Justin Callahan was on routine patrol in Afghanistan when he tripped a landmine. Upon regaining consciousness he soon learned the injuries were extensive and permanent, and the war was over for him. But the struggle for his brothers and sisters in arms back in the states was just beginning.

Five long months of extensive physical rehabilitation and seven intense revision surgeries later, Justin Callahan walked out of Walter Reed on a prosthetic leg. Even so he was fortunate; he quickly found a job. Many of his fellow soldiers walked or limped or wheeled their way out of WR and straight into unemployed civilian limbo. That’s when Callahan, encouraged by the person who had hired him, got an idea: Hire Heroes USA.

I’ve personally hired a few of the men and women in HHUSA’s database. They make it easy, you can search and drill down for resumes and specific skills, plus you can actually call HHUSA and speak to a live human job placement specialist. I found that today’s veterans do indeed hail from the most skilled and proven workforce of any in history. And with the wars hopefully winding down in Iraq and Afghanistan, more will be coming home soon. Recruiters, HR managers, and temp agencies, if you want to honor a veteran, give them the same consideration you would give a civilian who had managed an entire town; building water plants, creating communications infrastructure, designed bridges, virtually anything you can think of, often while being shot at or bombed.

That’s focus, that’s dedication, that takes the kind of leadership, guts, and motivation executives pay head-hunters big bucks to find. By contrast, HHUSA has no advertising budget or marketing scheme, they depend almost entirely on word of mouth, because HHUSA is a non profit which provides this service at no cost to veterans or employers.