ramsey sulayman, am i saying that correct? i'm glad i got it right. ramsey sulayman is a legislative associate for iraq and afghanistan veterans of america. iraq and afghanistan veterans of america was founded in 2004 to bring together and empower the newest generation of war-time veterans. they have helped countless returning veterans with programs focusing on physical and mental health, education, and careers. mr. sulayman was a former marine officer, is a former marine officer who served in operation iraqi freedom as an infantry platoon commander and company executive officer. pamela hardy is a senior manager in the diversity inclusion team at booz allen hamilton. ms. hardy has a masters in human resources management and has worked in various recruiting positions and specializes in recruiting strategies and techniques. sally sullivan is executive vice president of mantech international corporation, and leads mantech's public affairs, communications, and business development functions. prior to joining mantech, ms. sullivan served as vice president

. >> ramsey sulayman. >> would you just pronounce your last name for me? >> sulayman. >> i know you're used to hearing tom tarantino talk about the -- that's certainly something we thank you for your leadership on to try to change the 90-10 rule. and we have heard anecdotally, and we think we have plenty of examples and there are plenty of statistics to back up the idea that veterans in trying to take advantage of the best career-ready training program that's out there, which is the g.i. bill, especially the post-9/11 g.i. bill, now that it can be used for licenses, certifications, post-second -- not just the post-secondary education but professional degrees and, you know, trades and everything else basically. >> even transferrable, i believe. >> and transferrable to children and spouses. i mean, it's -- >> what a deal. >> i came back from southeast asia at the end of the vietnam war, i think we got about 200 a month. >> and there was a big differential between the post-world war ii g.i. bill and the g.i. bill for the vietnam-era veterans. the post-g.i. bi

sulayman. i think this national guard situation is a crisis. i think it's something we are kind of sweeping under the rug and not paying close attention to. when i was the elected prosecutor in kansas city, i remember looking at resumes and thinking the national guard was a really good thing. now, that was before it became an operational reserve. and i think the testimony that was given here today demonstrates the problem. you know, these companies aren't hiring people just because they want to hire a veteran. they're hiring them because they need them for their ongoing business operations. and you can't blame them for not wanting to hire someone and train them, thinking they're going to be gone four or five times over a six or seven-year period or four or five times over a seven or eight-year period or even four or five times over a ten-year period. now, i know we are drawing down in afghanistan, and obviously we have drawn down in iraq. but i think that we have permanently injured the ability of national guard -- the national guard to get emp

sulayman. i think the national guard problem is a crisis. i think this is something we are sweeping under the rug. when i was a prosecutor in kansas city, i remember thinking that the national guard is a very good thing. that was before it became an operational reserve. i think the testimony that was given here today demonstrates the problem. these companies are not hiring people just because they want to hire a veteran. they are hiring because they need to employ people for ongoing business operations. you cannot blame them for hiring some -- not hiring someone because they are worried that it begone four or five times over a 10-year period. i know we are drawn down in afghanistan and, obviously, we have drawn down in iraq. but i think that we have currently injured the ability of the national guard to get employed in our country by the way we have made these changes. i do not think the worst well thought out. -- i do not think they were well thought out. i think that is one of the reasons we have had problems with suicides and other issues

sulayman. i think the national guard problem is a crisis. i think this is something we are sweeping under the rug. when i was a prosecutor in kansas city, i remember thinking that the national guard is a very good thing. that was before it became an operational reserve. i think the testimony that was given here today demonstrates the problem. these companies are not hiring people just because they want to hire a veteran. they are hiring because they need to employ people for ongoing business operations. you cannot blame them for hiring some -- not hiring someone because they are worried that it begone four or five times over a 10-year period. i know we are drawn down in afghanistan and, obviously, we have drawn down in iraq. but i think that we have currently injured the ability of the national guard to get employed in our country by the way we have made these changes. i do not think the worst well thought out. -- i do not think they were well thought out. i think that is one of the reasons we have had problems with suicides and other issues

sulayman works for me, it's called up, i want a cash stipend. that is the cost of doing business. i cannot spend the tax credit. one of the problems with a lot tax credits is that once the department of labor laze on all their tracking requirements, and it may cost me $11,000 for all the reporting -- >> to keep track of that -- >> i will not be making that up. >> if there is an opportunity to make a cash differentials, you can at least keep the workflow moving -- >> you have a bigger systemic problem. it was written for when people are caught on the weekend or two weeks. it was not designed for people being gone away for 24 months. it is an anachronism. what is happening now, and we documented this when the iowa brigade was called up, they had 750 people who were unemployed. they did not lose their jobs when they were in afghanistan. they lost their jobs before the left, because it was announced, day 160 from mobilization, and most of them lost their jobs because the employer realized if i lay you off during a recession, i am not subject to this because you have your orders in han

sulayman serve in operation iraqi freedom as a platoon commander. pamela harding is a senior

randy sulayman is from iraq and afghanistan veterans for america. it was founded in 2004 to bring together and empower the newest generation of wartime veterans. iava has helped countless veterans with programs focusing on physical and mental health, education, and careers. mr. su layman was a former marine officer who served in operation iraqi freedom as an infantry platoon commander and company executive officer. pamela hardy is a senior manager in the diversity inclusion team at booz allen hamilton, where she is responsible for all diversity hiring efforts. ms. hardy as a masters in human resources management and has worked in various recruiting and consulting positions and specializes in diversity recruiting strategies and techniques. sally sullivan is an executive vice president of man tech international corporation and leads man tech's public affairs, communications, and business development functions. prior to joining man tech, ms. sullivan served as vice president for defense and at northrop grumman. it is the custom of this subcommittee to