Returning veterans will receive help

Disabled veterans of the war in Iraq will have access to educational and job placement services following an agreement between Ocean County and the Veterans Administration (VA).

For more than 30 years the VA has offered vocational training assistance for veterans at the Ocean County Veterans Service Bureau. With the signing of the new agreement, the partnership will move one step further, according to a press release from the county.

"For the first time in Ocean County, the VA will actively have staff members on-site to assist our disabled vets in finding a job," said Freeholder Gerry P. Little.

Little said disabled veterans often receive training that takes into account the injury they suffered while serving their country.

"If a veteran cannot perform physically demanding work, the county and VA partnership helps train them for an office job or other position that is not physically demanding," he said. "With the addition of job placement, the VA will help our vets find a job in which they can excel."

Freeholder Director John P. Kelly praised the new agreement.

"We cannot do enough for our brave men and women who sacrificed so much fighting in the Middle East," Kelly said.

This is not the first time the county has partnered with the VA to help local veterans. Last year, the VA began offering free post traumatic stress counseling for combat veterans in the Veterans Service Bureau office.

Iraq war veterans wanting more information on the new program can contact the veterans bureau at (732) 929-2096.