Photo By Staff Sgt. Brian Ragin | Pat Byrne (center), a business leader from the Okaloosa community, mentors 7th Special...... read more read more
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EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – After taking off the uniform, Soldiers find the transition to the civilian world challenging as they seek new opportunities to serve in their communities. The answer to the question of “what to do next” poses a dilemma for some as they struggle after the Army to find their niche.
In an effort to continue the bond that was forged in uniform, members of the 7th Special Forces Association Chapter 7 planned a mentoring session to bring Special Forces Soldiers to meet with successful members of the private sector. The networking event held at the Red Empire Center on Oct. 25 provided a venue for senior leaders of the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) an opportunity to receive information and resources to help the transition from the military to the civilian sector.
“We hosted the first social back when I was the deputy commander of Seventh Special Forces Group (Airborne),” said Col. (ret.) Robert Kirila, who was the brainchild of the event. “The intent of the mentorship event is to provide an interface between members of 7th Group and the private sector.”
Kirila mentioned that he met and became friends with many local business leaders, which aided in creating an extensive network by the time he was ready to retire.
“It made my transition easier to the private sector,” he said. “I want to provide the same help by sharing my contacts with them to make their transition easier.”
At the invitation of Kirila, more than 20 successful business leaders from the cities of Niceville, Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Crestview and adjoining bases converged on the Red Empire Center to meet with Soldiers preparing to transition within the next two years.
Although the event was not a job fair, it provided the Soldiers an opportunity to glean best practices from industry experts on what potential employers are looking for. Leaders brought resume examples, job descriptions and their best advice to share with the Soldiers.
As a former Marine, David Goetsch understands the anxiety and uncertainty the Soldiers feel as their military careers are coming to an end. Goetsch, who is Vice President and Dean of Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Fla., said, “There is a great deal of uncertainty when thinking about entering the private sector. This event takes away the fear of the unknown. I tell Soldiers the uncertainty is similar to the feeling when you were preparing to join the military.”
Goetsch went on to say that the people in in the room didn’t know how valuable they really are. He mentioned a recent survey done by the Society of Human Resource Management.
“It asked ‘what is the biggest problem businesses face?’” Goetsch said. “The answer was finding employees with a good work ethic, people skills, dependable, organized and responsible. These guys have all these skills and what it takes to succeed out there.”
Bernard Johnson, whose father was career Air Force and retired after 27 years of service. As a military dependent he could relate to the military lifestyle and culture. Now as a senior executive with Gulf Power, the event allowed him to share some advice to the transitioning troops.
“At Gulf Power, we put fire in the wire, you guys put fire down the field,” Johnson said. “I know the value of what you do and bring to the table. The best ability is availability, and there are so many markets waiting for individuals such as yourself to make them better.”
At the conclusion of the event, Kirila praised the business leaders for sharing their expertise with the members of 7th SFG(A).
“We can’t thank the Association and our business leaders enough for making this event possible,” Kirila said. “We are definitely surrounded by a great community and we are fortunate they were able to join us tonight. The goal is to keep our Soldiers here and continue to build a strong community that supports the Group.”
| Date Taken: | 10.25.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 10.30.2017 23:22 |
| Story ID: | 253504 |
| Location: | EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 272 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Florida business leaders provide advice, expertise to assist SF troops transitioning soon to civilian life, by LTC Kimbia Rey, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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