find it at. >> from the line of fire to the unemployment line. last year nearly one in three veterans in the 18 to 24 age group were out of room according to u.s. congress joint economic committee. that is only going to get worse as thousands of soldiers return from the war in afghanistan over the next few years. are companies doing all they can to hire veterans? is something else at play. we spent barbara starr to detroit for the biggest job fair in the country for veterans. >> reporter: the sign says it all, start your job search here. employers from around the country came to detroit saying they are ready to hire veterans. we met 28-year-old navy vet luke marang. >> i look around for a job, i would say, for the past six months maybe. i haven't gotten lucky. so it's pretty rough. >> most of your buddies looking for work? >> i probably know more without a job than i know with a job. >> young veterans like luke, who have served since 9/11, had an unemployment rate of over 29% last year. >> i was a waiter for three years, so that was $2.65 plus tips. sometimes i didn't even make $7 an hour. >> cath stone of the ohio national guard says some employers don't want to hire guard troops. >> one of the things i'm constantly hearing is, i don't want to train somebody up and have them leave me for a year. >> reporter: to the large extent, it's still the economy. there are 20,000 jobs available here at this veterans event. not just in michigan but all across the country, all places where the recession has hit hard. some are trying to escape low wage jobs. army specialist charlie's tuckey of the michigan national guard served in afghanistan. >> there's a lot of people looking for work. i myself had a factory job now for the last six months. but it's not going anywhere. i'm only making $9.50 an hour. >> general motors says it came here with 900 jobs to fill, and it's targeting qualified veterans. >> we're looking at it from salaried employees to hourly employees in the plants to additional things. dealerships, suppliers. >> for michigan governor rick snyder, the veterans unemployment crisis hit home when he visited afghanistan and learned a third of his national guard troops there didn't have civilian jobs. he insists things are turning around. >> we have 80,000 open jobs in michigan. at the same time we have 8.5% unemployment. many of these people looking for jobs are veterans. >> reporter: but many employers need workers with high-tech skills or advanced education. so for veterans like luke marang, the reality of unemployment is still everywhere he looks. >> for washington, i would just like to feel like they actually care. i mean, at least give the illusion. i don't even see that. >> cnn's barbara starr joins me now. barbara, this presidential election is all about jobs. michigan is a key swing state, a state that benefited from the auto bailout. so many people out of work. what are employers saying about the economy. >> as we went through the job fair, christine, a lot of employers said they do have jobs to fill. we went back to general motors to learn a little more company specific what did they have in mind of the types of jobs they want to fill. have a listen. >> we're looking for engineers, technicians and production jobs. we have all those available. of course military veterans well trained in those areas are able to apply those skills through the door. >> the appeal of the veterans is they are disciplined. they have a lot of very positive work ethic but when you talk to the employers and when you talk to the veterans there's a fundamental mismatch. the veterans need the skills, job training, advanced education for the job market that is increasingly high-tech that employers are looking for fill. that's the way they believe the veterans can escape the minimum wage rut. a lot of them like luke marang say they are living in neighborhoods, burned-out buses, really hoping they can get ahead. >> getting the skills, you want an education to do that. that's what the gi bill is supposed to do, widely credited with expanding middle class in america by education. now a cash cow for for profit schools raking in taxpayer dollars. between 2009 and 2011 department of veterans affairs paid out more than $4 billion in tuition and fees. for profit schools raked in 37% of those funds but they only educated 25% of veterans. it's bad news for veterans who hope to graduate with better job prospects but ending up in debt anyway. here is president obama in april on a visit to fort stewart, georgia. >> sometimes you're dealing with folks who aren't interested in helping you. they are not interested in helping you find the best program. they are interested in getting the money. they don't care about you. they care about the cash. >> barbara, has this bill become a disappointment to vets as they are trying to get more education to get the right job? >> it is making it tougher for them, isn't it? what a tragedy people are making money off veterans unemployment this week. veterans affairs department has thought for some time that veterans are inappropriately steered to these for profit schools just for financial motive. but there's been a victory. a number of state attorney generals sued a very key website, gibill.com and said it was using deceptive practices to steer veterans to for profit schools. there has now been a settlement in this crucial case. that website, gibill.com now taken away from the company under the agreement it will be run by the department of veterans affairs. they feel this will be a key step in helping veterans get steered to what is the best education opportunity for them, not the best financial motive for some of these for profit schools christine. >> barbara starr, thanks so much for that report, barbara. coming up next, rebuilding wall street one veteran at a time. plus later, what assistance is the government providing for veterans dealing with posttraumatic stress disorder. we'll speak to cnn chris lawrence. i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. i have to know the weather patterns. i upgraded to the new sprint direct connect. so i can get three times the coverage. 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returning from iraq and afghanistan making that transition is a challenge. fred and mack flew together in the air force. >> blood brothers threw and through. we've seen a lot. >> surviving a rocket fire ambush of their aircraft over baghdad in 2006. >> the airplane was put into a pretty uncontrollable situation and fortunately my buddy here was able to recover the airplane. >> six years later they are working together on wall street trading securities for drexel hamilton. out of the war zone they trained with wall street war fighters foundation, a nonprofit helping in the move from a military career to finance. drexel is one of several companies working with the war fighters to hire disabled vets. >> you know what, this suit right here is camouflage. >> ben downing heard about the program while undergoing physical therapy. he was injured in iraq during his time for the national guard. since january he's been a vp of capital markets. >> i had no experience in financial services other than going to my atm machine but i had a desire to do it. >> in 2011 there were 81,000 post 9/11 veterans in finance and military skills are proving marketable on wall street. >> i have to tell you, i've been around all kinds of professionals from some of the finest universities in the nation and i'll put my people against them. wall street at times is very stressful. but we have people who did 450 to 500 cam bought mission. they are able to handle stress probably better than most. >> too often veterans are pigeonholed into titles civilian employers see because they don't understand the scope of responsibilities we had. we have the opportunity to excel or perform, that's where the military skills come in. >> may not be for some vets. when it comes to a job, it's not about a handout but hand up. >> giving a veteran to have his or her own paycheck, let them take home with that paycheck their dignity as well, that's something more. that's what we're doing here. >> drexel hamilton founded by two-time veterans lawrence dol. he co-founded. since they began in 2008, 20,000 plus have been hired by investment firms, chase, goldman sachs,ty group. for more information on the wall street war fighters head to the website, wall street war fighters.org. creating jobs for themselves by entrepreneurs. former purple heart recipient adam burglary's business idea was a healing one helping him and other veterans suffering from posttraumatic distress disorder. now his story from our colleagues at cnn money. >> this crop here, we grow this. we use that to feed the veterans families. it saves them on cost of living and food bills and stuff and gives them some fresh vegetables to eat. the farm started with an idea i came up with that we needed to help our veterans coming back to be able to feed themselves and be able to support their family financially. and then in the same time they are getting horticulture tour therapy they need to help heal their wounds such as ptsd and traumatic brain injuries. >> for the longest time before i came out here i lost drive. i couldn't really get a job in the civilian world. it was just hard to readjust getting back in and waiting for my disability rating. not trying to -- we're not trying to get a job. >> it's been really wonderful watching my husband come around and alabama a different person. it's given them a new sense of purpose, more drive. they each have their own story to tell. kind of nice to get somebody else's perspective and learn somebody else may be suffering just a little more than even they are. >> i was able to come off my medication as far as posttraumatic distress disorder and a lot of meds i was taking for traumatic brain injury. a lot of my guys will tell you the same thing, their blood pressure has lowered and come off their meds as well. >> getting better sleep at night, going to bed. i feel like i'm actually doing something, feeling like i'm actually useful now. before i didn't want to wake up for a job, doesn't want to go to work. now i'm probably 90% of the time i'm getting up before my alarm goes off. >> we find therapy in different things. it's just amazing where you can find it at, each person can find it. embezzle it's in farming or gardening with blueberries or vegetables. some of the guys work with fish. some like the poultry. >> chicken, my poultry here, that's kind of my favorite. being in combat, you're always go, go, go. just ready to go. sitting at home like waiting for something who too happen. >> we can't make the guys do anything. every man, every woman in uniform that comes back, they have earned their right to have one opportunity in life to make the most out of it. that's what we're providing, that opportunity to have success in life. coming up next, soldiers leave war behind but war doesn't always leave them. more on the struggles of soldiers coming home to battle ptsd. later from the battle fields to the corner office, some of the top ceos in america also have another title, veteran. we'll tell you who they are when we return. i read an article... well, i read the majority of an article online about how older people are becoming more and more antisocial, so i was really aggressive with my parents about joining facebook. my parents are up to 19 friends now? so sad. ♪ i have 687 friends. this is living. what!? that is not a real puppy. that's too small to be a real puppy. [ male announcer ] venza. from toyota. yep. the longer you stay with us, the more you save. and when you switch from another company to us, we even reward you for the time you spent there. genius. yeah, genius. you guys must have your own loyalty program, right? well, we have something. show her, tom. huh? you should see november! oh, yeah? giving you more. now that's progressive. call or click today. it's time to live wider awake. only the beautyrest recharge sleep system combines the comfort of aircool memory foam layered on top of beautyrest pocketed coils to promote proper sleeping posture all night long. the revolutionary recharge sleep system... from beautyrest. it's you, fully charged. there's a ton of research, reports and numbers on ptsd but we want to go behind statistics. i'm joined by pentagon correspondent chris lawrence also a naval reserve veterans. chris, you did a special on veterans and ptsd. you don't want to feed any stereotypes about veterans with this condition. you want to be sensitive to that. veterans we profiled are able to work. they have a job, counseling, healing from it. i have a question for you, though. we're talking about the prevalence after 10 long years of war after ptsd. is it different this time? when you think of world war ii,. these guys had nowhere to go. you look at vietnam with the jungles. you don't know who's coming out of the tall grasses. is it different this time. >> it is different in two ways, christine. one is some of the traumatic brain injuries the troops are suffering. they would have been killed in previous wars. so in previous wars, you didn't have the medical technology, and most importantly, you didn't have it quickly enough. these troops are getting medical attention so quickly that they're surviving a lot of very serious brain injuries that in the past would have just killed them on the battlefield. two, you've got a much more longer, sustained deployment. so instead of going to war for a year and then re-integrating back into society, you're going to war for a year, you're back for a year, you're going to war for a year, you're back for a year. and for some of these troops, that's continuing in over four to five deployments. >> is the government taking care of it? are they doing enough to make sure people are getting the help they need with traumatic brain injury and ptsd when they come home? >> we made some calls and asked around and found that since 2009, the va's budget, specifically for mental health issues, has gone up 40%. and in this latest appropriation, the house appropriated the va about $35 million more specifically to deal with problems like these. the va has launched this new online nish think that uses real-life testimonials to sort of break through that stigma of suck it up and get tough, and uses real-life soldiers who have suffered from ptsd and then reintegrated back into their communities to try to get that message across. but you know, there have been some setbacks as well. you know, a lot of people are complaining about a new army policy that really restricts the number of service dogs that can be, you know, housed on base. a lot of vets have said that being assigned a service dog has really helped them to sort of adapt and start to reintegrate. because a dog mauled a little boy in kentucky, the army has made that a much stricter policy now. some people are fightening to loosen that a bit. >> you're a person who's made this transition, this move back and forth, and you know that the communication's really important here when you're going from the military to the job interview in particular. but also, you have to speak the language of the office, not the military, when you're in a job interview, don't you? >> you have to fit in with the corporate culture anywhere you go, christine. and the one thing about the military is, family is so important in the military. it's how a lot of people bond in the military. they talk about their husbands, their wives, their children, their families. well, in an interview situation, an employer may not want to hear anything about your family, because to him, he's thinking, well, family just means that's time that's going to take you away from your job and your office. another thing that the military does is it really does not put a premium on pumping yourself up, you know, saying look at me, look what a great job i'm doing. it's about the team, it's about fitting in. well, in the corporate world, in the civilian world, especially in an interview, you've got to show how you stood out, what you contributed, how you're the best candidate. so, that can be a bit of a culture shock from people coming from the military to the civilian world. >> we heard one veteran told us, you know -- or somebody who hires and trains veterans says you have to leave the yes, ma'am, no, ma'am, in the military -- >> yep. >> -- and be very forceful and say this is what i can do for you and help you build your bottom line, because that's really what it's all about in the corporate world. >> it's great advice. >> chris, thanks so much. really appreciate it. have a great weekend. >> you, too. next, we talked to one navy veteran who went on his first job interview in 47 years. how he found his new job, the way he found that new job is going to surprise you. 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[ female announcer ] new ensure clear. nine grams protein. zero fat. twenty-one vitamins and minerals. in blueberry/pomegranate and peach. refreshing nutrition in charge! ♪ our next story takes the "help wanted" sign to the next level. some inspiration here for the men and women who have served us in iraq and afghanistan who are "coming home." for dave devonzo to find a job, all it took was a sign. >> i had been driving past that modern sign probably before i moved out here 12 years ago, for about 18 years before that. >> reporter: this billboard off i-95 out of philadelphia. construction equipment company modern group wants to hire people just like him, veterans. he retired from the navy in august after 29 years. >> it was a bit of a shock, i think, for me. i put all the applications out, all the work i had done, put my feelers out there and got little response, very little response. i saw the sign out front and called the hr department, sent them my stuff, and the rest is history. >> reporter: and that's what led him to a job as a shop technician here. >> i will tell you this, my first ever job interview, and i'm 47 years right now, happened at modern group. so, it was a change, definitely a change. >> reporter: dozens of applications poured in to dave griffith, modern's president and ceo. >> you can imagine the visibility that that sign gets. >> reporter: he's hired 27 veterans and reservists from all branches of the military. >> they tend to be more disciplined, more focused, more sensitive to the customer. i think there is a great attention to detail for folks coming out of the military. >> you've shown me quite a few things around here. >> we've got to help each other out. we're all on the same team, and inevitably, our mission is to get the entire job done and keep this company rolling. >> reporter: there's a huge push to hire more veterans. some 40 major u.s. companies have pledged more than 100,000 jobs to veterans by 2020, including time warner, the parent company of cnn. already this year, 12,000-plus vets have been hired. the fields that have been hiring veterans? government, health care, tech and manufacturing. >> i feel very strongly as a ceo that our obligation is to honor that service. if we can do that in such a way that we can hire these young men and women and bring them on board and also do good for our company and our stakeholders, i can't imagine why i wouldn't do that. >> what we deal with in the military is nothing but a snapshot of society anyway, so coming here, working with these guys here, it's just, i think it's a perfect transition. >> corporate america has long tapped the talent of leaders who began their careers in the u.s. military. cnn money and "fortune" put together this gallery of top business leaders who credit their military experience with propelling them to the top fortune 500. you can read more about their success stories by going to cnnmoney.com.