“The Unlikely Hero”

I served from December 1989 to March 1995, in the U.S. Navy. My job was a Cryptologic Technician – Operator (CTO). I joined because I wanted to serve my country.

I attended Boot Camp in Orlando, FL and A. School in Pensacola, FL for approximately 9 months. My 1st Assignment was at the Pentagon, Washington DC—I was Chief of Naval Operations Special Intelligence Communications Center (CNO SPINTCOMM) for approximately 1 year. At the time, working at the Pentagon was considered special duty and was considered a deployment. My 2nd Assignment was at Dahlgren, VA—Naval Space Surveillance Center (NAVSPASUR), later changed to Naval Space Command for approximately 2 years.

In the Navy, I learned that very “purpose driven”—nothing gets me going like a good cause. I really developed a lot of self-sufficiency/independence during this phase of my life. But you do miss the ordinary, everyday stuff of civilian life. For example, I missed my family and my mom’s cooking the most! I always looked forward to her chicken dumplings when I came home.

In my own experience I think the USO provides an invaluable service for our military. It can be extremely hard to acclimate to the military way of life. The USO provides services help keep our military and their families “connected”—Knowing that The Kroger Co. has raised over $18M to help support USO programs is one of the reasons that I love working for this company and it makes me very proud.

I appreciate the fact that Kroger provides opportunities that value the experience that our veterans have developed through diverse work, diverse environments and with diverse cultures. It can be SUCH an adjustment to move from the military to civilian life. Many move from assigned quarters, square meals and “command-and-control” to a whole host of unknowns. I was one of the lucky ones. I initially transitioned from the military to government work, with very little downtime in between. The job that I moved to was completely different than what I was responsible for in the military. I moved from processing classified documents to running a small warehouse—big change! Eventually, I moved from government logistics to working in logistics for large corporations. Though I was lucky, I still felt the stress of moving into the unknown. This is when I truly discovered my independence.