U.S. Army Garrison-Yongsan sponsored an important event for our community members. Our May 30 Army Community Service Job Fair brought together 40 representatives who were seeking quality employees.

More than 300 U.S. Servicemembers and Family Members attended the festive event at the Yongsan ACS parking lot.

Although there were many active duty military job seekers, the majority attending this job fair were Yongsan Family Members.

As our numbers bear out, there is great interest in seeking jobs. In fact, this is one of the biggest issues to impact a family's quality of life.

"We recognize the strength of our Soldiers comes from the strength of their Families," according to the Army Family Covenant. At USAG-Yongsan, you have our commitment that "We're Here for You." As Soldiers' careers progress, we also want our Family Members to experience the rewards of quality employment.

I see this as a retention issue because more than 50 percent of our Soldiers are married. Today, most families today rely on two incomes to maintain a decent lifestyle.

At this job fair, employers collected applications, scheduled interviews and in some cases, conducted on-the-spot job interviews.

One success story is from a Soldier who traveled from another community here in Korea. He had an on-the-spot interview with some military contractors and was extended a tentative job offer the same day.

The USAG-Yongsan CPAC provided enhanced processing of federal job applications. The Army and Air Force Exchange Service, nonappropriated fund activities, even off-post employers attended the job fair.

Many representatives said they had never been to such a "successful job fair that matched real people to real vacancies."

I only see our process as getting better and better. Next time around I believe we'll be able to double the number of employers. We hope to conduct another ACS job fair in September.

Also, keep in mind; we always have critical job openings in the USAG-Yongsan Child and Youth Services program.

We have a lot of help available through ACS and the USAG-Yongsan Civilian Personnel Advisory Center to connect future employees to great jobs. Our ACS Employment Readiness program manager, Mercedes Jamieson, is standing by to assist you with resume preparation. We even have computer workstations available at ACS for job seekers.

Remember, you do not have to wait for a job fair. If you're looking for employment, visit the USAG-Yongsan ACS at the Community Services Building B-4106 on South Post, or call 738- 8977.