Many organizations on Fort Knox are laboring with vacancies they can't fill due to budget cuts. Most feel that they have no option but to suffer in silence.

But there is another solution.

Through the Veterans Affairs Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment program, employers - including government agencies -- are able to accept employees at no cost and no risk to themselves.

"It's almost a 'try before you buy' program," said Patricia Davidson, the VA's employment coordinator for Fort Knox. "Many think 'this is too good to be true,' and wonder if there is a catch or an obligation, but it's really very simple. Employers who would like to partner with the VA and take on an employee who won't cost you a thing can call us."

Not only is there no cost to employers, but there is no liability to employers in the public sector, which is often a barrier to hiring employees with significant disabilities. The private sector employer who agrees to take on a veteran with more disability may also receive a tax credit, plus the VA will contribute to the vet's salary. If there are required materials or equipment that the employer doesn't provide, the VA will pay for that, too.

"It's a win-win situation for all of us," Davidson said.

If for some reason the employee doesn't work out, the VA program will redevelop the training plan.

Veterans with service-connected disabilities and an impairment to employability are eligible for this retraining and employment program as are active duty Soldiers who have pending medical boards. The voc rehab program assists Soldiers by exploring their interests, aptitudes and abilities, and working to find an appropriate goal for the service member.

"Then we develop a rehabilitation plan of services, which might include on-the-job training or education. That education could include non-paid work experience or formal classroom education," Davidson explained. "The training for any vet could be up to 48 months - although it depends on the type of job skill he is striving to obtain. File clerks would not be authorized as much training time as someone learning heating and cooling."

Howard Eady, a veteran of 22 years of active duty, is a living testimony to the program's benefits.

"They matched me up with the right kind of job," he said.

A tanker and first sergeant who retired at Fort Knox, Eady said he bounced around in several different jobs, but couldn't find the right fit. He didn't know what he was missing, he just knew he wasn't happy.

"I wanted something else," he said. "I wanted something that wouldn't lead to more disability."

Eady has a 30 percent service-connected disability for his knees and his eyes and had been driving trucks. He knew he needed some computer skills to be more competitive in the job market.

"I had clerks working for me in the Army who had more computer skills than I did," he said.

He went to the VA for help and they enrolled him in computer training classes.

Some time later, Fort Knox's Warrior Transition Unit requested a work-study candidate, and the VA sent Eady to the battalion S-1.

"Now I feel like I'm doing what I need to do," said the smiling Eady. "It's a great place to work and the people are here to make sure that Soldiers are taken care of. I can be an intermediate for them; I can tell them, 'I know where you're at; I've been there, too.'"

Not only does he help the WTU Soldiers, but Eady is a walking commercial for the Voc Rehab program.

"I tell (the Soldiers) what VA has done for me, and I send Soldiers to the VA program for help," he said. "They will help you to find a job - the kind of work you want and can do. If you're in the wrong kind of work, you don't feel good about yourself, and you have to want to be there. My brother is retiring from the Navy this year and he's getting ready to go to VA Rehab, too. He saw how much it helped me."

The personnel chief at the battalion, Justin Pendleton, added how much the unit appreciates his work.

"It helps that he can identify with Soldiers so quickly. When (Eady) does inprocessing, he has flashbacks to his first sergeant days, but that just validates his credentials," Pendleton said. "Soldiers know he's the real deal."

Capt. Gregory Endress, the battalion S-1, said his unit has been very pleased with its VA work study employees.

"They do a good job of sending us qualified candidates," he said. "We wouldn't have known about Mr. Eady if it wasn't for Voc Rehab."

Although they have worked with four VA work study employees, only one was a disappointment.

"He just didn't work out," Endress explained. "We didn't let that taint our opinion, especially since we had Mr. Eady," (who is now a permanent civil service employee).

Although some Voc Rehab employees might have mental health or behavioral issues, that doesn't produce any anxiety for the employers at WTU.

"Sometimes they are the most productive folks we have," Pendleton said.

"There's nothing that can set them beyond our help," Endress added.

Davidson, also an "alumnus" of the voc rehab program who worked at the Walter Reed Medical Hold section when she was on active duty, said she hopes to expand the program with an office in the WTU so she can help more warriors sooner.

"It's been a lifesaver for me and many other vets," Davidson said.

"It was a godsend for me," Eady agreed.

Employers interested in learning more about the advantages of the voc rehab program should call 502-942-3250 and ask for the employment coordinator. Soldiers and vets may call or just stop by the office in Bldg. 1109, room 119.

"I love feeling that I helped somebody. It makes you feel good about yourself," Eady said.