COVER STORY

Veterans get some respect and jobs in New Hampshire. Ian Thomas Jansen-Lonnquist photo

It's a veteran work force in New Hampshire — and that's got nothing to do with the region's aging work force.

New Hampshire Employment Security counts 78,000 veterans who are 20 or older in the state's labor force. While the unemployment rate in 2006 was higher for veterans, the state agency reported in August that only about 3,000 were unemployed during the course of the year.

The statistics showcase the region's participation in the military, from younger generations to the Greatest Generation. Keeping these men and women employed, particularly those returning from active duty, is a source of pride at the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve in Concord. The state has about 4,500 Guard and Reserve members.

"The vast majority of those who returned are successfully reintegrated into the work force," Jim Goss, executive director of the office, said in an interview with Seacoast Ventures.

And the milestones just keep coming. New Hampshire was fortunate last month to have two employers receive the nation's highest honor for supporting the Guard and Reserve.

Turbocam of Barrington and the New Hampshire State Police were recipients of the Freedom Award, the highest honor given by the U.S. Department of Defense to employers giving exceptional support for their employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve.

The employers were set to receive the honor last month in Washington, D.C., with either the president or the defense secretary handing out the awards. Goss said New Hampshire is fortunate because this is the first time a state has received two awards. More than 1,200 nominations were submitted for the recognition.

"These employers have provided exceptional support to the men and women serving in our National Guard and Reserve and now, more than ever, we appreciate and thank them for doing much more for these employees than the law requires," L. Gordon Sumner Jr., executive director of the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, said in a prepared statement.

Almost half of New Hampshire's military family is in the Guard and Reserve, according to Ernest Loomis, chairman of the state office of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve.

"Without the support of these employers, our total force cannot succeed," Loomis said when the honor was announced in August.

Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve was established in 1972. It provides education, consultation and mediation, if necessary, for employers of Guard and Reserve members. The Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve office is at 227-1477.