MERRILLVILLE | The transition from soldier to civilian is not always easy.
Moving from the highly regimented and disciplined world of the military to the looser, less stern civilian life can prove some what perplexing. To help area veterans make that transition a little smoother, Cincinnati-based RecruitMilitary held a job fair at the Radisson Hotel at Star Plaza Thursday afternoon.
RecruitMilitary works to help veterans find employment across the country through a variety of different means. Thursday's fair was the first time the organization has made a stop in Northwest Indiana.
In spite it being the organization's first stop in the region, RecruitMilitary has strong ties to Northwest Indiana. Its founder, Drew Meyers, graduated from Hobart High School in 1982 and went on to serve as a Marine from 1986 to 1993.
RecruitMilitary registered 300 local veterans for the fair and had 21 companies and organizations represented there. Some of the companies and organizations included U.S. Steel, CSX, The U.S. Secret Service and Indiana Wesleyan College.
Among those veterans looking for work at the fair was Portage's Eric Rajski.
Rajski served as a medical corpsmen for the Navy. He served in six military campaigns and was wounded while accompanying Marines in Fallujah, Iraq. Because of his injuries, Rajski was made to accept a medical retirement and enter the civilian job market.
"I'm looking for veteran-friendly things," said Rajski "The transition from military to civilian life has been difficult. It's two different lifestyles You have the lifestyle of the military and it's very structured."
Schererville's Marcus Harris served as an EMT in the Air Force, including a deployment in Iraq. He came to the fair hoping to find a career as an EMT or a similar field.
"It was hard at first," said Harris, about moving from life in the military. "It was hard getting back into the civilian life but this kind of thing is making it a lot easier. This fair gives us an opportunity to get a good job and they're here taking care of their own."
Rosalinda Sanchez, of Merrillville, said she is finding it difficult to enter the civilian job market because of the inability of her military experience to count towards accreditations she would need to work in the health care field.
Sanchez served in the Navy as a medical corpsmen at a San Diego-based military hospital. She is currently in the Naval Reserves.
"You have to know your terms to use back in civilian life," Sanchez said. "The military speak is different. Not everyone knows what a corpsman is. It's the equivalent of a LPN in civilian life. And in civilian life we have to be certified for everything, so what I did in the military I can't do as a civilian."
