2009-09-22T19:11:54Z 22 2009-05-29 The Houston Chronicle

By LINDSAY WISE West Texas native Wesley Price has some unusual job experiences to list on his resume. “I can take a hill,” he said. “I can take a small town. I can call in fire. I can communicate with aircraft.” But as the 33-year-old Marine veteran has learned, translating those skills into employment in the civilian world isn’t always easy. After serving a tour of duty in Iraq from 2004 to 2005, Price earned a degree in banking from Sam Houston State University. He graduated in 2008 and found a job in private security to pay the bills, but he’s still looking for something better. “You’re used to the excitement, and if it’s not something really exciting, it’s kind of boring to you,” he said. Price joined hundreds of veterans and military personnel at a RecruitMilitary job fair in Minute Maid Park on Thursday. Most had traded fatigues and dress uniforms for suits and ties, starched and pleated with military precision. It was the eighth such event organized in the Houston area by RecruitMilitary, a private recruiting firm. RecruitMilitary’s director of sales, Rick Jones, said he’s noticed increased attendance at the fairs during the past six months. In December, 380 candidates showed up. Nearly 500 came to the next one, in February. Last month, the Labor Department recorded 10.3 percent unemployment among veterans 18 and older who served since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. That’s nearly 5 percentage points higher than the same time last year and slightly more than the 8.4 percent jobless rate among civilians...

2009-09-22T19:11:54Z http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6446247.html