Top 10 “Most Military-Friendly Employers”

PITTSBURGH —
For its leadership in recruiting and promoting veterans and creating a comfortable work environment for them, Brink’s U.S., which is based in Richmond, Virginia, was found to be the most “military- friendly” employer in America.

G.I. Jobs, a national monthly magazine that assists transitioning military members and veterans in their search for civilian employment, has released its first annual list of Top 10 Most Military Friendly Employers. The list, drawn from a sample of Fortune 500 companies, was created based on company criteria including the strength of company military recruiting efforts, the percentage of new hires with prior military service, and company policies toward national guard and reserve service.

For a complete list, visit www.gijobs.net

“Since 9-11, the professionalism of the American military has been thrust center stage,” said Rich McCormack, Publisher, G.I. Jobs,. “It’s appropriate to recognize those companies that are ahead of the power curve when it comes to hiring and retaining America’s best and brightest. The survey is perhaps the most comprehensive effort yet to research and evaluate corporate policies and practices regarding veterans.”

Many companies maintain comprehensive programs to recruit transitioning military and support and encourage reserve service. Fortune 500 companies like Merrill Lynch, Schering-Plough, and Sprint offer generous policies for reservists, providing them with full pay or pay plus differential during their active service, continued medical benefits and insurance coverage for themselves and their families, and the opportunity to return to the same or like positions when their military duty ends.

The global integrated communications provider Sprint, of Overland Park, KS, is second on this year’s list of most military friendly employers. Sprint scored points with a strong military recruiting program, even during the recent downturn in the telecommunications industry, and with a plugged-in network of veterans that helps foster the hiring of other veterans. Of the 70,000 Sprint employees worldwide, nearly ten percent are veterans.

Ranking third on the list is General Electric Company, of Fairfield, CT. GE was noted for the Junior Officer Leadership Program it established in 1995 — an effort to hire, train and retain junior military officers transitioning from the service. The Home Depot, with its active military recruitment into its Store Leadership Program, ranked fourth.