By CARL F. BRAUN

Kevin Butler is a Navy corpsman serving with a U.S. Marine division deployed to the Middle East. When he returns home this fall, he'll be meeting his newborn son for the first time and making one of the biggest decisions of his young married life. Should he stay in the Navy and make it a career or take a shot at a medical position in the private sector?

Fortunately for him, his options are wide open. Veterans with medical experience are finding opportunities with local hospitals, clinics and even top consulting firms like Accenture.

If you peruse the Las Vegas Review-Journal's job board, you will find that there are more than 100 medical and health care related positions locally and that is just this week. Many of these employers, like Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center and University Medical Center, are very interested in considering veterans and returning military. The Las Vegas Review-Journal also offers a Veterans Network to advertisers, which includes websites like Patriotjobs.net, IHireVeterans.com, USAbledVeterans.com, AllVeteransjobs
.com and DisabilityJobs.net.

Health care is one of the nation's largest and fastest growing industries. For example:

n Health care provided 14.3 million jobs for wage and salary workers in 2008 (the last year data was available).

n Health care added 283,000 jobs, or an average of 24,000 jobs per month in 2010.

n Ten of the 20 fastest growing occupations are health care related.

n Health care will generate 3.2 million new wage and salary jobs between 2008 and 2018, more than any other industry. The military is a prime resource for new recruits in the health care industry. Companies are very interested in these candidates due to the high levels of training the service provides.

These potential employees often have experience in high-stress positions like trauma, emergency and critical care, making them ideal for those roles requiring an ability to think on their feet while possessing an ample supply of adrenaline. Other areas where military candidates excel are phlebotomy, rehabilitation, infection control and even allied health roles in dental and eye care.

Quest Diagnostics, the world's leading diagnostic testing company, actively recruits military candidates.

According to its director, Wendy Bost, "Many jobs in the military require the same skills as used by our clinicians, phelebotomists (who receive blood and other specimens from patients) and lab technicians. This is particularly true with respect to blood unit and lab techs. Moreover, many of our Six Sigma (a business discipline focused on eliminating errors in a given business process) experts received their initial process improvement training in the military."

All this is good news for vets in the medical professions, but what about veterans in general? In March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the unemployment rate for veterans who served in the military at any time since September 2001 -- a group referred to as Gulf War-era II veterans -- was 11.5 percent while the jobless rate for veterans of all eras combined was 8.7 percent.

How do these numbers compare with their nonveteran counterparts in the different age groups?

The unemployment rates for nonveterans during the same time period was 9.4 percent showing that nonveterans overall fared slightly better than veterans. Such is the case when we consider specific age groups as well, though the numbers here are staggering. Young male veterans (those ages 18 to 24) who served during Gulf War-era II had an unemployment rate of 21.9 percent in 2010, which is not statistically different from the jobless rate of young male nonveterans (19.7 percent).

Age it appears, as it relates to experience, is a major factor in whether you are able to find employment in this tough economic market regardless of your military experience and whether a young veteran is going to come home to a job.

What about disabled vets? About 25 percent of Gulf War-era II veterans reported having a service-connected disability in July 2010, compared with about 13 percent of all veterans. That number is astounding, revealing that nearly two times the Gulf War-era II vets are coming home disabled than veterans of previous wars and conflicts. This may have something to do with the military being very "active" in educating veterans with war zone experience on how to recognize and file for PTSD, or post-traumatic stress syndrome, treatment and coverage.

Is this impacting their ability to find employment? No, actually disabled vets do slightly better in the employment marketplace with many working in the public sector.

An Army training and transition specialist was recently quoted saying: "By far, the most notable organization recruiting veterans is the Veterans Administration Healthcare Services. They are aggressively recruiting veterans with service-connected disabilities in particular. There is a new patient administrative center opening (locally) in the near future."

Sgt. Dan Brown served with an Army forward reconnaissance team in Afghanistan and was awarded the Purple Heart for injuries sustained in battle. The transition from military to civilian life for Brown has been difficult.

"Finding a job has been really tough. When I first returned from Afghanistan I stayed in the National Guard. Service-related disabilities, however, required me to retire. At 28, I am 70 percent disabled but attending college and looking forward to a career in criminology. There is not much need for a disabled scout/sniper in the private sector," he said.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has been actively promoting the consideration, recruitment and hiring of veterans and returning military for nearly two decades with it's most recent guidelines in 2007 considered the strongest ever.

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 provides for nondiscrimination of military and veterans in the workplace and guarantees reservists and National Guardsman that their former employment will be available to them when they return from active duty. In 2009, 18 cases were filed for discrimination under USERRA and 18 settlements were obtained, one of which was for $1.3 million.

Where you live also has a huge impact on your hirability but once again the health care field shines. Markets like Detroit that have been especially hit hard by the economy have nearly 1,000 open positions in health care advertised. Similarly, Boston has 800 and even New Orleans, still reeling from Hurricane Katrina more than five years later, has about 1,000 health care related jobs.

How are other markets faring when it comes to these types of positions and what is the national climate for health care related careers? Despite a lingering recession, the outlook is quite good. Strong economic markets like Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado see quite a bit of competition for open positions.

Still, there is a shortage of nurses especially in remote areas, and companies are paying top dollar for these candidates with many selling themselves to the highest bidder for short- and long-term assignments. In fact, many are "double dipping." Hospitals often schedule nurses for three 12- or 13-hour shifts per week. After a good night's sleep and a little rest and relaxation, that still leaves another two or three days work somewhere else.

I spoke with one nurse, a former Air Force flight nurse and retired major, who works her three-day shift locally and then does a two-day "fly out" trip to a remote town in Canada where she is the only health care professional in "residence." The financial rewards are substantial if you can handle the pace.

Stamina it seems is something military health care professionals have in spades. When aboard ship, Navy corpsmen, for example, work 12 hours on and 12 hours off for weeks on end. It is not like they can head down to the local pub for a burger and beer on the weekends. Work keeps them focused and sharp. This makes most civilian assignments a "cake walk" at least until the newness of freedom wears off.

Veterans and returning military professionals in all career fields offer many other advantages to employers.

"The common misconception amongst employers is that military veterans bring skill sets that are largely not appropriate to civilian careers. Tank drivers or infantrymen are not in high demand these days, however, military veterans offer much more than their MOS, or Military Occupation Specialty, code might reveal. Things like teamwork, leadership and integrity are essential qualities taught to every service member. In addition, they are exposed to leading-edge technologies and health and safety standards," noted Sela Rodriguez, vice president of veterans affairs for IHireveterans.com, a Las Vegas Review-Journal Veterans Network partner.

Veterans have the proven ability to learn new skills and concepts. They can enter the work force with identifiable and transferable skills, proven in real-world situations. This background can enhance your organization's productivity.

"The bottom line is that veterans provide employers with skills and qualities not often found in new college graduates. They can hit the ground running and can follow instructions to the letter, delivering accelerated performance along the way," added Rodriguez.

Military service members are also taught respect for procedures and respect for other individuals that might not look like them. Diversity and inclusion is alive and well in the U.S. military services. 

How do veterans and returning military position themselves with employers in the private sector? Chad Storlie, military transition expert and author of the book "Combat Leader to Corporate Leader: 20 Lessons to Advance Your Civilian Career" has this to say about preparing for the civilian work force: "Before anything else, the number one rule for starting a career transition plan is to identify your goals. The hardest part of a military career transition is defining your career goals and then creating viable options to meet your goals. Career planning goals usually revolve around location and occupation. Where do I want to live? What do I want to do? How can I fully apply my military experience? What professional occupations am I most interested in? Career planning is far, far more complicated than just creating a resume, drafting a cover letter, establishing a few connections, and then applying for a job. Defining your career goals must come first."

Storlie offers some additional suggestions for writing resumes and handling interviews.

n Treat every potential opportunity with optimism and respect even if it is not exactly what you are looking for. Often recruiters will recommend you to their colleagues if they see a better fit somewhere else in the organization.

n Do not minimize your military experience. You have skills experiences and abilities that most nonveterans will never have. I remember returning home on leave years ago and finding my friends doing exactly what they had been doing a year earlier while I had traveled the world and received first-rate training during the same period. You are a special commodity in this marketplace. Don't forget it.

n On your resume and in the interview, highlight your military earned skills in civilian terms. Often military terms and acronyms mean absolutely nothing to a nonmilitary recruiter. Look on the Las Vegas Review-Journal for similar jobs and use the civilian terms. Learn the lingo and you'll get more interviews.

n Dress appropriately for interviews. Be timely, respectful and communicate your interest in working for that employer. Do your research beforehand and know the employer thoroughly. With the Web, there is no excuse for an ill-prepared job candidate.

The state of Nevada offers many benefits to veterans and returning military. Preferences for everything from fishing licenses to civil service jobs are available. Tax exemptions for veterans and disabled vets are also given as is counseling and employment services. Visit www.veterans.nv.gov/veteran_benefits.html for more information.

Employers, too, are eligible to receive tax benefits through the Work Opportunity Tax Credit Program for hiring veterans and disabled veterans. You can apply for this program at www.nvdetr.org/esd%20pages/wotc.htm.

As operations wind down in Iraq and Afghanistan, more and more veterans will be seeking employment opportunities in the private sector. Employers are encouraged to extend a hand to these American heroes and give them a chance to prove their value to their new companies.