kcentv.com - KCEN HD - Waco, Temple, and KilleenThousands Attend Job Fair on Fort Hood

They came out in droves, soldiers, veterans and civilians, to the Fort Hood winter job fair Wednesday morning. 

More than 150 employers are looking to hire. Employers like Terry Hatcher of Houston-based manufacturing company Stewart and Stevenson. He needs to hire about 300 people and says Fort Hood is the perfect place to find them.

"When you're talking to the military personnel, you're talking about trained people, disciplined people and they fit our background," Hatcher, the Vice President of Human Resources, says.

But he wasn't expecting to see this many candidates. The Army Career and Alumni Program (ACAP) says this is the largest turnout they've ever had, about 5,000 job seekers. Thanks in part to the end of the war in Iraq.

"For the last year we've had more people deployed then were left back at Fort Hood and now that's starting to reverse itself," explains Fort Hood Transition Services Manager Linda Christ.

And it's an advantage for law enforcement agencies like the Texas Department of Public Safety.

"We're really happy about the military coming home, we'd be glad to get them," says Corporal Cynthia Fey.

About 40 percent of their staff are ex-military. "Texas Department of Public Safety is very, easy transition from military into law enforcement," Fey adds.

Helping America's heroes transition is the goal, but these employers say this job fair actually helps them. Partly because of new incentives to hire veterans.

"The president just signed into law the Vow to Hire Heroes Act. And that will give employers a tax credit for hiring a veteran," Fey explains.

ACAP realizes that walking into a job fair of this size can be overwhelming, so they offer employment training workshops for soldiers. For more information on the workshops, go to www.acap.army.mil.

And if you missed out on the opportunity to come to the job fair, ACAP will hold another in June. It will also be open to the community.

Reporter: Ashley Goudeau / Photographer: Chris Buford