MILTECH program offers job opportunities to veterans

By Mr. Shawn Morris, 99th Regional Support Public AffairsMarch 7, 2011

MILTECH program offers job opportunities to veterans
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Michelle Willenborg Marshall, a MILTECH recruiter, discusses the many jobs available in the Military Technician Program with Nichole Allen, a Yellow Ribbon attendee from Baltimore, Md. MILTECHs are federal civilian employees who also serve as Soldier... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
MILTECH program offers job opportunities to veterans
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Michelle Willenborg Marshall, a MILTECH recruiter, discusses the many jobs available in the Military Technician Program with Nichole Allen, a Yellow Ribbon attendee from Baltimore, Md. MILTECHs are federal civilian employees who also serve as Soldier... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

As Army Reserve Soldiers return from deployment, many find that jobs are scarce and the competition for employment is fierce in these tough economic times.

To aid these warriors in their transition back to civilian life, more than 500 Military Technician jobs were offered to returning troops during the 99th Regional Support Command's Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Event Feb. 25-27 in Atlantic City, N.J.

"I have a list of over 500 jobs that are open right now," said Michelle Willenborg Marshall, a MILTECH recruiter who attends Yellow Ribbon events across the country.

MILTECHs are federal civilian employees who also serve as Soldiers in the Army Reserve or other reserve component as a condition of employment, Marshall explained. They enjoy all the benefits of traditional federal employees, as well as those offered to active Reserve Soldiers.

"It's a lot easier to come into the system as a MILTECH," said Marshall, a Bellevue, Iowa, native who spent her first four years of federal civil service as a MILTECH.

"I spent 12 years in the Army Reserve, so I know what these Soldiers are going through," she added.

The MILTECH program currently employees more than 8,500 service members worldwide in occupations as diverse as aircraft maintenance, personnel, supply, financial management, logistics operations, and marine and mobile equipment maintenance.

Often times, the hardest part of obtaining a MILTECH position is getting through the online application process, commonly known as Resumix.

"I can give them feedback and comments on things to improve," said Marshall of applicants' online resumes. She also noted that, in certain situations, she can make by-name requests to fill certain positions with particular individuals.

Perhaps the most important thing Marshall can offer Soldiers at Yellow Ribbon events is a sense of hope for the future.

"It gives an outlook that there are still possibilities," said Nichole Allen, a Yellow Ribbon attendee from Baltimore, Md.

For more information on the MILTECH program, visit http://acpol.army.mil/employment/ or http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov, or call the Civilian Personnel Advisory Center at Fort McCoy, Wis., at (608) 388-2722.

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