Thomas Powell is the new veterans resource and referral specialist for the Texas Workforce Commission. His office is at 6723 S. Flores St. Photo by Noi Mahoney

By Noi Mahoney
Editor

As a former single parent and retired Army medevac helicopter pilot, Thomas Powell said he knows the stress military life can put on a family. Powell said he also knows that transitioning back to civilian life can be even harder.

Powell, a new veterans resource and referral specialist for the Texas Workforce Commission, said his goal is to help those who answered the nation’s call by getting them the right training and good jobs.

“They deserve our support,” Powell said. “Military folks are separating from the military and returning here. For some, it is a challenge to find jobs, or find the resources they need.”

Powell, who began working out of the Workforce Solutions Alamo office at 6723 S. Flores St. on Sept. 1, is part of the new $2.25 million Texas Veterans Leadership Program created by Gov. Rick Perry and Tom Pauken, the chairman of the Texas Workforce Commission. The program launched Sept. 1.

The program is modeled on the Vietnam Veterans Leadership Program created during the administration of President Ronald Reagan. It is a peer to peer approach assisting returning veterans from Iraq or Afghanistan acclimate back into civilian life.

Powell is one of 28 Texas veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan recruited to lead the initiative across the state.

“I was in the Army for 14 years, including northern Iraq,” Powell said. “I had repeated deployments. At the time I was a single parent and it was hard on my daughter. Which is why I signed onto the program. I know how military life can affect families.”

According to military statistics, there are some 2 million veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan every year. That includes active duty military, as well as reserve and national guardsman returning home. Texas has about 123,000 veterans, and San Antonio has an estimated 20,000 veterans.

“The first thing I often hear is, “I’m looking for a job, I applied at several places, but I am not getting any call backs,” Powell, who has a current caseload of about 30 veterans, said. “Some are coming back with lack of skills, or more importantly, with a lack of understanding of how to translate those skills they learned in the military to a private employer.”

“My first job is to go and find veterans and their families, and identify the challenges they face, identify their goals. I help them find the resources they need, help them find a job, then make sure they are happy with the job.”

In addition to covering San Antonio and Bexar County, Powell also covers veterans in Atascosa, Bandera, Comal, Frio, Gillespie, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr and Wilson counties.

Also working with Powell out of the South Side Workforce Solutions Alamo office is Will Jackson, a veterans employment representative for the Texas Veterans Commission.

Jackson said he and his staff talk to veterans about being persistent with their job search and to not get discouraged.

People who have been in the military a long time have not had to go look for a job, Jackson said.

“We know that when some of them come home, they feel like they are up against a wall, but we talk to them about making themselves more marketable,” Jackson said. “The key to getting a good job is a good resume.”

Powell said the hardest cases are always the veterans that come home as amputees, or severe burns.

“Some guys join the military right out of high school,” Powell said. “They have a big heart, and what to serve our country. Unfortunately, some get hurt. Those are the hardest cases. We put them in vocational training, or find them whatever training they need.”

For more information on the Texas Veterans Leadership Program, call (888) VET-TEX1, or visit www.vets.texasworkforce.org