Erik Klasnick's life, which is mostly spent at home taking care of his five-month-old son Jacob, is starkly different from the one he's used to.
As a logistics manager for the Army, Klasnick completed two military tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and coordinated training and operations on three continents.
After 11 years of service, Klasnick and his wife Cheryl decided it was time to return to civilian life and start a family.
Klasnick's last day in the Army was in October, and he still doesn't have a job.
"I've gotten job offers, but people say you're going to have to work on the weekends, well that's not going to work," he says. "I did that during my 11 years of service. I was to make it that we're here together as a family, especially on the weekends."
The unemployment rate among Indiana's veterans is about the same as the state's overall average of 5.4 percent.
But when you break it down and look specifically at veterans who enlisted after 9/11 that number jumps to about one in 10.
Translating Military Skills To Job Skills
One effort to reduce that number is the hosting of job fairs.
Oftentimes veterans feel they don't know how to translate their experience on a piece of paper. It may feel overwhelming or daunting.
On a recent weekday, UPS Human Resources Supervisor Sheila Brown was one of the many recruiters who came to a Hoosier Veterans Assistance Foundation job fair to connect with veterans looking for work. She says hiring veterans for UPS makes business sense.
"Our founder actually built the UPS model on military principal so that was a huge things we were always proud of," she says. "We are a time sensitive organizations. We don't have a lot of time to parse out why we have to get it done, and that translates well to veterans."
Job fairs are good for young veterans or those with little formal work experience.
"I've been out of work now about 12 years, over the last year with my homelessness, housing issues and alcohol abuse issues, I've been looking for work," says job-seeker Ricky Wilkinson, a Vietnam-era veteran.
Wilkinson says there's a lot more support for veterans coming home now than there was when he returned in 1972.
"Things have changed," he says. "It's more celebrated returning home now."
But for veterans who have years of experience managing dozens of people, being forced to take an entry-level job and a pay cut can seem like a demotion.
That's why Hoosier Veterans Assistance Foundation spokeswoman Debra Des Vignes says her organization focuses on helping vets translate their military skills to the business world.
"Their skills are life skills, and they translate well especially with dependability, structure and follow-through," she says. "Oftentimes veterans feel they don't know how to translate their experience on a piece of paper. It may feel overwhelming or daunting."
The Elephant In The Room
Back at his home, Klasnick says tweaking his resume and learning how to pitch his experience to employers has been helpful, but no matter how much he dresses up his CV, when he gets called in for interviews - even with companies that say they're veteran friendly - there's still the elephant in the room.
"I think sometimes in the back of people's minds, they'll never [say it], but they're going to think PTSD," he says.
They'll never [say it], but they're going to think PTSD.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder has become a major topic of conversation in recent years. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates between 11 and 20 percent of veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan have some form of PTSD.
"I served two tours, there are guys and girls out there that have served multiple," Klasnick says. "They have to think, is this guy or girl just going to snap on me one day."
These hurdles mean it could still be several months before Klasnick finds a job that will support his family. Right now they're living off his wife's salary as a speech pathologist.
But if there's one thing he's learned from the military, it's determination.
