On the Job Hunt: Army Reserves Launch Employer Partnership

HARTFORD, Conn. – The Army Reserve is launching an employer partnership in all 50 states — linking 750 businesses nationwide with veterans returning to civilian life to guarantee job interviews for men and women who have served the United States and provide a pool of skilled applicants for American jobs.

The deal includes 250 Connecticut auto dealers who signed up this month. Together they employ 13,000 people — and are looking for more.

"They put their lives on the line and the very least we can do is help them get back into society again when they've gone and defended our country ... and us," auto dealer Ken Crowley told Fox News.

According to Major Gen. James Sholar, deputy commander of the Army Reserve Command, it's a winning partnership.

VIDEO: Army Reserves Launch Employment Partnership

"(They) need the kinds of employees we have in the ranks of our reserves," Sholar told Fox News. "Any kind of job in society — we have men and women who fit very nicely into those jobs."

The Army Reserve says the program is already meeting its goal of matching soldiers with employers, helping servicemen and women make the transition from war to civilian life more secure.

And it's not just auto dealers who are recruiting from this group of employees. Wal-Mart, hospitals and human resource companies are also participating in the partnership.

Army Reservist Eric Diaz was lucky enough to find work when he returned from serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Married and with an 8-month-old son, Diaz used what he learned in the service as a selling point.

Diaz is now an Internet sales manager at a Nissan dealership in Bristol, Conn., and was the inspiration for the showroom to become part of the program.

Click here to read more about the Army Reserve.

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