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JBSA News
NEWS | July 10, 2017

JBSA-Fort Sam Houston hosts transition summit for servicemembers, veterans July 11-13

By David DeKunder 502nd Air Base Public Affairs

A transition summit for servicemembers and veterans seeking a career in the civilian job sector will be held July 11-13 at the Fort Sam Houston Community Center, building 1395, at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston.

The Hiring Our Heroes Transition Summit is free and open to all JBSA members, including active-duty servicemembers transitioning out of the military, as well as veterans and military dependents and spouses. Hiring Our Heroes is a program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation helping transitioning servicemembers, veterans and military spouses find employment opportunities.

Hosting the transition summit is the 502nd Force Support Group and the Transition Assistance Program, or TAP, both at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston. TAP provides counseling and job assistance to servicemembers who are preparing to leave the military.

Activities at the transition summit include a seminar, workshops, a panel discussion, networking opportunities with employers from various industries and organizations and a job fair.

Serafina De Los Santos, 502nd FSG executive director, said the three-day summit will provide servicemembers, military family members and veterans with the information, skills and tools they need to explore career options and transition into civilian life.

“It’s an opportunity for servicemembers and their family members, spouses or dependents, to start thinking about their life after the military,” De Los Santos said.

De Los Santos said approximately 4,000 JBSA servicemembers each year transition out of the military.

“It doesn’t matter what rank or grade you are, transitioning is not easy,” she said. “You got to start early. We want commanders, leaders and supervisors at all levels to encourage their servicemembers to go to this three-day event.”

"At JBSA, we want every transition to be a successful one, but we recognize every service member's needs during transition are different," said Brig. Gen. Heather Pringle, 502nd Air Base Wing and JBSA commander. "In order to address this broad range of needs, the JBSA Transition Summit brings together a variety of experts, networking opportunities, resources and information forums."

Kicking off the summit will be the military transition seminar from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 11. The seminar will include presentations on career objectives, developing network strategies, interviewing skills and helping servicemembers, military family members and veterans transition from a military to a business mindset.

Conducting the seminar will be Afterburner, Inc., a training and consulting company owned and staffed by veterans that has worked with over 85 percent of U.S. Fortune 50 and several Global 1000 corporations.

For information and to register for the military transition seminar, go to https://www.afterburner.com/veteran-outreach. Attendees can also register the day of the seminar at 7 a.m.

The second day of the summit, July 12, starts with registration at 8 a.m. From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., job seekers can attend briefings about various industries and businesses, including medical, information technology, cyber security, education, construction, transportation, law enforcement and transportation.

From 5 to 7 p.m., a networking reception will be held to give job seekers the opportunity to meet and speak with employers. During the reception, Brig. Gen. Pringle; Rear Adm. Rebecca McCormick-Boyle, Navy Medicine Education and Training Command commander; and Brig. Gen. John Hashem, U.S. Army North (Fifth Army) deputy commanding general, will sign a proclamation for the Transition Assistance Program.

"Military members are dedicated to selflessly serving their nation and as a result, they can have mixed feelings about transitioning out or even taking time for themselves," Pringle said. "Leaders can help ease their minds by encouraging members to attend."

The final day of the summit, July 13, will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and include workshops focused on developing resumes, demonstration of an online resume engine and utilizing LinkedIn, the online business and employment focused social networking service, to search for a job.

Volunteers from Centurion Military Alliance, an organization that supports and prepares transitioning servicemembers, veterans, wounded warriors, primary caregivers to wounded warriors and military spouses for professional career opportunities, will provide help to job seekers in writing and preparing resumes.

Speakers on the final day of the summit include Pringle, who will give the welcoming remarks at 10:15 a.m., followed by the keynote address from Ruth Hughs, a commissioner with the Texas Workforce Commission, at 10:20 a.m. A panel discussion on the transitioning process, which will include perspectives from several veterans who are working in the civilian job sector, will run from 10:40-11:30 a.m.

Closing remarks will be given Col. Mark Lee, 502nd ABW and JBSA deputy commander, who is in the process of transitioning from the military, and Dakota Meyer, a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps who served in Afghanistan and is a Medal of Honor recipient.

The last day of the summit concludes with the Hiring Our Heroes Job Fair from 1 to 4 p.m. The job fair will include 70 employers, from state, federal and local agencies and law enforcement to companies from various industries and businesses, including medical, information technology, cyber security, construction, trucking, heavy equipment, shipping and banking and financial services.

Jon Vance, TAP transition services manager, said employers at the fair will offer plenty of good job opportunities for transitioning servicemembers, military family members and veterans.

“They will have the positions that come with competitive salaries and benefits packages,” Vance said.

By attending the transition seminar and summit, job seekers will be better prepared to meet with employers at the job fair, Vance said.

“They get two-and-a-half days of relevant information, ideas and coaching,” he said. “Then they have an opportunity to take those skills into a career fair.”

Vance recommends that job seekers at the fair bring copies of their resumes, dress in business attire and be prepared to give an elevator pitch, a 30-second speech about their career goals and themselves.

"Military members belong to a family, whether we're in uniform or out ... and taking care of our family is important to the mission!" Pringle added.

For information and to register for the summit and job fair, go to http://hiringourheroes.org/events, or call 210-221-9255.