From News.Yahoo.com:
By Katie Zezima
NEWARK, NJ (AP) — When Marland Lawrence entered the fire academy after coming home from the Navy, he was surprised to see that he was not the only veteran in his class. Almost everyone else had also just left the military.
Lawrence was one of 28 veterans in Newark’s 41st fire recruit class, which graduated Tuesday. Three civilians were also sworn in.
It is not a coincidence. For the past few years, New Jersey’s largest city has been actively recruiting veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to serve in its fire department. It is the first time the fire department has recruited veterans since World War II.
Newark runs a veterans program in its city hall in partnership with the GI Go Fund, a New Jersey nonprofit that helps veterans make the transition to civilian life.
Newark’s veterans office recruited returning veterans through phone calls and job fairs and told veterans who contacted it about the firefighting job possibilities. New Jersey and other states give veterans preference in their civil service exams.
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