When Johnny comes
marching home — to no job

“I saw President Obama go to Elkhart,” he said. “I didn’t really understand why he was going, but then I heard about the RV industry.”

Dilts said he is looking to take advantage of programs the Guard offers to assist returning soldiers and is considering returning to school. Asked what sorts of jobs he would look for in the near term, he said he would likely draw on his military experience and look for work in transportation or security.

Pfc. Christine McAllister, 22, of Elkhart, said she got most of her stateside news by phone while she was in Iraq.

“I didn’t watch much news while I was in Iraq because I didn’t have time, but my mom was always telling me what was going on in Elkhart … and that everyone was getting laid off,” she said.

McAllister is among the unemployed returning Guards, but by choice.

She said she quit her job as a security guard at Godfrey Marine in Elkhart when she left with a long-term goal in mind.

“I’ve always wanted to be a nurse, and I’m going to use all my military benefits to do that,” said McAllister. She plans to attend Ivy Tech Community College full time and to continue to serve in the Guard after graduating.

But for others, the active duty paycheck from the Guard provided a safety net that will soon be withdrawn.

Spec. Heather Smiechowski, 25, of South Bend said she is concerned about her ability to land a good civilian sector job because she sometimes needs to take time off on short notice to care for her autistic daughter, the youngest of her three children. She said she has a little breathing room, after saving everything she could from her pay while in Iraq while sending back money to her grandfather to help pay for her children’s care while she was gone.

“I’m going to take some time off and spend it with the kids … and then I’m going to hopefully get a decent job to where I could support the three of them and myself, and hopefully still have the leeway to get the care my daughter needs,” she said.

“But my confidence really isn’t too high,” she said of her job prospects. “I understand when people need someone to be there … and they’ve got this person who can’t because they have to do the things that I have to do. I mean I understand, but it doesn’t mean that I’m going to stop fighting.”

The Indiana National Guard has taken note of the hardship that Guards like Smiechowski are facing and is attempting to help.

It launched a new Employment Coordination Program in May that already has placed about a dozen Guards in jobs, said Scott Mitten, a hard-charging ex-Army Ranger brought in to run the operation. He also has developed a Web site to match jobs with out-of-work Guardsmen or other veterans. On Thursday, the site had 88 jobs listed, including 35 in the civilian sector.

With the innovative program just getting up to speed, the 1538th will be an important test because its commanders were the first to report “quality numbers” on its soldiers’ employment status, he said.

Mitten said he already has begun contacting transportation companies, both local and national, and “explaining that we have a batch of Guardsmen coming home and we’re looking to create 46 careers.”

He said he doesn’t think his job will be difficult, as employers have so far been very receptive.

“The employers know what they’re going to get when they hire a serviceman, a veteran, a Guardsman, a Reservist — the discipline, the drive, the training, the education and the ability to stick with the task,” he said.

In other words, he said, his job is comparable to selling a fine watch.

“No one sells Rolex,” he said. “You have to sell other brands, but a Rolex sells itself.”

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