JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq - When the Citizen-Soldiers of eastern Oregon's 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), return home after their tour of duty here they will collide with an array of programs to help reintegrate them into a civilian way of life.
But there is one challenge that may be more difficult for them to overcome: finding jobs.
While plenty of attention is focused on helping Soldiers deal with Post Traumatic Stress and other factors associated with overseas duty, lack of employment is one of those problems often recognized, but has more difficulty being solved.
In December, Oregon's jobless rate hovered at 10.4 percent while the unemployment rate in several eastern Oregon counties ran the gamut between 16 percent for Grant County and 10 percent in Union County.
The commander of the 3rd Battalion, Army Lt. Col. Phil Appleton, said the unemployment outlook may appear daunting, especially for men and women absent from the workforce for more than a year.
That is why Appleton and the 3rd Battalion's senior enlisted advisor, Army Command Sgt. Maj. Bill Wyllie, are already molding a plan to help Soldiers find jobs when they return home.
Appleton said often the picture of a Soldier is one-dimensional. He said, though, that each Guardmember functions and succeeds based on three critical pillars.
"There are three legs that support a Guardsman: The Guard, his employer and his family," Appleton said.
A key piece of Appleton and Wyllie's plan revolves around preparing now, for work in the autumn even as 3rd Battalion Guardsmen conduct convoy escort missions in central Iraq.
"We have to sit down and question Soldiers about their long-term employment plan. Are they going to school? If so, are they aware of their GI bill benefits? Are they underemployed? Is the job they are working in lacking in longevity?" Appleton said.
He added that despite the unemployment rate, there are jobs for his Guardmembers because of what he calls intangibles.
"And here is why: Our Soldiers are dependable, they know how to show up on time and follow instructions, and they know how to lead and follow. These are the intangibles. You don't have to hope with our Soldiers," he said.
Appleton said Wyllie will spearhead an effort during the next few months to talk with Guardmembers who will most likely be unemployed when they return home later this year. They will be asked to put together a resume. When a Soldier finishes with the resume, a group of officers and senior noncommissioned officers in the 3rd Battalion will go through each document to polish it.
Appleton's plan doesn't stop there.
"I'm also talking about job interviews with Soldiers while they are here, over the phone," he said.
"Going on unemployment is not something we are going to discuss. Unemployment is only an emergency fall back if we are unsuccessful in finding employment for the Soldier," he said.
Appleton said the ambitious job outline he and Wyllie are preparing actually comes back to taking care of Soldiers.
"The sergeant major and I care about our Soldiers. I'm willing to accept losing Soldiers so they can gain employment. If they get a job in another state, that is just something I have to accept," he said.
Yet he said he isn't too concerned with watching his Soldiers leave the 3rd Battalion even if they secure employment in a nearby state.
"They will want to stay in this unit because they understand this unit takes care of its own," he said.