Lena Austin

After six months of unemployment and almost losing our home to foreclosure, DH has a job at long last. In fact, it's such a good job, we're scared to celebrate. It's one of those "too good to be true" jobs, doing what he loves and was trained to do, for a company that seems to appreciate an older military veteran.

We learned an important lesson we're passing on to my daughter Susan's boyfriend-almost-fiancee. In fact, we're telling every military person we know to take advantage of the military's college offerings. My DH could have had his degree in Electrical Engineering long before he retired. He was only a couple of credits away, but he hated "school" and felt it was beneath him. He was positive he could get an electronics job and work for some company until he reached age 65.

We found out very quickly upon his retirement from the Navy just how little civilian companies think of military service and education. Without the sheepskin, you're as low as those high school graduates, and twenty years of experience barely gets you a nod. DH had no "proof" he could wire and run any form of communications or detection electronics known to God and man, and teaching the subject for ten years was less than nothing.

To say the least, it was a bitter blow. We have suffered every hit on the economy because Randy couldn't find positions better than repairing ATMs or building fans in a factory. Every year, as his hair turns whiter, the jobs he can find become more and more menial. We're hoping at least this company can learn to appreciate him.