Maturity, trust for sale

Andrew Edwards

In Iraq, Spc. Barbara Newstrom hauled tanks for the Army. In Costa

Mesa, she spent Tuesday looking for a job.

“I’m trying to find out what opportunities are out there for us

that were injured in Iraq,” she said.

Newstrom, 28, said her right wrist was shattered and right ankle

injured after a snapped chain catapulted her from a truck at an air

base northwest of Baghdad. Newstrom served in Iraq with the 257th

Transportation Company for 6 1/2 months, starting in April 2003,

shortly after the start of the U.S.-led invasion.

The young veteran has training as a military truck driver and

combat medic, but is looking for quieter work in an office

environment. Her job search brought her to Costa Mesa Neighborhood

Community Center Tuesday to visit the Ultimate Job Fair, which was

organized by the state’s Economic Development Department to help

veterans and others find work.

“I’m just trying to get my foot back into the door, and that’s the

hardest part right now,” Newstrom said.

At least 70 veterans, along with about 80 other job-seekers

attended the event, said Jayne Archuleta of the Economic Development

Department. This was the first year the job fair was held in Costa

Mesa.

The day was a little slow, veterans employment representative

Steve Traktman said, adding that an additional job fair held Tuesday

at Orange County Fairgrounds may have drawn some people away.

However, he was happy to refer job seekers to the other event.

Traktman is one of 12 people who work for the Economic Development

Department in Orange County to assist veterans. According to the

department, the unemployment rate in Orange County was 3.5% in April,

which suggests a good job market for veterans.

“In general, I think the market is pretty open right now. The

unemployment in Orange County is pretty low,” he said.

Reservists returning from overseas duty should not have to worry

about finding work if they were employed before leaving the United

States, Traktman said. The government requires companies to let

reservists return to work once they return to civilian life.

But for veterans who finished their stints in the military decades

ago, Traktman said, layoffs are a common challenge.

“Some of the older veterans -- they’ve been working for 20, 30 or

40 years -- they’re laid off. Their skills are outdated,” Traktman

said.

Employers at the job fair, like Reema Khetarpal of FMC Financial

Group in Newport Beach, said they want to hire veterans because they

see a connection between military service and personal discipline.

Khetarpal said she often looks for hires at Camp Pendleton and

values “a lot of maturity, a lot of experience, rather than what’s on

your resume.”

Similarly, Tom Rollins a 27-year Marine Corps veteran, who flew

CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters and served in the 1991 Persian Gulf War,

said customers tend to feel comfortable around people who have worn

the uniform. Rollins represented Capistrano Nissan and Capistrano

Chrysler Jeep Dodge at the event.

“Military people, I think, are held in high esteem by the public,”

Rollins said. “When they find out the individual is a veteran, it

translates to trust.”

* ANDREW EDWARDS covers business and

the environment.

He can be reached at

(714) 966-4624

or by e-mail

at andrew.edwards @latimes.com.