The program will be administered at three Goodwill agencies in Austin, Houston and Tacoma.

According to their press release, “each participant in Operation: GoodJobs will receive a complete career assessment and an individualized development plan that will include a range of family needs, from basic needs like nutrition, shelter and child care, to specific job training identified in the assessment process.”

If you know of a veteran who would benefit from these services or have questions, please call 800-GOODWILL

Former United States National Security Advisor and a retired United States Marine Corps General, the Call of Duty Endowment’s General Jim Jones will be a featured speaker, along with Kevin Schmiegel, Vice President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Executive Director of the Hire Our Heroes Program, which is an Endowment partner.

According to the invitation, some questions that will be addressed from both the private and public sector perspectives include:

• How do we bridge the divide and provide unemployed workers with the skills and competencies these opportunities require?
• How can industry collaborate with government to fill the gap when federal resources for job training programs have declined by 18 percent since 2006?
• And as we prepare to celebrate national service on Memorial Day, how can we ease the transition of veterans back into the civilian workforce?

The event will be moderated by former CNN correspondent, Kathleen Koch. For more information visit their website’s RSVP page, located here.

The Call of Duty Endowment was proud of our partnering organization, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America’s Paul Rieckhoff, for being one the day’s featured voices, discussing the importance of helping our veterans receive training and finding employment post-military career.

Other speakers, roundtable participants, and moderators included a long list of leaders, activists, political figures and famous news hosts:

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York City, NY

Tom Brokaw, NBC News Special Correspondent

Nancy Berglass, Director, Iraq Afghanistan Deployment Impact Fund

Shaun Donovan, U.S. Secretary for Housing and Urban Development

Wes Moore, Author and Television Host

Admiral Michael Mullen, Former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman

U.S. Senator Patty Murray, Chairman, Senate Veterans Affairs Committee

Katie Couric, Special Correspondent, ABC News

Lloyd C. Blankfein, Chairman and CEO, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

Joe Quinn, Senior Director, Issue Management and Strategic Outreach, Wal-Mart

Darrell Roberts, Exec. Director, Helmets to Hardhats

Jes Staley, CEO, Investment Bank, J.P. Morgan

Brian Williams, Anchor and Managing Editor of NBC Nightly News

Mayor Alvin Brown, Jacksonville, FL

Mayor Deke Copenhaver, Augusta, GA

Mayor Annise Parker, Houston, TX

Willie Geist, Host: “Way Too Early with Willie Geist;” Co-Host, “Morning Joe”

Eric Greitens, Founder and CEO, The Mission Continues, Former U.S. Navy SEAL*

Dr. Raul Perea-Henze, Assistant Secretary for Policy & Planning, Department of Veterans Affairs

Jon Stewart, Host and Executive Producer of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”*

Salvatore Giunta, Medal of Honor Recipient

Gayle King, Co-Host of CBS This Morning and Editor-at-Large of “O, the Oprah Magazine”

Gen (ret.) Peter Chiarelli, CEO, One Mind for Research; Former Vice Chief of Staff of the Army

Dr. Charles Marmar, NYU Military Family Clinic

Barbara Van Dahlen, President, Give an Hour (named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People of 2012)

Gen (ret.) Stanley A. McChrystal, Former Commander of U.S. and International Forces in Afghanistan, Joint Special Operations Command

To hear more about this event, watch this video now.

The Department of Veteran Affairs’ Warriors to Workforce program is specifically tailored to those that have recently been in combat. Federal Computer Week explains that “the three-year program includes courses in leadership, technical acquisition training and on-the-job experience and is designed to train severely wounded veterans to become professionally certified as contract specialists.”

With so many military members returning home from overseas it important, more than ever, to provide them the support that they need to succeed in civilian life. We commend the VA’s Warriors to Workforce program for being a leader and helping to enact positive change for thousands of deserving men and women.

Employing veterans for projects that improve the health of public lands, SCC’s Veterans Fire Corps is a nonprofit initiative supported by Call of Duty Endowment partner Veterans Green Jobs.

According to SCC’s website,

Chainsaw wielding veteran Trevor Peterson – a 2010 graduate of Fort Lewis College who majored in environmental biology – said he had a hard time finding a job before he joined the Southwest Conservation Corps’ Veterans Fire Corps. Peterson served in Iraq as an Army infantryman with the 101st Airborne. ‘I was looking for all sorts of jobs,’ Peterson said. ‘I was basically unemployed.’ He plans to use skills he has learned over the past year with Veterans Fire Corps, to become a wildlands firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service.

To learn more about this great organization, visit their website, http://sccorps.org/.

The Huffington Post explains that, “While other companies, such as Walmart, may employ a larger total number of veterans, the PayScale list focuses on firms that offer veterans well-paying jobs that make use of their military experience in day-to-day work. Veterans with analyst and engineering positions had the highest median pay.”

So you may be wondering, who all made the list? Well here they are:

1. Booz Allen Hamilton
2. Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)
3. Northrop Grumman
4. L-3 Communications
5. Lockheed Martin
6. United States Department of Defense
7. BAE Systems
8. Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC)
9. Caci International
10. The Boeing Company

The Call of Duty Endowment commends those employers, like the ten listed above, that have made a smart commitment to hiring employees that they believe will be an asset to their workforce – veterans.

Here are some local career fairs that may be coming to a city near you:

April 25: The Veterans Memorial Building in Tulare, California will host the Veteran’s Opportunity Day Wednesday morning, with a career fair starting at 9am.

April 27: The eighth Heroes 4 Hire Career and Benefits Fair will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday at the Rentschler Field Ballroom in East Hartford, Connecticut.

May 19: Newton, Massachusetts is hosting a job fair and a celebrity basketball game May 19 to benefit veterans. The job fair will begin at 12:30 p.m. at Newton South High School, followed by the basketball game at 1:30 p.m.

May 19: Holt Cat, the Caterpillar Equipment and Engine dealer for South, Central, North and North East Texas has recently announced an upcoming job fair to be held in Irving, Texas. The job fair will be held Saturday May 19, 2012, from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at HOLT’s facility at 2000 E. Airport Freeway in Irving.

As a sponsoring organization, the Endowment is also proud to announce that the Chamber of Commerce’s Hiring our Heroes program will be hosting 25 other career fairs in cities across the country over the next month. To learn more, visit their website, http://www.uschamber.com/hiringourheroes/events

Elizabeth Halbert Benton, a medical specialist in the US Air Force from 1981-1986, obtained the rank of sergeant and received an honorable discharge.  After her dedicated service she continued her career in the health and medical field until clinical depression left her unemployed and eventually homeless. She came to Veterans Green Jobs through a homeless veteran initiative called Permanent Change of Station and energetically participated in every opportunity offered to get back on her feet. While with Veterans Green Jobs she applied and successfully interviewed for a research laboratory technician position with a major medical group, and was hired April 2012.

Elizabeth’s experience transitioning from her military career to civilian life is felt by thousands of other veterans in similar situations. Hearing about how she successfully got back on her feet and is an asset to our workforce and partnering organization, Veterans Green Jobs, is why we believe that she deserves the Outstanding Female Veteran Award. Congrats Elizabeth!

As a former Marine, Jessica Goodell was assigned in 2004 to a Mortuary Affairs unit tasked with collecting, identifying, and transporting the deceased from Iraq. Shortly after she was discharged, she earned a degree in Psychology and is currently working on her PhD. She hopes to become a resident Psychology doctor for the Veteran Affairs Department.

A former Marine and friend of Jessica’s, explained to the Endowment that she has already written one book about her time in the Marines and has shown that she will continue to do outstanding things for Veterans and Service Men and Women alike. “I have seen few Marines endure the stresses she has and make it out alive not only to their own effect but to that which connects all veterans: DUTY.”

The Endowment couldn’t be happier for and more honored to announce Jessica Goodell as an Outstanding Female Veterans. Congrats and thank you for your continued service Jessica!

Rebecca, a Master-at-Arms Master Chief Petty Officer, was one of the Navy’s first female Master-at-Arms (Navy Police). She was also a member of the Navy’s first military police Crisis Response Force, operating as a sniper.

Rebecca’s experience and dedication to her country and fellow military members in time of crisis exemplifies what it means to not only be a strong leader, but also a woman.  We are all truly thankful for her service and are honored to present her with this award. Congrats, Rebecca!