Taking on CONUS Battle Drills as a project has taught me a lot of things about myself and the “skills” that I have. For instance, I am absolutely terrible at video editing. As you know it’s been weeks since I sat down with Nick for this interview, and in that time I have tried to learn everything I could about splicing and fading video, but it turns out I have zero talent and even less patience to make a half-way decent cut. My intent was to give you a 5-10 minute version of this 25 minute interview, but after hours of “editing” the first 5 minutes, I had 4 minutes and 38 seconds of video…
That’s a lot of words to explain why i’m giving you the full video, even with my very awkward question in the middle which Nick took in stride. I learned a ton in just these few minutes, and if you are planning on starting your own business, every minute here will be worth your while. Also, if you’ve never heard Nick talk about his personal journey, this is very much worth your time.
“And so I started a Hobby”
-LJF
Click the image below to find out what we’re doing here at CONUS Battle Drills!
CONUS Battle Drills is very excited to introduce a fellow combat veteran, Yancy Caruthers author of North West of Eden!
One of the pleasures of taking on this project has been meeting all the great veterans out there that are deciding that they too are going to get involved and do something.
Yancy has been doing some great work and is regularly publishing great content. Check out his page www.yancycaruthers.com and on Facebook: North West of Eden. You can find his books North West of Eden and the Medic! series (Korea, Desert Storm, and Iraq) all on Amazon.
He has already featured us on his page and given us some great tips on getting the message out!
The idea came to me in the middle of the night, at a time when I should have been sleeping. I’m sure many of you are familiar with this thoughtful time when the bladder wakes you and the brain refuses to let you go back to dreamland.
In my area, there are a variety of organizations that serve the needs of veterans who are transitioning back to the civilian workplace – they will teach you how to translate military skills, write resumes, and interview for the job of your dreams.
We’ve heard the stories, and some of us have lived them. A patriotic employer may actively search out people with military experience or offer incentives. They manage to hire a vet, but can’t communicate expectations in a manner in which their new employee can understand. Perhaps the new employer is a good manager (sometimes too good!) but doesn’t have as much leadership experience as their new employee. Maybe the upward mobility isn’t clearly visible.
For whatever reason, employer and employee fail to communicate. Both are frustrated, and the relationship eventually ends badly. The vet is discouraged by his career prospects, and the boss thinks twice about hiring another veteran. Eventually, both give up.
The insomnia-induced epiphany started out as a question: If the gap between civilians and veterans is so wide, why are we building the bridge from only one side? Who is out there working with employers? Not just to help them hire veterans, but to integrate them, retain them, and develop them into the corporate assets that many have the potential to be.
I shared my thoughts with Al, who works as Veterans Representative at the Missouri Department of Economic Development. Together, we hatched a plan for a panel discussion designed for human resource professionals and other hiring managers. Our three person panel consisted of a veteran who had successfully transitioned into a civilian career, a director of volunteers at a local hospital, and a manager from a large banking organization. Al (or rather, the state of Missouri) provided a meeting room and blasted out the invitations to his mailing list of employers. We met with our panelists two weeks beforehand, just to make sure that the presentations would compliment each other.
On the morning of the presentation, 48 people attended. What followed was a frank, two-hour discussion, guided by the thoughtful responses of the three panelists (and one awesome moderator!). We scored some local news coverage, and the city’s media department videotaped the entire presentation. The participants left with a few new tools in their kits, and many were hungry for more information. Currently, plans are being made to present this seminar as a model program for other divisions of the Missouri Department of Economic Development to present in their own regions.
We didn’t do everything perfectly, but that’s not the point – we did something. We reached out, got people excited, and started a dialogue.
It was incredibly easy! A few phone calls to find the panelists, a couple of meetings and some prep time – that was it. Al and I estimated that we might have put ten hours into the effort. We just put the right people in the room.
And it’s already bigger than me. Others will follow my lead, with their own local panelists and moderator. I’m not threatened by that. I’m a trailblazer. Those who follow me will have a model to go by and won’t repeat my mistakes. They will do it differently and better – others may even tell them so. I hope they do.
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Yancy Caruthers is a veteran, retired Army nurse, and former U.S. diplomat. He is the author of Northwest of Eden, his memoir of providing medical care during the Iraq War. He also writes Medic!, a series of stories about an Army medic from each of the living wars – from WW2 to Afghanistan.
In this first installment of Veteran Profiles, listen to Ed talk about his 20 years with the Army and more than 14 years with John Deere.
Military Experience
United States Army – 1981 – 2001 – (MOS 67N/67T/67Z)
In the early years, I was a UH-1H (Huey) Crew Chief, Section Sergeant, Instructor, and Quality Control NCOIC. In the later years, I was a Production Control NCOIC, Squadron S3 NCOIC, and Retired as a 1SG of a UH-60 (Blackhawk) Troop
Current Position and Civilian Work Experience
Manager of Program Management Office, John Deere – Cary, NC
I have worked for John Deere for 14.5 year and had multiple assignments in Factory Operations, Project Management, Quality Engineering, and Program Management
The Big 4 Questions:
Were you financially ready to get out? What steps did you take?
No, I was not financially ready to get out!
I was a 1SG with 3 kids in High School, and one kid was getting ready to start college. I was fortunate that I found a good job with a great company and literally left the Army on Thursday, drove across country and started with John Deere on Monday.
I tried to be as debt free as possible, ensured my credit report was clean and accurate, and bought a house that was below what we were approved for to help control expenses.
Why did you want to get out?
I loved the Army, but it was time.
I loved working with soldiers and spent my entire career in Army Aviation and was still crewing helicopters occasionally as a 1SG. It may sound funny, but I was not interested in becoming a CSM and what that rank would entail at that point in my career. I had been a 1SG for 3 years, and the family was ready to have me home more. In 2001, to become a CSM, I would have had to go to the academy, spend a year at Ft. Bliss, and then be subject to an assignment worldwide. I had three kids in high school, and that level of uncertainty did not seem like the right thing to drag them through. Based on what I thought my next step in the Army was, and the needs of my family, it was time to go.
Did you know where you wanted to live?
I have a funny story about where “we wanted to live”. We had lived all over the world, and our last duty station we were stationed at Ft. Carson, CO which is an awesome assignment. My wife and I were discussing the whole retirement plan, when a commercial for Colonial Williamsburg came on the TV. We had lived in the area previously for a few years when I was stationed at Ft. Eustis. We both thought going back to the Tidewater Area of Virginia would be a good choice if we did not stay in Colorado. The following day, I got a call from a previous commander of mine that said he had someone from John Deere where he was working in Williamsburg, VA that wanted to talk to me about a job! How is that for karma!
Honestly, I was willing to relocate to any location for the right job. I had seen a number of former coworkers in Army make what I thought was a mistake and limit themselves to a geographic region. This really limited the types of jobs they were getting interviews for.
I know moving is tough on families, but after John Deere made me job offer, it was my kids that told me it was ok to change High Schools again, they would adjust and that Mom and I had to do what was right for our long term future. It was tough on them, but they have all made it through college and are working in their chosen career field.
Did you know what you wanted to do?
No, I had no idea what I really wanted to do. I did have plan, I called it the “5 finger plan” and had a resume that matched each of those paths. They ran the gamut from working for a defense contractor in aviation maintenance to working in public education. The other thing I did when I was in was to finish my degree programs – so I earned an Associate’s Degree while I was still a SPC, earned my Bachelor’s Degree by the time I was a SFC, and finished a Masters in Education the year before I retired. The degrees did not make me any smarter, but they do open doors that might not be available without them.
I knew I wanted to have a challenging job, with a firm I could grow with, and that would offer a level of pay that would improve my standard of living. So far, John Deere continues to offer me new opportunities – I have moved 6 times in 14 years and had 7 primary jobs in that time period and number of other special projects. Not everyone has to move to advance, but they have offered interesting jobs that I wanted to pursue, so it has been a good fit so far.
Quick Tips for Transitioning
If you are enlisted – get as much school as you can to include college, certifications and other training applicable to your career path.
Officer, Senior NCO, or Enlisted – Be willing to take an entry level job with the right company – your experience and work ethic will lead to other opportunities for promotion.
Be willing to relocate to take the right job – go where the work is
Contact others you have served with that are already out – they are a great resource
Practice Interviewing and using words and language that civilians understand
Send your resume to people not in the military to get some feedback – Don’t be offended with the feedback
When you get the first job, find a mentor. Most organizations have some former military in the workforce. Find out who they are, and approach them about mentoring you. They will be invaluable to you in helping to connect the dots as you transition.
Listen to the full interview now, or take it with you and listen on the go!
