Hiring military veterans is good business: unemployment rates high for these individuals.

• Author: Whitmore, Bill
• Position: OP-ED

If your company's diversity recruiting strategy fails to include military veterans, you are missing out on working with some of our country's most outstanding men and women. Organizations that fail to recognize the extraordinary leadership qualities veterans bring to the workplace pass up the opportunity to work with results-oriented employees who have a strong sense of accountability and responsibility. It is time for our country's corporate leaders to awaken to the reality that combat leadership and military discipline translate into dynamic employees who can enhance an organization's productivity.

While the national unemployment rate hovers around 9.7 percent for civilians, the unemployment rate for young male veterans, including those returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, is more than double the national average at 21.6 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Isn't it time to shine the employment spotlight on the brave men and women who serve our country?

What essential set of life skills do military veterans bring to corporate America that makes them an indispensable pairing? The military trains our men and women to lead by example, as well as understand the nuances of delegation and motivation. As General Douglas McArthur once said: "A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others." Military veterans understand the value of teamwork, which they can apply in our country's offices and board rooms. Veterans understand their role within an organizational framework and serve as exemplary role models to subordinates while demonstrating accountability and leadership to supervisors.

Veterans generally enter the work force with identifiable skills that can be transferred to the business world, and are often skilled in technical trends pertinent to business and industry. And what they don't...