Diamondback Energy representative Aron Nunez, left, speaks with Navy veteran Terry Peck during a military community hiring event hosted by DAV and RecruitMilitary on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Michael Cuviello/Dallas Morning News
ARLINGTON — Samaté Landor had already decided he was not right for the job.
As Landor prepared to leave an oil company’s booth at a veterans hiring fair Thursday, a recruiter pulled him back. Landor’s résumé did not look like an obvious match to him. The recruiter saw a project manager, college graduate and communicator.
“He said, ‘Yes, it is. We need a communicator. You’ve got a degree,’” Landor recalled.
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Landor completed an application on the spot.
The exchange captured a persistent problem in the transition from military service to civilian work: Veterans can spend years leading people, managing equipment and completing complex missions, then enter a hiring system that does not always understand their job titles or responsibilities.
Schntae Graham, left, poses with Army veteran Samaté Landor during a military community hiring event Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Michael Cuviello/Dallas Morning News
That disconnect brought veterans, transitioning service members and military spouses to AT&T Stadium for a hiring event organized by DAV, a veterans service organization, and RecruitMilitary. Organizers said more than 900 job seekers preregistered and 79 employers participated. Preregistration does not represent final attendance.
A recruiter, right, speaks with an attendee during a military community hiring event Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
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Cook Children’s representatives RaSheila Rhodes, left, and Bianca Richardson pose at the organization’s booth during a military community hiring event Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
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A PNC representative speaks with an attendee during a military community hiring event Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Recruiters offered information about available positions and potential career paths.
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Representatives and attendees talk at the Wells Fargo booth during a military community hiring event Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
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The event came at a complicated moment for veterans and the broader labor market.
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The national unemployment rate among veterans was estimated at 4.2% in July, up from 3% a year earlier, according to figures released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The monthly estimates are not seasonally adjusted and can fluctuate, but July marked the second consecutive month in which the rate exceeded 4%.
D-FW, meanwhile, added 54,600 nonfarm payroll jobs from June 2025 to June 2026, the largest numerical increase among U.S. metropolitan areas, according to preliminary BLS estimates. The region’s unemployment rate increased to 4.7% from 4% during the same period.
Those figures do not show whether veterans who find work obtain positions that fully use their training, education and leadership experience.
Attendees walk through a military community hiring event hosted by DAV and RecruitMilitary on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Michael Cuviello/Dallas Morning News
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Translating military experience
“The challenge comes when we’re unable to take our military skills, experience and knowledge and transfer it over to civilian terminology,” said Carol Hymes, a program outreach coordinator and event director for RecruitMilitary.
Hymes understands that challenge personally. She served 32 years in the Army before retiring as a sergeant major whose work included information technology and cybersecurity with III Corps at Fort Hood.
Before Thursday’s event, organizers coached applicants who needed help developing a 30-second introductory pitch. RecruitMilitary also provides assistance with creating and tailoring résumés, Hymes said.
She said the organization considers interviews, job offers and professional connections signs of success. She did not provide a placement rate or hiring total from previous Arlington events.
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Carol Hymes, right, RecruitMilitary’s program outreach coordinator and event director, shows information on her cellphone to an attendee during a military community hiring event Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Michael Cuviello/Dallas Morning News
The problem extends beyond any single hiring fair. About 200,000 service members transition to civilian life annually, according to a 2022 Government Accountability Office report.
A 2024 RAND Corp. analysis found that the federal government spends more than $13 billion annually on military-to-civilian employment transition programs. Researchers found that 95% of the spending supported education, training or certification, while comparatively few programs directly connected veterans with employers. RAND also found limited evidence showing how often the programs produce lasting employment.
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Finding a civilian foothold
For Patricia Buono Ortiz, the challenges did not end when she found her first civilian job.
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Buono Ortiz, 32, served 6½ years as an Army automated logistical specialist, managing parts and maintenance schedules for military vehicles. She left the Army in September 2021.
Army veteran Patricia Buono Ortiz, left, shakes hands with an attendee during a military community hiring event Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Michael Cuviello/Dallas Morning News
She initially accepted an entry-level position working with children with autism and later secured contracting work with Boeing on its Apache helicopter and C-17 aircraft programs. She has since earned a master’s degree and begun pursuing a doctorate.
That combination of education and civilian experience made Thursday’s conversations more productive, she said. But it also reinforced a difficult lesson: Military experience alone may not satisfy the degree, certification or industry-specific qualifications in a civilian job posting.
“You have to use your GI Bill,” Buono Ortiz said. “You have to connect with people. You have to put yourself out there.”
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She advised veterans to consider entry-level positions that can provide a foothold inside a company, then use their military leadership and newly acquired civilian experience to advance.
The presence of recruiters who had served in the military also distinguished Thursday’s event from conventional hiring fairs, she said. They were more likely to understand military terminology and recognize qualifications that other recruiters might overlook.
Employers said veterans can bring qualities that are difficult to teach.
Rene Ortiz, operations manager at Delta Steel Inc.’s Fort Worth facility, estimated he spoke with 50 to 75 candidates. He said he hoped at least 10 would move forward in the company’s hiring process.
Direct steel-industry experience was not necessarily required, Ortiz said. A consistent employment history, attention to safety and demonstrated leadership could persuade the company to give an applicant an opportunity.
“Sometimes people without that experience just need a helping hand where they can get their foot in the door and show what they know,” Ortiz said.
For Landor, the event offered something online applications could not.
He served nine years in the Army, including in field artillery and Special Forces, before leaving the military in 2014. More recently, his project-management work required him to travel across Texas as much as 90% to 95% of the time.
A Daltile representative speaks with an attendee at the company’s booth during a military community hiring event Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Michael Cuviello/Dallas Morning News
Landor and his wife decided he needed a local position that would allow him to spend more time with their 12-year-old son. He drove about 80 minutes from Celina and estimated he spoke with representatives from 40 to 45 employers Thursday.
“This is way better than just being on LinkedIn or one of the job boards and sending résumés,” Landor said. “I’m actually talking to real live people that are hiring.”
He did not leave AT&T Stadium with a guaranteed job. He left with several leads, including a data-center company that asked him to reconnect Monday about a project-management position.
The difference was having someone look beyond a job title and tell him where his experience could fit.
“I didn’t see it,” Landor said, “but he did.”
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