AW2 from a Newcomer’s Perspective

Filed under Career/Education by on February 24, 2011 at 5:30 pm {no comments}

By Julie O’Rourke, WTC Stratcom

I first interacted with the Army Wounded Warrior Program (AW2) last week.  Although I was aware of the program, I had never met an AW2 Soldier, Veteran, or Family member. 

I interviewed four wounded Soldiers as part of a résumé workshop to prepare Soldiers for their transition to civilian work.  I was surprised at the intensity of the emotions I felt listening to the interviews. I saw Soldiers who had already given freely to their country and struggled through painful rehabilitation, come back to learn how to give to a new employer, and struggle to establish themselves again in a new profession.   Each of the Soldiers was grateful for the opportunity to learn a new skill and to take active steps to prepare for the next phase of his/her life.

Many of the Soldiers had never created a résumé before; they were truly starting over.  I have had to start over a few times in my life—never because of a sense of volunteerism as strong as a Soldier’s.  I was instantly overwhelmed with the feelings of uncertainty I saw in the program’s participants as they approach this transition to Veteran status.  They have Families to support and medical challenges, new limitations on what they can do, and they need to learn to articulate their military skills in a way that makes sense to the civilian workforce. 

Taking the perspective of a human resources officer, I can imagine that hiring a disabled Veteran would possibly be more difficult than hiring someone who had not been through that injury experience.  Modifying office spaces, making counseling services available, and acquiring adaptive technology seems   overwhelming to employers.  As I listened to the Veterans tell their stories, however, I gained a deeper understanding of what Veterans have to offer.  Soldiers bring a wealth of training and flexibility under layers of practiced teamwork and self-discipline.  Soldiers are used to getting to work early and making sacrifices.  Most will need more education and training in order to adjust to a new role in a civilian organization.  I began to understand that these accommodations are really just a minor inconvenience in comparison to the sacrifices these people have made.

Agency Officials Called to be a Vision for Wounded Warriors’ Dreams

Filed under Career/Education by on February 24, 2011 at 2:13 pm {no comments}

By Julie O’Rourke, WTC Stratcom

(left to right) Assistant Secretary of Labor Ray Jefferson reunites with COL Gadson, his West Point classmate, at the Wounded Warrior Federal Employment Conference, after inspiring the crowd with a charge to make a difference in the lives of others.

Agency officials are “called to be a vision for wounded warriors’ dreams,” said The Honorable Ray Jefferson, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans Employment and Training Services (VETS) at the Wounded Warriors Federal Employment Conference Wednesday.  Jefferson charged agency officials to do work they will be proud of, quoting a poem by Linda Ellis, “The Dash.”

I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end. 

He noted that first came the date of her birth
And spoke of the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years.

Fifteen years ago, Jefferson saw the course of his life change in a moment: a defective hand grenade made the tell-tale poof sound that it was about to explode.  He had Soldiers on each side and chose to hold the grenade to protect his colleagues.  He lost all five fingers on his left hand.  When his parents picked him up from the hospital, his first meal out was Chinese food.  The message in his fortune cookie read: “What began as a curse can become a blessing.” 

Jefferson charges each agency official to be that power in a wounded warrior’s life, showing some who may have lost hope how what has been a curse might be a blessing in the future.  “The death of a dream can be the birth of a destiny.”  Jefferson asked the audience to nurture those dreams in others and bring them to light, “your lives are the candles that will light the way for a wounded warrior’s dreams to come true.”

AW2 Federal Résumé Workshop—Finding the Path Forward

Filed under Career/Education by on February 23, 2011 at 4:20 pm {no comments}

By Julie O’Rourke, WTC Stratcom

Last Thursday and Friday, eight Warriors in Transition and AW2 Veterans participated in a two-day résumé workshop to prepare applications for federal jobs.  Experienced human resources counselors from the Office of Personnel Management provided tailored advice to Soldiers in hands-on sessions.  Participants were also provided online resources that help translate military experience into civilian terms.  This week, these Soldiers and Veterans will have the opportunity to network with federal officials at the 2011 Wounded Warrior Federal Employment Conference.

Beyond identifying the correct words to express their experience, last week’s session helped participants better value the skills they had acquired during their military careers.  They were coached in reading federal job listings and pairing position requirements with their own skills.  The Soldiers and Veterans who attended the program were enthusiastic to continue serving their country, to provide for themselves and their Families, and to become independent despite their injuries.

I met with some of these Soldiers and Veterans on the second day of the résumé workshop.  I asked them to share with me their message to hiring managers.  MAJ Johnny Agbi asked that we look past physical issues to see what a Veteran has to offer, “The largest handicap we face is the limit society places on us.”  MAJ Agbi is proud of his training and experience in the medical field, his multilingual skills, and his ability to learn and to be adaptable.

Active duty reservist MAJ Stacy Haag realized through the résumé writing seminar that some skills she took for granted in the military are valuable in the private sector–such as the ability to work well on a team, self responsibility, and attention to detail.  MAJ Haag is a logistics specialist, responsible for establishing base camps.  MAJ Haag requests hiring managers to look beyond keywords and search terms, and to consider life experience.

SGT William Thomas is a chemical specialist who was deployed to Iraq and experienced multiple improvised explosive device attacks.  The résumé workshop was particularly useful to him; this is his first résumé.  Although they often do not have private sector experience, Veterans are used to arriving to work on time, presentable, and ready for duty.

Being so close to a number of IED explosions, SGT Thomas suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  He asks that hiring officials be patient, because often they cannot see every wounded Soldier’s injuries; not all wounds are physically apparent.  But, he stressed, “The potential is still there.”

Reservist SFC Danny Zirkle hoped the skills learned at the résumé workshop will open new avenues to a better job.  SFC Zirkle added that its hard to talk solely about his personal work because in the Army, almost every task is completed as part of a team.

The strength to overcome their injuries and the resilience to start over in the civilian workforce are skills in themselves.  Each of the Veterans I spoke with embraced new learning and flexibility to build on their strong military foundation.  With very different skills, specialties, and experiences, I hope the Soldiers attending the résumé workshop will settle into distinct roles, where their individual abilities match the needs of a federal agency.

AW2 Veteran Alvin Shell Transitions to Federal Career Post Injury

Filed under Career/Education by on February 22, 2011 at 2:57 pm {one comment}

By Julie O’Rourke, WTC Stratcom

AW2 Veteran Alvin Shell will speak at the Wounded Warrior Federal Employment Conference tomorrow to share his story of transition from the Army to the federal workforce.

CPT Alvin Shell retired from the Army in 2006, and is now working at the Department of Homeland Security as the Acting Deputy Division Chief, Force Protection Branch, Office of the Chief Security Officer, Department of Homeland Security.  His transition to the civilian workforce parallels any career change: depart one job, take a minute to reconnect with Family and think through career goals and where you would like to go next, apply for that new job and begin to orient yourself to a new corporate culture.  However, in Shell’s case he made the transition while battling chronic pain from his severe burns and other combat-related injuries.

CPT Shell’s career shift followed his medical retirement from the U.S. Army.  In 2004, CPT Shell, stationed at Camp Victory in Fallujah, Iraq, witnessed a truck running over an improvised explosive device (IED).  Shell and his crew rescued the driver from the truck and during their rescue a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) flew in, hitting a Humvee and igniting the road.  Shell said he went to rescue his sergeant who was on fire.  He tried everything to extinguish the fire that fast consumed his sergeant, but after rolling him on the ground and covering him with dirt, his sergeant was finally able to retreat out of the fire. Meanwhile, Shell realized that he was completely soaked with diesel fuel. As a fire wall circled him, he had only one choice to make.

“I put my left hand on my face, and my right hand on my rifle and when I ran through I lit up like a Christmas tree because I was pretty much soaked in the diesel fuel from my boots to my pants, and when I ran through the other side of the fire, I lit up. And I just remember being on fire and I rolled and couldn’t get the fire out,” he said.

He had only one option. As he tore the burning clothing off his body, he knew he had to put the flames out. He saw a ditch, jumped in, and extinguished the flames.

Shell sustained third degree burns to over 33% of his body.  He endured 18 months of rehabilitation and more than 30 surgeries.   He retired from the Army with a 100% disability from the VA in 2006.  Despite suffering through daily chronic pain, Shell works over 50 hours a week in the Office of the Chief Security Office at the Department of Homeland Security.  He models the value of hard work while simultaneously taking responsibility for his three sons.

Shell was honest with his employers about his injuries and physical limitations.  They offered him every accommodation he could imagine, but, in an attempt to accommodate his physical disabilities, they passed him up for a course that would significantly enhance his career at the Department.  When Shell found out, he approached his supervisor to have an honest conversation about the course’s physical requirements.  When he explained that he regularly met most of these requirements, such as a timed run, they enrolled him in the course. 

“I graduated at the top of my class,” Shell said.  “And now they know how much I’m capable of, in spite of my injuries.”

Tomorrow, Shell will address more than 125 officials from nearly 30 federal agencies at the 2011 Wounded Warrior Federal Employment Conference to encourage them to hire more wounded warriors.  WTC Stratcom staff will be blogging throughout the next few days to keep you posted on the event.  Check back to the WTC blog and the AW2 blog for more details.

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