Tag Archives: veteran

Veteran Education Equals Opportunity – TODAY!

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educationToday’s veterans are among the most educated, technically savvy, and diverse group of veterans in our nation’s history. Today’s veterans even, at their lowest levels of rank, have experience in working in diverse environments, putting leadership training to use in the workplace, working in trusted environments, and communicating clearly and directly. Veterans transitioning out of the military today have certifications and training in a wide variety of fields including, but not limited to, truck driving, mechanics, engineering, IT and computer networking, IT security, and much more.

Today 82.8% of military officers have a bachelors degree or higher and about 30% of veterans over the age of 25 have a bachelors degree or higher. 

Many veterans wonder what they can do for a career if they do not have an education or enough education. There are actually many options. With the military educational money that veterans have there are opportunities in traditional colleges as well as other educational programs. Traditional colleges generally have a veteran representative that can help veterans navigate the application process and access their military education money.

Lifehacker just released a great article that can introduce veterans to just some of what they can do with just an associates degree. Check it out here…

If you are not sure if you should go for that two year degree / associate’s degree then read this article over at Military.com – 3 Reasons to Get Your Associate Degree

Check out some of these great opportunities. While they are in the San Antonio area they can give you the details you need to go and look for something in your area that is similar. Programs such as these exist in many cities across the U.S.

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CERTIFICATE FOR APARTMENT MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN TRAINING

JANUARY 20 – FEBRUARY 6, 2015

GOODWILL GOOD CAREERS ACADEMY 12332
“IH-10 WEST AT DE ZAVALA

Seminar hours: 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

For information on how to apply for this opportunity call 210/924-8581 (ext. 5907).

Veterans who wish to go down the road of entrepreneurship have a lot of opportunities today to learn, get mentored and find proven methods of business success. If you are interested in joining the ranks of veterans who own their own business then you will definitely be interested in some of the outstanding opportunities available to you right now. Many of these opportunities are free for veterans! While many of these opportunities are in the San Antonio area we encourage veterans to look into their local Chamber, SBA, and university locations to find out if programs like this are being offered in their location.

We posted a while back that the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce is “re-booting” their entrepreneurial boot-camp for military veterans. You can learn more about that here.

Veterans who want to join the SBA and start down the track of entrepreneurship shouldcheck out the latest article on the San Antonio Business Journal site. The SBA is extending their fee waiver program for veterans through 2015!

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Veterans and transitioning military interested in starting their own business should also check out the San Antonio Small Business Development Center at UTSA. This program offers a number of benefits including special veterans assistance.

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Forward March Inc. has an outstanding relationship with our customer Fred Astarie Dance Studios. You owe it to yourself to check out our previous post to learn more about the outstanding opportunities for employment and even franchise ownership with them.

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For veterans who want to learn a new skill, or expand on a skill-set should check out the fine folks over at Workforce Solutions Alamo and Alamo Colleges are collaborating to offer short-term skills development programs in the areas of Information Technology, the Manufacturing Industry and Aerospace. Learn more here. 

Super Millennials; Hiring the Best of a Generation

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hiring the best of a generationIts 0430 in the morning at a Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Afghanistan. A 30-year old Platoon Sergeant performs a Pre-Combat Inspection (PCI) with her team. Helmets and ballistic eye protection are in place and canteens are filled. Weapons are cleaned, zeroed, and a function check has been performed. As she briefs her platoon on the current mission, it’s cold and windy, but the team is motivated and ready to get to work. Surprisingly, this well-oiled machine is made up entirely of millennials, the cohort of Americans born between 1980 and the mid-2000s.

For these Soldiers, their generation is known for being lazy, yet they are up while the rest of the word sleeps. The generation labeled as pampered has been sleeping on cots and eating Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) for months. They don’t make excuses. They and are held accountable for their actions and the actions of their team. Not everyone gets a trophy for being there. Only the best are called Corporal or Sergeant.

The global war on terror has largely been fought on the backs of this generation of outstanding and dedicated young people.  In fact, nearly 70% of the Medals of Honor awarded in both Iraq and Afghanistan were earned by millennials. The remaining 30% were earned by Gen Xers.

Here are the top ten reasons to hire millennial veterans:

  1. Military veterans have a global perspective that most can only imagine. They have been stationed around the world and adapt easily to their environment. They are aware of, and have a respect for cultural differences.
  2. Millennial veterans are calm under pressure. They have operated in the most chaotic of situations and got the job done.
  3. Veterans are known for being team oriented and veteran millennials are no different. Soldiers, Sailor, Airmen, Guardians, and Marines rely on each other to accomplish the mission in life or death situations. Now that’s teamwork!
  4. Millennial veterans are excellent leaders forged in over thirteen years of global conflict. They are loyal, dedicated, and highly motivated.
  5. Millennials generally are viewed as over-confident. Millennial veterans, on the other hand, are professionals with a high degree of integrity. They have an air of respect and a sense of honor.
  6. Veterans are responsible. These millennials know how to make decisions and they take responsibility for their successes and failures.
  7. In an age of sedimentary life-styles spending all day behind a video game, millennial veterans are physically fit, generally drug free, and take fewer sick days than their contemporaries.
  8. Millennial veterans have thousands of dollars in training and educational benefits that often times go unused. If they need additional training, it will be paid for. There are tax incentives, as well, just for hiring them.
  9. Veterans are highly trained and well-educated with the skills the civilian workforce is looking for and millennial veterans are no different.
  10. Millennials are looking for meaningful work and they found it in the military. As they leave the service, they will join and stay with your company If you engage them and make them part of the team.

VETERANS U NEED THEMAttracting military talent can be an overwhelming task, especially for those organizations that do not understand military culture. Forward March’s (FMI) team has over 110 years of combined military experience with over 35 years dedicated specifically to hiring veterans. FMI can train your staff to attract, hire, and retain top military talent. We have a comprehensive Military Talent Hiring Guide and outstanding training that can get your department staffing positions very quickly. We can also help you to develop a pipeline and hiring strategy for success and train your human resource department on all the best ways to recruit military talent. If your company is committed to hiring military veterans, let FMI show you how.

~ Article written by Jason Caswell, Forward March Inc – Director of Training and Talent Pipeline Services

Why Hire A Veteran?

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Hiring veterans has a wealth of benefits for your company or organization.

Hiring veterans has a wealth of benefits for your company or organization.

  • Integrity
  • Leadership
  • Teamwork
  • High level of trust
  • Communication skills and practices
  • Adept at skill transfer across tasks
  • Have and leverage advanced tech training
  • Comfortable in a variety of environments
  • Resilient
  • Professionalism under pressure
  • Self-sacrifice
  • Strong sense of honor and respect
  • Team building skills
  • Cross cultural experiences
  • Experience working in diverse work settings
  • Used to Diversity and inclusion
  • Respect for rules and procedures
  • Strong organizational commitment
  • Health and safety standard conscious
  • Triumph over adversity
  • Respect for and understanding of other cultures

Our nation is currently transitioning the most educated and well-trained group of men and women in history into the civilian job market. These military service members bring a seemingly endless list of qualifications that successful companies today are looking for.

Think about this, the average military veteran having just minimal military service and training already has skills in:

  • Communication
  • Leadership
  • Management
  • Working in a variety of environments and conditions
  • Working in a diverse workplace
  • Working and problem solving under pressure
  • Taking on roles of responsibility and accountability
  • Familiarization and compliance with health and safety guidelines

Those who have served our nation bring a wealth of experience to any organization and benefit companies all over the world with their hard work, integrity, and loyalty.

Hiring veterans brings a wealth of benefits to a company or organization as cited above, however, there are also financial incentives for companies to look at hiring veterans. On November 21st, 2011 President Obama signed the Veterans Opportunity to Work to Hire Heroes (VOW) Act of 2011 into law. Two tax credits exist with this law. The Returning Heroes Tax Credit and the Wounded Warrior Tax Credit. These can provide up to $9,600 in tax credits. The VOW Act also provides additional assistance to unemployed veterans helping them secure employment through The Veterans Retraining Assistance Program. You can read more about these benefits to companies HERE.

Companies across the nation claim to support our nations veterans, many claim to even have veteran hiring programs, but upon closer inspection many companies actually hire few veterans and/or place them in much lower level career positions than they could be placed in. This can occur for a variety of reasons. Arguably the reason that is most prevalent is that employers have a difficult time learning the art of finding, attracting, hiring, and retaining the right veteran for the job. While the benefits to hiring veterans are seemingly endless the process of finding and hiring veterans can be a daunting task, especially to those who are unfamiliar with the military.

Forward March Inc can help your company to become successful at hiring transitioning military men and women and veterans alike. Forward March is in a unique position due to the fact that we have over 35 years of working with transitioning military and companies to place the right veteran in the right position at the right time. Our Military Talent Pipeline solutions are perfect for any size business or organization and completely scalable and customizable to your needs. We can train your organization, or we can manage your Military Talent Pipeline, or both.

Forward March Inc also realizes that part of veteran retention and bringing in more high quality veteran employees depends on a vibrant veteran culture within your company. We have worked with companies to help them to develop and foster highly successful veteran cultures within their organizations and we can do the same for yours.

Contact us today!

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Set Your Veteran Hiring Goals High for Mission Success

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Military Hiring for Mission Success

We post often on this blog the various attributes and skills that today’s veterans bring to the workplace. The value of our veterans to employers is immense, and employers who recognize this and harness their talents reap immeasurable rewards within their organizations. You can read some of what we have written about the value of veterans in the workplace here. Don’t take our word for it, check out what Syracuse University, Military.com, and Forbes all have to say.

Forward March Inc can help your company or organization learn how to find, attract, hire and retain high quality veteran talent. We can teach you how to form a strong veteran culture within your organization and we can teach you how to retain the veteran talent that you hire. Our proven methods and strategies can help your company or organization join the ranks of those companies who are celebrated as veteran or military friendly employers. Most importantly our proven strategies are customizable and scalable to your organization.

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Military.com 35 Best Veteran Employers 

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Military Times Best for Vets 2014 

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Top 100 Military Friendly Employers from Military Friendly 

If you are a company that is looking to add veterans to your organization then you will want to reserve the date of November 17th. This is the date of the Camouflage to Corporate Conference and also the VET Networking Event, both hosted by Forward March Inc. Forward March Inc. is committed to continuing our 35+ year history of bringing veterans and companies together to make careers happen! Details can be found here. Make sure you check out or Corporate to Camouflage Conference where we teach businesses and organizations the art of finding, attracting, hiring and retaining veteran talent.

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Retaining Top Military and Veteran Talent

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Secretary of Defense

Part 3of a special 3 part series:

Finding the right veteran talent requires a solid military talent recruiting strategy with an executable and measurable plan. Interviewing veteran and military talent requires a certain level of expertise in military skills translations, understanding military lingo, and even interpreting the DD 214. The bottom line is this; finding the right military talent for the right position requires hundreds of man-hours in the recruiting, screening, interviewing, and hiring process.  Unfortunately, all that time and energy is lost when retention rates are low.

Here are some key takeaways for an effective veteran retention strategy.

Onboarding:

Effective onboarding allows new hires to get adjusted to the culture of the company and understand performance aspects of their job quickly and easily. It allows them to learn the attitudes, knowledge, skills, and behaviors required to function effectively within your organization.  Effective onboarding includes:

  • Giving the veteran a written plan of objectives and responsibilities. Within the military culture, this is an expectation.
  • Conducting formal orientations.
  • Introducing the new employee to the team. Veterans need to feel like they belong to the team.
  • Assigning a veteran mentor to capitalize on the brother and sisterhood that exists within the military profession.
  • Indoctrinating the veteran into the company’s culture, mission, and values.
  • Addressing questions or concerns immediately.
  • Being aware of physical limitations, should they exist.
  • Motivating veterans by giving them purpose and direction.

meetingVeteran Resource Group:

A great way to support your veteran employees is to create a veteran employee resource group. The purpose of the veteran employee resource group is to share knowledge across the organization in every aspect of recruiting, hiring, retaining and recognizing the veteran population. Here are ways the veteran resource group can help:

  • Assist in developing veteran hiring strategies.
  • Recognize veteran employees during company events.
  • Coordinating observations of Veterans Day, Memorial Day activities, and service birthdays.
  • Providing assistance, through care packages, phone cards, letter writing and all other means of support, to those currently deployed.
  • Support current National Guard and Reserve members.
  • Mentor veterans who recently left the service.
  • Generating support for veteran hospitals and homeless shelters.
  • Develop organizational partnerships with veteran service organizations.
  • Provide moral and psychological support for your veteran employees as needed.
  • Involve the veteran’s family.

national guard and reservesSupport Guard and Reserve Members:

First and foremost, being a member of the National Guard or Reserve should not be a hiring deterrent. Second, the best way your organization can support your country is by supporting your National Guard and Reserve employees. It’s important to foster a culture in which your company supports and values the employment and military service of members of the Reserve Component.

It is not only the right thing to do to support guard and reserve military personnel, it’s also the law! Under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), employers have specific obligations to support their Reserve Component members.

  • The law guarantees the right to take time off from work to meet your military responsibilities during weekend drills and annual training.
  • A military member who leaves a civilian job for voluntary or involuntary service for extended periods of time is entitled to reemployment in the civilian job (with accrued seniority) if he or she meets certain criteria.
  • Discrimination in hiring is unlawful. It is also unlawful to fire someone for being in the National Guard or Reserve, or to discriminate with respect to promotions or other benefits of employment.
  • It is unlawful for you to make the employee use vacation time while in the performance of military duty.
  • You are not required to pay an individual for time not worked due to service, although many organizations do.

Communication is the key to a lasting partnership between the service member, your company, and the military unit. Here are others ways to help your current guard and reserve employees:

  • Learn more about the role of the National Guard and Reserve. Attend open houses and public functions at local military units. Talk about the National Guard and Reserve with military and civilian leaders in your community.
  • Get to know your employees’ military commanders and supervisors. Ask them to provide you with advance notice of their annual military duty schedule.
  • Provide the service member the time and flexibility to perform his or her military duties.
  • Put your support in writing by signing a Statement of Support for the National Guard and Reserve. Publicly show your support and appreciation for all those who serve.

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Military veterans are a loyal, hard-working, and well trained group of individuals that will enhance an organization’s ability to accomplish its mission. But loyalty only goes so far and veterans will stay with your company if you give them a reason to stay by keeping them busy, giving them focus, and above all, purpose.

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Employees turn-over is expensive, but Forward March Inc., has the solution for keeping veteran employees engaged. Companies with strong veteran cultures enjoy many benefits to include greater productivity and professionalism as well as higher referral rates. We can help your organization develop a very strong veteran culture with both new and existing veteran employees. If your organization is up to the challenge, FMI has your back!

Forward March Inc Military Hiring Guide

Forward March Inc Military Hiring Guide

~ Article written by Jason Caswell, Forward March Inc – Director of Training and Talent Pipeline Services

National American Gold Star Mother’s Day

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 “Perpetuating the Noble Principles for which They Fought and Died”

remember and honor

Sunday, September 28th is National American Gold Star Mother’s Day.   The American Gold Star Mothers Inc. was formed in 1936, just after World War I supporting mothers who have lost a son or daughter in war.

The name of the organization comes from the tradition of hanging a banner or Service Flag in the window of a home of families of servicemen. The flag would show a star for each family member in the U.S. Armed Forces serving in war. A blue star represented living military service members; a gold star represented those who had lost their life in battle.

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Membership in this socially active non political organization is open to any American woman who has lost a son or daughter in service to the United States in the Armed Forces. God Star Mother’s Day is observed in America in their honor.

You can learn more about their organization here.

Every American should remember with gratitude and honor, the lives of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our great nation. This weekend make sure to remember and honor the mothers of our fallen warriors.

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If you are looking for tools and resources to help with employment or other services for military transitioners and veterans alike, we are always updating our tools and resources page which you can access here. 

Growing Your Military Talent Pipeline

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C2C

Camouflage to Corporate Conference Series –
Growing Your Military Talent Pipeline

November 17th in San Antonio, Texas!

If you want a more productive, motivated and focused staff then get ready!  Forward March Inc. will be hosting our Camouflage to Corporate Conference in November!

We have spoken a lot on our news page recently about the benefits to companies who hire veteran talent. Make sure you check out some of our recent articles on this subject.

Also make sure to check out the outstanding document from Syracuse University on a Business Case to Hire a Veteran. 

IMG_1909Our Camouflage to Corporate conference, will give you the information and tools you need to succeed in hiring the very best military candidates.  Forward March Inc is uniquely qualified to bring you successful solutions based on the proven military leadership model and a systematic approach to organizational growth.  With over thirty five years of collective experience our professional team will help you to understand how to find, attract, hire, and retain high quality veteran talent.

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This outstanding conference is consistently met with great success for those who attend as our team brings a unique and proven solution set to your organization with training that is unparalleled in the industry.

– Develop a military hiring strategy that wins

– Learn a tactical and practical approach to attract, hire, and retain the best

– Get results with military leadership in your workforce

– Learn from and network with military hiring experts and organizations, with over 40 years of military hiring experience

– Learn the latest techniques, tactics and procedures for building a winning team

– Learn to improve Workspace to Workplace – reception and integration

– Learn more about the Forward March Inc Customized Military Hiring Guide and solutions that can benefit your company or organization by making the process of finding, attracting, hiring and retaining veteran talent much easier

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Our mission at Forward March, Inc. is to educate and engage employers, educators, and organizations about the development of a successful military and veteran hiring and retention strategy. We can assist you in networking and partnerships with veteran-friendly agencies so you can develop operational strategies for 2014 and beyond.

Our unwavering commitment is always for our veterans. We are a company of veterans helping veterans. Our commitment likewise extends to:

– Supporting our transitioning military members

– Supporting our civilian partners

– Providing outstanding customer service

If your company is serious about hiring veterans and enjoying the benefits of a strong veteran talent pipeline then you owe it to yourself to sign up for this exciting Camouflage to Corporate conference TODAY.

Camouflage to Corporate conference – San Antonio
Growing your Military Talent Pipeline – 2014

Date: Monday – November 17th

Time: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Learn more and register today here… Camouflage to Corporate conference. Space is limited!

Franchising Workshop for Veterans

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Bring your lunch and learn the basics of franchising and other resources for veterans. SBA representative will provide information on how you can benefit from the SBA full range of programs and special initiatives designed to help local veterans.
When:    September 23, 2014
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
Location: Entrepreneurial Center – Training Room, Entrepreneur Center of Austin, 4029 South Capital of Texas Highway #110, Austin, TX 78704
Fee: Free
For Information: 512-974-7800  MUST REGISTER!
Intro to Franchise
Want to be your own boss, but aren’t willing to take on the risk of starting your own business from scratch? Franchising may be an alternative if you are an entrepreneur with limited resources or business experience. Join this educational business seminar and know the facts about starting a franchise.
Instructor: Annie Hudspeth, SBA representative, Lender Relations Specialist U.S. SBA – San Antonio District Office
Tuition: Free (Registration is required)
Date: 09/25/2014
Time: 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Location:
                  BiGAUSTIN WBC Business and Technology Center
                  5407 North IH 35 Suite 200 Austin, TX 78723
Located in Capital Plaza shopping center – Chase Bank building – 2nd floor.
Register at  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/intro-to-franchise-tickets-11140063229
Contact: info@bigaustin.org
For more resources check out our FMI Tools and Resources page!

Happy Labor Day!

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All of us here at Forward March Inc want to wish you all a happy and safe Labor Day!

“Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.” – US Department of Labor 

What better way to celebrate the labor of this great nation than by adding our nation’s heroes to your company labor mix? Veterans bring a wealth of benefits to any organization. Check out our earlier post to learn more. 

It has been an outstanding week here at Forward March Inc! We are very proud and honored to have the opportunity to do real and meaningful work helping veterans find great careers. When you bring that aspect of our work together with employers that are genuinely excited about learning how to hire veterans and build a vibrant veteran culture within their organizations, then you get the real magic that keeps us all very excited and motivated each and every day.

We have been helping companies hire veterans for over 35 years!

We have been helping companies hire veterans for over 35 years!

Hiring Veterans is not an easy task; if it were, there would not be so many different companies and institutions offering such a wide array of services and systems for how to go about doing it. What separates our company from 99% of the rest of the pack is that we have over 35 years of experience working with companies, state and federal agencies, educational institutions, transitioning military, and veterans. We are a company of veterans committed to helping veterans, and we never get tired of pointing that simple fact out.

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We here at Forward March Inc want to take the time to salute anyone who is committed to hiring veterans.

It’s an easy thing for companies to tout that they are veteran friendly, or that they have a veteran hiring plan, but it really is quite shocking just how many companies actually use this as a simple marketing ploy but actually do very little to deliver real and meaningful employment to veterans. For those companies who actually stand by their public campaigns of commitment to our nation’s heroes, we salute you! For those companies and organizations who want to be in that group of companies who want to help our nation’s heroes we are here to help you. Our solutions are unique in the industry. Our solutions are scalable, customizable, and flexible. Contact us today to find out more.

We’ve just added a Tools & Resources page to our website which we will be growing and updating continuously. We hope that the information provided on this page is useful to employers, veterans, and transitioning military personnel. If you have links that you think we should add that would provide useful information, feel free to let us know. We love to hear feedback from you, so don’t be a stranger.

Military Hiring 101 Event Re-cap

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Forward March Inc Military Hiring 101 Event was a HUGE success!

Forward March Inc Military Hiring 101 Event was a HUGE success!

Forward March Inc held our first Military Hiring 101 event Wednesday, August 27, 2014. This was a highly successful training and networking event giving companies a chance to develop a strategy for hiring veterans and to begin to actually take significant steps to developing a military talent pipeline for their organizations.

The one-day event was hosted at our Forward March Inc. offices here in San Antonio, and attended by companies and their HR representatives from the San Antonio and Austin area. Jason Caswell, retired U.S. Army and the Director of Talent Resources and Training Development for FMI, conducted the training along with FMI’s president Paul Volpe, also retired U.S. Army. Forward March Inc. is in a unique position as we have over 35 years of experience in helping veterans and companies in the veteran and transitioning military hiring process. Companies in attendance were able to walk away with a battle-plan for hiring veterans, as well as a wealth of information, tools, and tips. Companies also had the opportunity to network with Mauricio Jalomo, the Army Career Employment Specialist from the Private Public Partnership Office of the U.S. Army Reserve and learn about how to hire Army Reserve personnel for their companies.

Forward March Inc is a company of veterans committed to our fellow veterans. We are thrilled to be able to work with local companies, business leaders, city and state government representatives, and educational institutions in order to bring successful hiring strategies for hiring veterans as well as for transitioning military personnel. If you did not have the opportunity to attend this event there is good news, the Military Hiring 101 event will be held quarterly at the Forward March Inc. offices. Stay tuned to this news page or our website www.forwardmarchinc.com to find out the dates for the next event. Also check out our Camouflage to Corporate conference being held this November in San Antonio, Texas. Details can be found HERE along with registration. Contact us today and we will make sure that you get on a mailing list for these events.