Veterans find skills translate from military to co-op careers
This month, we commemorate Veterans Day – celebrating America’s veterans for their sacrifice, their willingness to serve and their love of country.
There are shared values between those in the military and those who work for cooperatives – a dedication to service, a desire to work for the common good, an appreciation for hard work and a healthy work ethic.
Alabama Living reached out to our rural electric cooperatives and talked to just a few of those who may have completed their military careers, but who continue to embody these principles in their chosen co-op careers.
Justin Bracewell, Journeyman lineman, Covington EC
Justin Bracewell was actually a bit older than the typical enlistee when he joined the Air Force. After high school, he played baseball in college; he was 26 when he joined in 2012. For ten years, he worked in aircraft maintenance at the 187th Fighter Wing at Dannelly Field in Montgomery.
Today, he is still serving part-time in the Air National Guard with the 280th Special Operations Communications Squadron out of Dothan.
In the National Guard, he works in knowledge operations. It’s a bit different than his full-time job, working on a construction crew out of the co-op’s Enterprise district.
He’d never thought about doing linework. “It was one of those things – the co-op has given me a great career, and I enjoy it very much. I’ve come to love the job.”
In both careers, he says an attention to detail is key, as well as time management and being organized. “That’s something I take pride in in my job as a lineman.”
Similar to the military, a highlight of working at the co-op is the camaraderie of his co-workers – bonds built doing dangerous work in often difficult conditions. “We see each other more than we see our families, some of the time.”
He’s worked on five different storms during his 12 years at the co-op. Helping in disaster-stricken areas, where people are in desperate need of electricity, among other things, has an effect on the crews who do storm work.
“Being able to see the families in need of power, and seeing their kids, when we turn the lights on” makes the hard work worth it. “The gratitude, it makes you feel pretty good to be able to help out like that.”
Clay Brock, Database and systems administrator, Baldwin EMC
Growing up, Clay Brock had a best friend whose dad was in the Marine Corps, and the boys would play that they were Marines. But it was the events of 9/11 that had a big impact on him, even though he was just 9 years old when it happened.
He followed the operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, even as a boy, and felt destined to join the Marines one day. “Watching the news and seeing the servicemembers over there defending the country was just something that really resonated with me.”
He went to college for two years, then enlisted in the Marines and worked as an aviation communication systems technician. His unit would go to remote locations and set up air traffic control centers; Brock’s specific job was to set up voice networks for the air traffic controllers.
He and his fellow Marines prided themselves in how proficient they were at their jobs. They would travel to units around the country and internationally to find and resolve long-standing issues. “That was a pride point our unit had,” he says, and it’s a value he finds at the co-op in his current job.
After five years, he considered re-enlisting, but decided to separate and return to college. After graduating from the University of South Alabama, he worked in the tech world for a large company, but the corporate environment didn’t suit him. “When I saw that Baldwin had openings for three IT positions, I applied for all three,” he says. The co-op’s great reputation in the community, and the fact that it doesn’t operate for a profit, made it a good fit.
“Every decision that’s made here, it focuses either on safety, benefiting our members or positively impacting our community,” he says. People told him that the co-op stands behind its values, and he’s found that to be true.
The Marines definitely helped prepare him for this part of his career path – learning leadership skills, how to communicate with other departments, and how to work with a diverse team to accomplish a specific task.
Every day in IT is a challenge, he says, which fits well with his military background. “It’s never the same thing over and over. I like finding hard problems and finding creative solutions.”
Josh Thomas, Staking/equipment technician, Tallapoosa River EC
Josh Thomas had an uncle who was a Marine, but the two never really talked about his service. Joining the Marine Corps was a way to challenge himself after high school. “I thought, shoot, if you’re going to challenge yourself, that’s the way to do it.”
A native of Lanett, Thomas told the recruiter he wanted to enter boot camp “as soon as possible,” and didn’t really have a career goal in mind. He ended up working on CH-53E helicopters and was based at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C. In his six years as a Marine, he deployed to Afghanistan twice; after starting a family, he realized that the deployments were keeping him from seeing his children grow up, and he decided to focus on something else.
He started logging after separating from the military, but wanted something more stable. He went to work for the co-op as a staking technician, who figures out how to bring electricity to a home or business. Staking techs design lines and obtain easements for property owners, figure out where the poles need to go and physically stake the lines. Then he gives the plans to the construction crew for them to build.
Much like in the Marines, the camaraderie and brotherhood among the co-op crews is part of what makes the job worthwhile. And the skills learned in the Marines have stayed with him as well.
“The mindset and the tough skin, you knew ‘no’ wasn’t an option in the Marines, and the same mentality translates to the co-op,” he says. “You’re given a task and expected to complete that task to the best of your ability.”
Jason McCormick, Right-of-way foreman, Pioneer EC
At 18, Jason McCormick took to heart his mother’s admonishment to “get a job.”
He looked up a recruiter in the phone book, drove to Montgomery and joined the Army.
“The recruiters said, ‘we can have you out of here in three months.’ I said, ‘That works for me.’ It was the best thing I ever did.”
Why? “When you join the military, you learn how to live on your own and make your own decisions. That can be good or bad, but for me it was good.” He was in field artillery and his first duty station was in Hawaii; his Army career would take him all over the world, including Korea and Thailand. His last duty station was at Fort Bragg, N.C.
He was deployed to Kuwait and Iraq for a year as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, which he felt was a great experience because of the good people he met. “We would show people magazines from America, and people there couldn’t believe how beautiful (our country is). Especially in Baghdad … you don’t see anything green. Everything is brown.”
After serving in combat and eight years on active duty in field artillery, “I figured I had seen and done enough,” so he started his own landscape business and ran that for 17 years. “I definitely wouldn’t change anything about it, and I enjoyed my eight years in the Army.”
Though his wife is from Birmingham, they decided to move to Greenville, where he grew up, so they could raise their children in a small town, which he says they love. He joined the Pioneer Electric co-op in his hometown, working first as a mapping technician, then an apprentice lineman. He was recently promoted to right-of-way foreman.
About skills learned in the military: “I think just being able to adapt to different situations, and being able to work with different people,” is key, and has been a helpful takeaway from his time in the Army. “Especially in the military, you have people from all walks of life, and everybody gets along.” The camaraderie at the co-op is much the same, he says.
Joshua Burnett, Manager of Technology, Coosa Valley EC
Ashville native Joshua Burnett had always been intrigued with the military lifestyle – several of his family members were in the Army, Air Force and Navy. But none had joined the Marines, which to him seemed like the “toughest branch,” and he liked the idea of a challenge.
At the urging of a great uncle who was a graduate of the Naval Academy, Burnett attended Valley Forge Military College in Pennsylvania for a year, with the idea that it would be a stepping stone for Burnett to apply for a military academy. The military school experience convinced him to go ahead and enlist in the Marine Corps Reserves, to earn money for school and get a taste of military life. He enlisted as an infantryman, and his core unit was the Lima Company 323 near Gunter Annex in Montgomery.
Burnett says that while Reservists aren’t always selected for schools and trainings, he was able to take several leadership courses, which have served him well in his post-military life. He was also meritoriously promoted to corporal, which he’s proud of.
At the end of his six year contract, he and his wife decided that the constant moving around that’s part of the military lifestyle wasn’t for them. He worked as an electrician first, then got into IT, which had always interested him. He worked for a company in Birmingham for 12 years, with the trappings of an urban lifestyle in a corporate environment.
Coming to the co-op was “like a breath of fresh air,” he says. He grew up in rural Alabama and missed that pace of life. Still, spending his formative years in the military has proved valuable.
“Being in the military is a life-changing experience, no matter what you do – going through boot camp, becoming a member of any military branch. Just that act alone teaches you about yourself, about teamwork and collaboration. I think I can attribute a lot of my successes in life to things I learned in the military.”
He started at the co-op as a network systems administrator, and accepted the chief technology officer position just a few months ago. “I certainly think all those life experiences, especially the military, contributed to my ability to kind of just step into a role that needed to be filled,” he says, “and to help in the leadership and the team collaboration that we needed to have here in forming this IT department.”
Veterans to be honored at North Alabama Patriot Trail
The Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association will honor veterans on Nov. 7 at the inaugural North Alabama Patriot Trail in Honor of Veterans Celebration at the Alabama Veterans Museum and Archive in Athens.
Keynote speakers will be Maj. Gen. Janet Cobb, executive director of the U.S.S. Alabama Battleship Memorial Park, and Priceville Mayor Sam Heflin.
The program, which will be from 8 to 10 a.m., will include a self-serve light breakfast, patriotic music, a video presentation and special recognitions. The museum is located at 114 West Pryor St., in Athens. For more information, contact Karen Beasley at AMLA, (800) 648-5381 or [email protected].
The North Alabama Patriot Trail offers a self-guided tour of 79 patriotic stops in the 16 northernmost counties of Alabama, including memorial parks, museums, memorials, markers, archives, noteworthy locations, festivals, special events and parades in Blount, Cherokee, Colbert, Cullman, DeKalb, Etowah, Franklin, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Morgan and Winston counties. More info: northalabama.org/places-to-visit/trails/patriot-trail/.
