I believe the foodservice industry hasn’t completely taken advantage of the available pool of veterans in transition.

It’s no secret the foodservice industry continues to seek new and talented individuals to fill its ranks. It’s also no secret that making the transition from the military to civilian life has its own unique challenges. Vet2Tech successfully helps achieve both by smoothing the transition for veterans into the foodservice industry; I am one of their success stories.

First, here’s a little background on me. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y. and left my hometown to purse a 21-year career in the United States Marine Corps. I started out as a helicopter mechanic before becoming an air crewman on several different aircraft models as my career advanced. After serving several combat tours, I was given an opportunity to serve on the CH-46 production line at the Fleet Readiness Center East in Cherry Point, N.C. Our team worked hard to become the preferred provider of global vertical lift aviation industrial, logistics and engineering support services. There was a lot involved to achieve this. We were committed to taking care of the customer, by outperforming our competitors related to quality, schedule and cost of our products. We strove to improve effectiveness and cost performance while never losing focus on the fact that our end users were on the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I retired from the Marine Corps as a Master Sergeant in 2008 and worked in public service for several years in the Orlando, Fla., area. Throughout my time there I missed the maintenance and technical aspects of my military experience. I started looking for another opportunity and saw one in the foodservice industry via Vet2Tech.

I sent Vet2Tech my resume on a Friday night and by Saturday they sent me a personal email that showed they clearly read my information. From there it was not long until I had landed in my current position that I enjoy. Throughout the process they were informative and encouraging, and helped me understand how my military qualities were well-suited for the foodservice industry.

Vet2Tech’s insight was on target. I always thought of myself as an aviation guy, and they saw my background in managing maintenance and service in the Marine Corps as a natural transition into the role as a regional service manager.

I believe the foodservice industry hasn’t completely taken advantage of the available pool of veterans in transition. There are many of us that will succeed in the industry on a technical level and even in an executive or leadership capacity. For the veterans, we need to understand that the skills we developed in the military are applicable in other industries, and we need to resist limiting ourselves. We have a lot to offer.

In both the military and in the foodservice industry it’s important to know your mission. You must have the drive and focus to get the job done, no excuses…just results.