Helping veterans help themselves most important goal

We noticed an Internet troll wondering why Sen. John McCain, recently diagnosed with a virulent form of brain cancer, didn’t choose to be treated at a Veterans Administration hospital.

Despite political promises, the VA has a long way to go to recover from scheduling scandals and other mismanagement to provide the help veterans need and deserve in a timely and efficient manner.

Those who have put their lives on the line for their country, especially those disabled in the process, deserve the best care their country can offer.

Even better, however, is giving them the opportunity to provide for themselves and their families through meaningful and rewarding employment.

That’s the emphasis for today’s National Hire a Veteran Day, which spotlights the civilian employment that can help returning service members adjust to life away from the military.

Lest potential employers think of a job offer as charity, however, it’s the employer who is likely to benefit the most.

According to the Veterans Employment Toolkit at va.gov, here are a few strengths the Veteran can bring to the workplace:

* Working well in a team. Teamwork is considered an essential part of daily life and is the foundation on which safe military operations are built.

* Having a sense of duty. Responsibility for job performance and accountability for completing missions are something to take pride in.

* Experiencing self-confidence. Holding a realistic estimation of self and ability based on experiences is expected of each Service Member.

* Being organized and disciplined.

* Possessing a strong work ethic. In the military, the mission always comes first.

* Having the ability to follow through on assignments, even under difficult or stressful circumstances.

* Possessing a variety of cross-functional skills, such as extensive training on computer programs and systems, interacting with various people with different skills to accomplish a task, and coordinating and troubleshooting problems in novel and known conditions.

* Being able to problem solve quickly and creatively.

* Being able to adapt to changing situations.

* Being able to follow rules and schedules.

More employers need to get the message.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the jobless rate for post-9/11 vets continues to climb, 5.1 percent for June despite 220,000 new jobs in the U.S. economy.

Yes, we need to take care of veterans who need special help. Even more, however, we need to do what we can to help them take care of themselves.

Find out more at https://www.va.gov/ or https://veterans.nebraska.gov/