SEATTLE -- Navy leaders opened the Department of the Navy's seventh annual Veteran and Wounded Warrior Hiring and Support Summit today in Seattle, Washington.
The two-day conference, being held for the first time in the Pacific Northwest May 23-24, has a two-fold purpose. Day one is designed to educate Washington-area employers about the importance and benefits of hiring and retaining military veterans. Day two features the Hiring Heroes Career Fair, resume and interview workshops, and more than 60 employer organizations who are offering information and conducting interviews.
Acting Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, Robert Woods, addressed more than 150 representatives from Washington-based companies. He spoke on the responsibility of the military and local communities in helping veterans and wounded warriors find job opportunities and the benefits companies gain from hiring veterans.
"I can tell you with a fair amount of assurance that you are going to find the person who is going to be a force multiplier for your team," Woods told the representatives. "These are the folks who are committed, and once they get into your culture, they will become a part of that culture. In fact, they will enhance it."
Also featured at the summit's first-day morning session was Actor Tom Skerritt, a U.S. Air Force Korean War-era veteran. Co-founder of The Film School and the subsequent Red Badge Project, Skerritt's ongoing Wounded Warrior support program uses storytelling as a strategy to develop self-esteem and success in those combat veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress.
Skerritt said when he learned that an average of 22 veterans a day were taking their own lives and that an estimated 500 thousand vets suffered Post Traumatic Stress, he was inspired to offer his own creative project.
"Discipline of the military can be redirected into a discipline in creativity, and some kind of creative expression, whether writing or molding something with our hands brings out the best every one of us," said Skerritt.
He said creativity helps them express and discover themselves through storytelling and encouraged employers to take that step to hire veterans and bring this creative energy into their workplaces.
In addition to Navy leaders from Naval Sea Systems (NAVSEA), Naval Air Systems (NAVAIR) and Space and Naval Warfare Systems (SPAWAR), employers listened to taped messages of support from Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) and Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA).
"There's a huge, untapped talent pool here, and we need to take advantage of it," said NAVAIR Commander, Vice Adm. Paul Grosklags, of the veteran population. "And anymore, folks are not just looking for a job. They're looking for a career. They are tough. They have grit, and they're exactly the folks I want in my workforce."
In 2016, the Navy hired 10,609 veterans, 3,433 of whom were disabled combat veterans. The 2016 summit, held in Tampa, Florida, resulted in nearly 200 job offers. This year, according to summit coordinator Capt. Will Sullivan, program manager for NAVSEA's Veteran and Wounded Warrior Program Office, the Navy aims to top that number.
NAVSEA's Veteran and Wounded Warrior program has hired more than 5,000 wounded warriors in various career fields since its inception in 2009, and has retained 93 percent of them within the organization.
NAVSEA, with the bulk of the Navy population in the area--nearly 20,000 employees at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Keyport--are on target to hire more 800 new employees this year.
Sullivan encourages veterans and wounded warriors to attend the summit, even if they're still in the planning stages of transition to civilian life. Attendees are welcome to come, network, ask questions, and attend the workshops. Family members and caregivers are also welcome.
For more information on the Veteran and Wounded Warrior Hiring Summit, visit hireavet.navy.mil.
- NAVSEA -