Rules are keeping some soldiers, vets off firefighters list

You're serving your country in the military, and hoping to continue that service with the police or fire department, but you're stymied by bureaucracy. And you're angry and frustrated.

You get to the bottom of the letter and read the last line: "Thanks for serving our country."

It rings hollow.

You're Brian Zollner.

Zollner said he received a letter from the city of Chicago informing him that he wouldn't be "counted" as a military veteran during the Chicago Fire Department hiring process.

How can that be?

Zollner served three years in the U.S. Marine Corps and had assumed he would qualify for the standard preferential treatment that usually is given to veterans who hope to become Chicago firefighters.

But we all know what assume does.

The City Department of Human Resources has its reasons. Officials maintain that Zollner didn't file the appropriate paperwork on time back in 2006.

Zollner contends that he did send in the appropriate paperwork, a letter from his commanding officer.

"They are telling me I wasn't a veteran," he said.

And he isn't the only one.

Last fall, some aldermen said they had heard from active-duty military members and veterans who said they had run into barriers getting their veteran status recognized.

"I have been dealing with this for a long time — years," said Alderman James Balcer, of the 11th Ward, chairman of the City Council's public safety committee, "What happens to these letters, I don't know."

Balcer said city officials should be more flexible when it comes to dealing with active-duty military in general. Balcer, who served in the Marine Corps, said the Fire Department is a paramilitary organization that performs duties and arranges itself in a way similar to the U.S. military. Much of the training military members receive is relevant to the work of firefighters.

"We already know they have the discipline and the work ethic to work for the Fire Department," Balcer said.

He said if Zollner and others like him can prove they served in the military, they should receive the advantages that come with that status.

The issue is that securing a firefighter position is extremely competitive. The waitlist for a spot in the academy has 16,308 people on it. There are about 1,090 firefighters in Chicago, the city says.

The Department of Human Resources adds an extra 5 percentage points to the final examination score of any veteran who passes the firefighters or police entrance examination. The higher score will give a person a higher priority on the overall waitlist. That could be the deciding factor in whether a person eventually is hired or continues to languish on the list.

Zollner's father, Bob, a retired Chicago firefighter, said, "If my son was marked as military, he would have already been called and had a job."

As far as the city's contention that Brian Zollner's paperwork wasn't correct, Bob Zollner is terse and direct: "I really don't care about mail in 2006."

Unfortunately, it's not up to him.

The Chicago Firefighters Union is sympathetic.

Gregory Boggs, military liaison for the union, said active-duty military members run into problems with the city even after they have been offered a spot in the academy.

Two people were disqualified from joining the class scheduled to start in March because they were active duty and couldn't make their scheduled appointment for a physical abilities test last fall.

Boggs did not hide his disdain for the bureaucracy behind that decision.

"They think someone should be able to return to a central location to make an appointment or take a test," Boggs said. "The military doesn't work that way."

City officials contend they have been sensitive to active-duty military personnel applying for firefighter and police officer positions.

The last firefighter test took place 2006, but active-duty military who were deployed at that time were able to take make-up exams in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

"We recognize that active duty members of the military face difficulties due to their unique circumstances, and we strive to provide as much flexibility as we can to accommodate them," said Carolyn Mulaney, spokeswoman for the city's human resources department.

Balcer would like to see all correspondence between the Department of Human Resources and active-duty military regarding employment matters sent by registered mail, so document travel could be easily tracked. He and other aldermen also would like to see an appeals process put in place, so that veterans could challenge decisions made by the city's human resources staff.

Still, Balcer has not gotten much movement on cases like Zollner's.

Mulaney said, "If the Department of Human Resources has already referred applicants to the hiring department and the required documentation is not timely submitted, veterans preference cannot be applied retroactively."