New York Thanks Suffolk County Veterans Service Agency

February 17, 2012
Courtesy of New York National Guard
Farmingdale, NY, United States

Retired New York Army National Guard Command Sergeant Major Robert Van Pelt, who leads a New York National Guard effort to find jobs for the Guard's Citizen-Soldiers and Airmen, thanked Suffolk County Veterans Service Agency Program Manager David Rivera for supporting a Feb. 10 job fair at the Armed Forces Reserve Center.

Rivera was presented with a crystal National Guard statuette as a token of thanks.

Looking on is New York Army National Guard First Lieutenant David Myones, who organized the job fair at the Reserve Center.

Myones is the supervisor at the New York Army National Guard's Field Maintenance Shop, which is located at the Reserve Center. He also commands Company G of the Army National Guard's 427th Brigade Support Battalion.

Eighty employers and agencies spoke with 175 current Service Members and Veterans during a Veterans job fair held Feb. 10 at the Armed Forces Reserve Center in Farmingdale. The Soldiers and Veterans got a chance to talk with employers and take part in a resume writing workshop.

Knowing how to translate military training and work experience into language that civilian employers understand is especially important for Veterans and part-time military members who are job-hunting, Van Pelt said.

The New York National Guard is making a statewide push to link employers looking for qualified workers with members of the Army and Air National Guard who are unemployed or underemployed. New York National Guard Job Zone staff work with Citizen-Soldiers and Airmen to help them write resumes and reach out to employers. The Job Zone staff also reaches out to employers to explain the advantages of hiring National Guard Soldiers and Airmen.

The military training and experience of Guard Soldiers make them discplined, flexible and quick learners, Van Pelt said. They are also drug-free because of the military's drug-testing requirements. Even relatively young men and women in the Army and Air National Guard have led other Soldiers and Airmen in combat environments, Van Pelt pointed out.

The Farmingdale Armed Forces Reserve Center houses elements of the New York Army National Guard, the Army Reserve, and the Navy and Marine Corps Reserve. The New York Army National Guard is the lead agency responsible for the facility.