IN PUBLIC SAFETY
Leischen Stelter
Part of commemorating those who served in our armed forces is recognizing the many challenges facing our military servicemen and -women. One of the greatest challenges for service members is making the leap from a career in the military to one in the civilian work force. Especially for our military’s elite special operations personnel, making this career transition can prove to be difficult and unsettling.
Learning from Elite Vets
In June 2016, attendees of the Mid-Atlantic INLETS seminar had the opportunity to hear from one of the nation’s most famous elite military members, Robert O’Neill. O’Neill was the Navy SEAL credited with firing the shots that killed Osama bin Laden. His keynote speech addressed the hardship required to reach that level of service and the perseverance and focus required to undertake dangerous and sophisticated missions.
After his retirement from the Navy, O’Neill realized that even with his elite training and impressive military background, getting a job in the civilian work force was uncharted territory. In 2013, he co-founded Your Grateful Nation (YGN), a non-profit organization dedicated to helping special operations vets successfully transition to a new career after the military.