An Irishman, named Tom Kelly, was one of those brave young individuals who joined the United States Army in the sixties.   Kelly wasn’t born in America; he grew up over 4,000 miles away in Ireland and moved to America when he was in his twenties.   But not being an American citizen did not stop him from fighting next to his adopted countrymen. Like many other immigrants, Kelly put on the uniform of his adopted country after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.  Shortly after the tragedy, Kelly offered to serve during the Vietnam War to help stop the spread of communism at a time when immigrants holding a green card were allowed to enlist in the service.   Kelly was part of the all-volunteer 173^rd Airborne Brigade from 1965 to 1966.  The 173^rd Airborne Brigade was one of the first major ground combat teams of the US Army to serve in Vietnam.  At the peak of deployment, the Brigade was comprised of almost 3,000 soldiers.

Now living back in Ireland, Mr. Kelly makes annual trips back to the United States and has been a longtime member of the American Legion.  Specifically, Mr. Kelly devotes his time as Director of the Irish Veterans Memorial, an organization which plans on renovating a church in the center of Athlone, Ireland to serve  as a “living” memorial to all the Irish men and women who served proudly during the Vietnam War.   Rightly, the organization wants to  ensure that those who gave their lives to fight for the American forces are never forgotten.

Recently, Brian Kelly, co-chairman of the board for Acitivision Blizzard gave a remarkable donation of $50,000 to CODE.   Justly, his resources were donated in honor of his uncle, Tom Kelly, to help other veterans who have followed him and answered their own call of duty. To all those who came to America after their birth and served in the United States military, we thank you.  Your time of service and the challenges you faced as veterans can never be repaid.  But with organizations such as Tom Kelly’s Irish Veterans Memorial and CODE, we hope that your sacrifices will never be forgotten and eternally honored.

Tell me a little about the REBOOT program.
The REBOOT program is what we consider to be an innovative approach to helping veterans transition from the service by providing them with a hands on cognitive-behavioral process that helps them develop self-sufficiency after serving. Whereas when they transition out, they are going to be leaving the military support systems and they’re going to be on their own. They’re going to have to learn how to fend for themselves and be their own internal support system. The challenges that we found with a lot of people leaving the service is that they have gotten used to these support mechanisms being in place. So when they get out, those support mechanisms are no longer there and as a result many of them have difficulty getting jobs and staying focused, because a lot of the things that were done in the background such as, food, shelter, pay, health, etc., now they have to take care of themselves. And consequently because we are creatures of habit, many don’t plan for the change and are unprepared for the transition. REBOOT teaches service men and women how to become more prepared, how to goal set, how to go outside their comfort zone, how to change from whatever type of conditioning they’re had to a new model of success and to create a new mission. REBOOT focuses on the inner person, starting with the thoughts and habits they’ve developed that can either help or hurt them. Once they have mastered that, we move them into working with their networks, their family rings, and the people around them that will help them be successful, to finally taking charge of and planning for their new career.

What type of skills will be taught and improved upon during the program?
They are taught specifically the mechanics of how their mind works. One of the questions I often ask when they walk in is, “has anyone read their owner’s manual?”  Of course their typical answer is, “no, I didn’t realize I had one”. This is the point REBOOT is trying to make. You can’t really change unless you know how to change yourself. REBOOT gets into how behaviors are formed, how their mind was designed to work in terms of collecting knowledge, information, and experience, storing information, and how they utilize the information to make decisions. REBOOT walks them through a very scientific process of how things work, so by the time the first week of the program is over; they have a very deep understanding of the mechanics of thought; how they think, how they create comfort zones, and what keeps them sane which can be the same thing that inhibits and keeps them from growth. The first week of REBOOT really dives into the psychological aspects of human behavior. During the second week, we build upon that by specifically looking at the family structure, how they form opinions and ideas, and how those opinions shape them for the future. Finally in the third week, REBOOT gets into what type of person they are such as introvert or extroverts so they can look into choosing and planning their new career.

How is the REBOOT program different from other unemployment programs geared towards veterans?
Many of the other programs give veterans a concept but no one sits down with them to go over the process. The REBOOT process is three weeks long; many other programs are less than a week and in some cases, only a few days. The REBOOT program focuses on five transition domains; of employment and career, education, living situation, personal effectiveness/wellbeing, and community-life functioning. Other programs only focus on veterans one domain; employment and career, or just   finding a job not realizing that service members need assistance in the other transition domains. REBOOT also addresses issues at their root cause, even going back to behavior of a person before the entered the service.  The military is a support system, and when a member leaves the service, their old habits and routines can come back. Thus, we spend a lot of time going back and reconciling the past, being them in touch with the present, and then we focus them on the future. Career and employment is just one of the outcomes we want, but own main focus is changing the person so they can successfully transition their entire life. That is what distinguishes REBOOT from the rest of the programs. We focus on other transition domains, their personal life, their family life, their networks and community. We invest a lot of time into building the better person with the overarching goal of self sufficiency and empowerment.

Will all veterans be served from this type of program?
All service members should experience this on their transition out of the military.  The initial comments that we are getting from the individuals that are in the workshops are comments such as, “this is what every service member needs,”  “This is valuable to me.” We can see this program being part of their boot camp indoctrination, pre-deployment readiness, and definitely as part of their pre-release preparation as well. As we look at one side of the spectrum, we can see released service members using this program as well as current veterans. Perhaps it could be used as an elective to go along with the required TAP program and depending on how well it is received by local commands, it could become a requirement. It has great potential because it’s really focusing on performance, building a better person, resolving issues at the root cause, and overall could improve retention over all.

How many people are going through the program now?
Right now we have a class of 15 and focus on class sizes not being above 20 people for each workshop. The reason for that is so we can provide the opportunity to” touch them all.” We want to be able to interact with every single attendee, so he or she can have the opportunity to tell his or her story and resolve inner conflicts. Larger class sizes, evident in the education system, don’t bring about the results you want. Smaller class sizes yield a greater success. Because of this, we formulated that the optimum number is 20, even though we can go up to 25, the preference is 20.

Is there a process for selecting veterans to participate in the REBOOT program?
This program is designed for anyone who wants to show up. In the area of Navy Region Southwest, they have put out the REBOOT program to all of the commands and we received a large number of service members from all levels of command electing to participate in the REBOOT program.  Our goal is to create energetic workshops that will be promoted by word of mouth from those attending. Participants currently in the program have already discussed it with friends and family.

Will the REBOOT program be offered in other places?
It is our intention to nationalize this program and spread it further.  We are currently engaged in a proof of concept which will be conducted June through September, after which we hope to go in to an operational mode. After that, our goal is to continue to promote REBOOT starting at a regional level, then at a state level and finally at a national level. We have already received calls from Florida, Texas, and Norfolk asking to bring REBOOT to their area. No program is worth its salt if you can’t grow it and take it someplace else. REBOOT will not only exist on the West coast. We also want it to not only be part of a national system, but also take it over seas with mobile service teams.

Is there a time frame you would like to have the REBOOT program nationalized by?
Absolutely, we’re in phase one right now which is the four month demonstration process to allow people to experience the program. We expect phase two to kick in sometime in October, where we would have a facility with three or four class rooms, and we’re continuously training multiple tracks of students at the same time at which point we would be ready to ramp up around January or February 2011. We would like to take REBOOT on the road around April or May of 2011.

How has CODE been involved in the REBOOT program?
CODE was an inspiration for the design of the program. As advisory members, Ronne Froman and I realized there was a gap from service members getting out, to receiving assistance from veterans services. A lot of the organizations we looked at as an advisory body, only helped veterans once they’ve hit rock bottom and needed some place to go for recovery. To us, it made more sense to create a process that avoided or prevented the released service members from experiencing these gaps. We have found that service members need a way to “REBOOT” their behavior as well as their skills. So we asked ourselves, “Who is moving these individuals toward independence?”  CODE was the spark that got us thinking of solutions and as a result, we think we’ve found the right solution – REBOOT.

REBOOT Workshops™ are a series of cognitive-behavioral educational seminars developed by NVTSI to assist service members, veterans and family members in making a successful social transition from military service to civilian life. Participants will achieve, within their potential, their goals in the transition domains of employment and career, education, living situation, personal effectiveness/wellbeing, and community-life functioning.

About NVTSI: National Veterans Transition Services, Inc. – NVTSI is an emerging San Diego-based 501(c)(3) (pending) organization dedicated to assisting veterans in adjusting to civilian life and secure meaningful employment by combining best-practice performance techniques.  The organization was established by a group of retired high ranking Naval and Marine Corps officers and workforce development professionals who seek to fill a tremendous gap in the continuum of veteran services.

To learn more contact:
Maurice D. Wilson, MCPO, USN (RET)
President/National Executive Director
National Veterans Transition Services, Inc.
1220 Rosecrans Street, Suite 315
Wk: 866-535-7624
Cell: 619-602-2577
Email: Maurice@nvtsi.org
Web: http://www.nvtsi.org/
Web: http://www.TheVetWork.net/

As the page suggests, Mike Rowe is quite concerned with veteran’s unemployment and is personally involved in a number of veteran’s causes. And for that CODE has to thank him for his concern and participation to raise awareness to the many issues that relate to our veterans.

But his website does not just stop at linking veterans with jobs, as Mike himself gets down and dirty to help them out in a way that many might miss.  Specifically, he highlights an organization called Green Care for our Troops.  This organization realized many things are left unmanaged when men and women in the military set off on tours across the world. One thing in particular is lawn care. It’s such a simple task if you think about it, but if it’s not done it can create a jungle of untamed weeks and branches. Not something you want to come home to after months away from home.

Green Care for our Troops have provided lawn care and landscaping services for thousands of military members and their families and CODE is grateful for their work.  And the best part, Mike doesn’t need to be the only one lacing up his work boots; you too can get dirty by volunteering for the organization by clicking HERE!

RecruitMilitary, LLC.  joins forces with the American Legion and the Military Spouse Corporate Career Network to present a free Opportunity Expo! The event will be held at M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Baltimore Ravens. RecruitMilitary is based out of Cincinnati, Ohio and connects employers and education institutions with those individuals holding military backgrounds. All military veterans and military spouses are encouraged to attend on August 19 from 11 am to 3 pm. The event expects to bring in more than 35 organizations all eager to hire our deserving veterans!

Organizations such as, Baltimore Gas and Electric Company, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Capitol College, John Hopkins University, and Pepco will all be in attendance.  This should be a great opportunity for military veterans and spouses living in the Washington, DC and Baltimore areas. So mark your calendars for August 19^th to attend this jammed packed expo!

The report has transportation leading the way with four out of the top 10 businesses being railroad companies. Union Pacific Railroad takes the prize for being number one on the list this year, with CSX Corporation coming in at number two, BNSF Railway following at number four, and Norfolk Southern at number seven. With so many train companies landing in the top 10, its no wonder CODE keeps singing, “I’ve been working on the railroad!”

Other companies that top the list include, USAA Financial Services and Cintas Corporation. This is not the first time Cintas has graced this top 100 list. The company has been ranked for five consecutive years! The Chief Executive Officer of Cintas, Scott Farmer, recognizes the impressive skills veterans bring to the company.  This practice stems from Scott Farmer’s father who was not only the founder of Cintas but also a lieutenant in the Marine Corps.

Thanks to all the corporations who have made an effort to hire our Nation’s strong heroes, not just because they served in war, but because the military has provided them with exceptional leadership qualities and modern day skills most needed to be successful in today’s workforce.

Raymond Jefferson, the Assistant Secretary for the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS), gave the keynote address.  He stressed the importance of hiring veterans and announced the demonstration project partnership with Job Corps. The project will provide career development services to veterans ages 20-24.  There will be 300 veterans participating in the program throughout three locations.  The programs will be held at the Job Corps centers in Edinburgh, Indiana; Morganfield, Kentucky; and Excelsior Springs, Missouri. The Department of Labor is hoping for this program demonstration to be a huge success so they can expand it in the future! It’s great news that the Department of Labor is already looking forward to expanding this program. This will help many veterans who are still in search of jobs.

To read more about the conference and learn how to partner with Job Corps, check out Lisa Rosser’s blog!

Injuries should not eliminate a veteran’s desire to serve their country. While they may create obstacles for them to continue their current duties, our veterans can still choose to serve their country in other ways. An organization that was just highlighted during this week’s MLB All Star game, helps injured veterans apply their service to more than the military. The Mission Continues was started in 2007 and helps wounded veterans continue serving their country through volunteer work in their local communities. Veterans are placed in fellowship programs for 14 weeks at local charitable organizations for 40 hours a week. The group hopes to strengthen local communities by the strength veterans can provide and create a “new generation of citizen leaders” (The Mission Continues philosophy statement).  The American people can show their support of the service and sacrifices veterans made for our nation with more than a simple “thank you”. Just because a veteran is done serving their country does not mean they have nothing left to give. By helping veterans find jobs and volunteer possibilities, we can truly show our appreciation for their service and let them know they are still needed when they come home.

There are several organizations across the country that are dedicated to helping veterans cope with the experiences they encounter during their service in the military. One organization in particular, takes a very different approach to this mission.  Theater of War presents the reading of Sopholes’ Ajax and Philoctetes at military bases across the country and is having an incredible amount of success in helping soldiers deal with the mental and physical challenges they face when returning home from battle.

So how does reading Greek tragedies help soldiers adjust to life after their time in battle? The answer is actually quite interesting – the group uses the plays to act as therapy for soldiers in the audience. The plays recited tell stories of the pain of war and troubles adjusting to civilian society that many soldiers face.

The format is simple: a panel sits in front of the audience and reads one of the two plays to the soldier attending. Once the readings are finished, the panel discusses what the play meant and how it translates to modern day military personnel. Afterwards, the audience is able to ask questions or just share their  emotions and thoughts as the play was read to them.

Like CODE, those who help put on the Theater of War productions understand the hardships and weight war can leave on our military members.  These productions have been so successful that many well known actors have added their talents to these readings because they too understand the positive effects it can have on soldiers leaving the military.   We support them for their work and hope others will take notice of the important services they are providing to our men and women who have answered their call of duty.

To learn more about Theater of War or watch some of the performances – Click Here!

Actually, professionals who have hired veterans have been pleased with their work ethic. Out of the companies that participated in the survey who hire veterans, “roughly 97 percent of HR professionals said military veterans bring a strong sense of responsibility to their work… 96 percent said military veterans work well under pressure; 92 percent noted that military veterans see a task through completion; 91 percent highlighted strong leadership skills; 91 percent notes also a high degree of professionalism in military veterans; and 90 percent observed strong problem-solving skills among military veterans” (SMRM poll results).

Most employers surveyed did not even realize the Department of Labor offers resources to employers hiring veterans. This survey reiterates the problems our veterans run into during the job search. Veterans can be great great employees with several important skills that are beneficial to employers. The dilemma that remains is how can employers be educated on the skills veterans have acquired through military service and learn to recruit more of them for their company’s future success.