hires would be military find we be already surpassed that goal. The armed forces downsizing currently underway has provided a legion of qualified candidates from which to  Jones plans to hire More than 8,000 new brokers by the end of the decade at least 2,000 of whom will come from the armed forces. A because our brokers usually work alone we need people with a Strong work ethic High integrity and the ability to get the Job done without anyone looking Over their shoulder a Cahill said. A former military personnel fit the Bill perfectly and they usually find the Opportunity to run their own businesses and earn an unlimited income especially  in 1991, Jones brokers earned an average of $108,300. Jones has More than 1,800 Branch offices in 47 states and the District of Columbia. It is the largest financial services firm in the United states in terms of number of offices. But what about retirees interested in staying Over Here Jones might be of no help. The outfit says its not planning to service Europe. Members of Jones hiring team have recruited in Europe and plan to return Here for interviews june 26-28. Information about Jones employment opportunities can be collected by calling 800 551-0152 or 314 851- to o.6 a sunday june 14, 1992