Austin plans veterans' parade, job fair

AUSTIN (KXAN) - You can never say thank you enough to American war veterans, but the city of Austin intends to try.

The city and the Welcome Home Iraq War Veterans Committee are organizing a big parade, followed by a job fair at the Capitol, July 7.

The parade will run on Congress Avenue through downtown, followed by a short ceremony on the Capitol steps. Then a job and resources fair will take place inside. The committee is working with the Texas Veterans Commission to recruit government agencies and organizations that provide veterans services.

The current unemployment rate for veterans in the United States is 12.1 percent. That is 4 percentage points above the rate for all Americans.

More alarmingly, a staggering 45 percent of the 1.6 million veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now seeking compensation for injuries they say are service-related. That is more than double the 21 percent who filed such claims after the Gulf War in the early 1990s.

It is believed many factors are driving up the numbers. The weak economy, more troops surviving their wounds and more awareness of problems such as concussions and post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Many veterans suffer back, shoulder and knee problems, aggravated by carrying heavy packs and wearing body armor, which keeps them alive.

The Veterans Administration reports 400,000 new vets have been treated for a mental health problem, attributed in part to multiple deployments that contribute to their stress.