JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — When Lt. Colonel Alan Rohlfing left active duty for the Missouri National Guard last summer, he had to look for a day job.
“That’s when I started digging back in,” he said. “For those that haven’t been job hunting in the last few years it’s changed a lot.”
Rohlfing has been a guardsman and a civilian, an employer and an employee. He will use what he has learned in each of those roles in his new job directing the state’s recently launched veteran hiring program, Show Me Heroes.
The Show Me Heroes program is designed to bring existing resources together to help connect veterans and employers.
The recently started Web site asks employers to pledge to hire veterans and will have a list of open jobs in each region. On Friday, there was one employer listed — the state — but Rohlfing said around 30 interested employers have contacted him. These include small businesses, fast-food restaurants and auto repair shops.
Rohlfing, who served in both the Active Guard and Reserve and traditional National Guard over 24 years, said the program will help showcase veteran’s unique skills such as discipline, work effort and security clearance.
