VetFriends had the honor of sitting down with Vietnam Veteran B. Noelle, 483rd Security Police Squadron, Cam Rahn Bay, RVN, to discuss his time in the US Military.
If you are a newly discharged Veteran of any branch, you may benefit from his words of wisdom. Keep reading to learn about career benefits, education, and more.
Q: How was your transition out of the Military?
A: I really did have a good transition from the Air Force. I applied and began working for Alcoa near Evansville, IN. When a recession hit a few months later, I was laid off and took advantage of the GI Bill. I completed my degree from Indiana University in Business Management.
Q: Did you find that you or anyone you knew struggled to return to civilian life?
A: I lost contact with the people I was stationed with, so I do not know of any of their struggles.
Q: What are some of the ways you have benefitted from being a Veteran in the workforce?
A: My experiences in the U S Air Force have taught me discipline and given me a focus, drive, and desire to apply myself to a task. To actually take pride in a job well done. To give me a love for working. I did not have that before enlisting.
Q: Any advice to young Veterans out there regarding education?
A: The GI Bill gave me the education I needed to open the doors to a career in business. I researched my benefits through the military and applied. It has been so long ago, that I don’t remember the specifics of how that came together. For me, it was a great benefit that gave me an advantage in the marketplace.
I can tell you that, years later, as President of my company, I always gave priority to a Veteran because I knew they had some experience and a maturity that the average applicant did not have.
Q: You are the president of a successful company. Would you credit the Military in helping you accomplish this? How?
A: I was privileged to know someone from my church that brought me into his company, after sitting in my Sunday School class. After a year, he handed the business end of the company for me to run, while he applied himself to the field employees and running the multiple jobs on site.
Q: Any other advice to young Vets?
A: In retrospect, being in the military gives you the opportunity to feel the synergy of participating in something much larger than yourself. To accomplish much more with a team than you could ever do by yourself. Take advantage of that! Watch, learn, and apply that knowledge to whatever your “bent” in life happens to be. Love your work! Make a difference where you are! And remember, the training and discipline learned in service to your country will make you an asset to most businesses when you return to civilian life!
Have advice of your own to share? Email publicrelations@vetfriends.com to set up an interview!
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