Photo By Sgt. Karen Sampson | Panelists discuss the Private Public Partnership program July 22 at the U.S. Army...... read more read more
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By Staff Sgt. Nazly Confesor
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The strength of Army Reserve Soldiers lies in both civilian and military experiences. Developing an initiative that builds upon both strengths provides an incredible turn on investment.
Representatives from non-profit and private organizations, federal agencies, and academia addressed the importance of enabling new and ongoing relationships between the military and civilian communities at the annual U.S. Army Reserve Command (USARC) Commander’s Conference here July 22.
“We connect [Soldiers] to the resources they might not actually have if they need help,” said Erin Thede, director of the Private Public Partnership Office (P3O) at the Office Chief of Army Reserve (OCAR). “We connect them with those resources through our private partnership.”
The Army Reserve P3 grew out of the Employer Partnership Office to link Army Reserve Soldiers with career and employment opportunities and increase the readiness of Army Reserve units by matching skill sets between military and civilian jobs. Lt. Gen. Jeffrey W. Talley, Chief of Army Reserve and Commanding General of U.S. Army Reserve Command, first proposed the P3 initiative last year when he recognized the key to strengthening unit and individual readiness was using partnerships between the private and public sectors.
Thede stressed the value of the program’s three lines of effort: individual, unit and leader readiness.
This is the vision that Talley has emphasized in the past year to strengthen the Army Reserve.
“The Private Public Partnership helps U.S. Army [Reserve Soldiers] tie their military skills into the civilian world,” Talley said.
To show USARC commanders how effective these military-civilian initiatives have been, Chris Mallory, creative director from the MLB network, spoke about his collaboration with P3 by employing two Army Reserve Soldiers for a 10-month apprenticeship program based on their skills.
The exercise is designed to help Soldiers become marketable in the civilian sector, Mallory said. The Army Reserve and the civilian sector will both gain from the partnerships developed during the internship.
Eric Eversole, a representative from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a Navy Reserve Sailor, has collaborated with local businesses to hire and train veterans and service members. He stated there were 20 potential job offers for service members so far coming out of a job fair hosted at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
Eversole said his mission is to increase awareness of the importance of hiring veterans in communities and businesses. As a Navy Reserve Sailor, Eversole said he acknowledges the troubles Soldiers struggle with when they leave the military or come home from a deployment. He is developing a mutually supportive environment for Army Reserve Soldiers designed to expose them to opportunities in the private sector based on their current skills.
Emotional readiness is a key component to individual and unit readiness, Thede said. Brian Cooke, chief of staff at the Armed Forces Foundation, spoke about the foundation’s goal to raise awareness of invisible wounds such as post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries.
“For the past two years, the ‘Save our Troop Campaign’ has tried to raise awareness and educate service members, leaders, veterans and the public that mental wounds are invisible wounds and lower the stigma of seeking help,” he said.
When Soldiers work in dynamic environments in the civilian sector, it allows them to develop professionally and introduce new skills into their military careers.
Dr. John Mogford, vice chancellor for research at Texas A&M University, educates service members on using training and certificate programs for firefighting, urban search and rescue, and community infrastructure projects. Mogford said private firms have started providing training opportunities for Soldiers to work in local community infrastructure.
The USARC Commander’s Conference is an annual opportunity where Army Reserve leaders discuss important issues impacting the force.
| Date Taken: | 07.23.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 07.23.2014 11:30 |
| Story ID: | 136981 |
| Location: | ALEXANDRIA, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 391 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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