My CP26 Intern Experience

THE PENTAGON, DC, UNITED STATES

09.03.2015

Courtesy Story

U.S. Army Career Program 26

By Travin Tran

**Editors Note** Travin Tran started as an intern with U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) in October 2010 before being reassigned as an intern to the Mission and Installation Contracting Command (MICC) in March 2012. Mr. Tran graduated from the intern program in June 2013 and is currently a Management Analyst with U.S. Army Japan.

I started my federal career as a CP26 Manpower and Force Management Intern back in October 2010. Nearly five years later, I have grown so much professionally and personally and I owe much of that to the opportunities the CP26 intern program provided for me.
From my first day as an intern, I was provided with a mentor (Mr. Eric Crawford, who was also a CP26 intern graduate). He guided and provided me with valuable advice regarding the intern program, the CP26 field and how to be a professional. To this day, I still seek his advice, and he has never failed to mentor. Among all the valuable opportunities the program provides, this mentoring and networking aspect was most valuable for me as it stays with me forever. I was very fortunate the program afforded me the opportunity to develop my skills at USARPAC, Eighth Army, U.S. Army South, and the MICC during my internship.

At each command, I was able to learn different competencies from various analysts as well as gain valuable insights from the point of view of the various command levels. I was able to learn from some of the most seasoned and knowledgeable analysts who were all more than willing to teach and school an eager-to-learn intern. To this day, I still seek their valuable knowledge and advice and they have always been there to teach. I was also able to grow along with my fellow interns as the internship program fosters a close-knit environment for us interns to express our ideas, suggestions, frustrations, excitement and enjoyments on the various events of our internship. To this day, I still feel a sense of pride and connection with my intern class and enjoy hearing the many successes of their careers.

The CP26 internship program also gave me an advantage over other careerists with the classroom training opportunities provided for us. The necessary classroom knowledge along with the application, mentoring and networking aspect gained from the various on-the-job and rotational training assignments gave me a solid foundation to start my career. I would not have had the opportunity to gain all this knowledge and build all these relationships from all parts of the world if it was not for the CP26 intern program.

As I continue on my CP26 career, I am confident in the skills that I possess because of the all the experience and lessons I received as an intern. I am thankful to Ms. Beryl Hancock and Ms. Michele Davis for the support and trust they have in the program and their interns, and I am fortunate and proud to have been a CP26 intern.

• Date Taken: 09.03.2015
• Date Posted: 09.04.2015 10:50
• Story ID: 175273
• Location: THE PENTAGON, DC, US