It's a measure of the state of journalism in these days of White House-produced false news that when I read an NYT story with this headline: Ex-Soldiers Are Recruited Again (and Eagerly) for Civilian Jobs, my immediate reaction was "I wonder who planted that." From the advertisement story:
And those small-unit leadership skills translate well to business. Each Starbucks store, for example, is essentially a small unit, said Bob Ravener, the company's vice president for human resources for the eastern United States, and a former Navy officer. "We can teach people the Starbucks business, but we can't train them to be leaders, or have integrity and honesty," he said. "And I know firsthand the military gives you that."
The story ends with a big old spoonful of sugar in case anyone reading the story lives in the real world where the horrors of war exist:
Another, more complicated hurdle for some is overcoming combat stress disorders, which can make the transition to civilian life difficult. About 30 percent of those returning from Iraq have sought help for mental health problems from Veterans Affairs and 15 percent have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Judy Caden, director of vocational rehabilitation and employment at Veterans Affairs, said veterans who suffered physical or psychological injuries often needed help evaluating job choices and developing workplace coping mechanisms and communication skills.
Fortunately for these veterans, Ms. Caden said, their military experience is still considered a desirable attribute. "You have an environment today where employers really want them to be successful," she said.
That private sector. Is there anything it can't do? Enjoy that sweetness, you'll need it to help this go down: (from US Labor Against War)
By minimizing the PTSD crisis in the veteran community and characterizing veterans' claims as fraudulent, conservatives are trying to create a public climate of acceptance that will allow the VA to go forward with their redefinition of the disorder. That could then lead to a new diagnosis, new treatment protocols and restructured (lower) compensation for veterans.
The VA's effort to seek a new definition for PTSD was outlined in an article I wrote for OpEdNews dot com in December4. That article was also published on a popular, commercial military/veteran web site. Within a few hours, the VA had called the parent company of the web site and demanded that the article be pulled. It was. The editor of the site told me they had to "consider the business model" in making the decision. He indicated that the site could lose valuable advertising contracts with government agencies, such as the armed services, if the article was not pulled.
That's what happens to articles that don't win Ketchum points. But the NYT doesn't have to worry about that today.
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