VAN NUYS : Hundreds Turn Out for Veterans Job Fair

Call it “Operation Restore Hope II.”

Trading their uniforms for business suits, hundreds of veterans Thursday marched against a tide of tough economic times and stormed a veterans job fair in Van Nuys in the hopes of returning home with a job.

Vet Expo ’93 lured the veterans, and even some non-veterans, to the Airtel Plaza Hotel with a variety of jobs offered by more than 30 employers. The free event, sponsored by several veterans’ organizations and the California Employment Development Department, was designed to celebrate “Hire a Veteran Day.”

But in a sign of how badly job prospects are perceived in the Valley, even future veterans were jumping ship to grab a job.

“I’m trying to get ahead of the game and get a job right now. I get out on May 18,” said Louis Islas, 23, a Navy sailor from Van Nuys who spent three months refueling helicopters on the USS Tripoli as part of “Operation Restore Hope” in Somalia.

Most of the veterans at the expo were not fresh out of the military. Many had been unexpectedly laid off after years of service in the defense or aerospace industries. Now, they find themselves in a different kind of battle.

“We’re fighting to save our home. It’s a little demoralizing,” said Barry Beckett, 53, a former defense worker and marine sergeant, a veteran from Santa Clarita who has been out of work since 1991.

For that reason, many veterans found themselves scrambling for jobs that ranged from insurance agent to firefighter, driver to bank teller. Others jockeyed to sign up for federally funded job training programs.

Employment counselors expect even more veterans to be seeking jobs in the Valley, thanks to downsizing of the military. President Clinton has proposed reducing defense spending by $60 billion. This could lead to reductions in 400,000 uniformed military jobs nationwide and 2 million defense-related jobs overall.

With such an outlook, many veterans looked upon Vet Expo ’93 as a rescue mission of sorts.

“Standing out there by yourself, looking for jobs, you feel alone,” Beckett said. “Things like this are very refreshing because you feel that somebody is trying to help you.”