FORT JACKSON, S.C. (Feb. 5, 2015) -- More than 48,000 military retirees are making their home in the greater Columbia area after completing their service. One of them is J.R. Sanderson, who retired in 2011 as the chief of staff for the Army Training Center and Fort Jackson.
"I loved the Army. I love Fort Jackson. But nothing in this world beats being retired," Sanderson said. "The skill sets that I learned at Fort Jackson -- being the chief of staff there for three years -- really helped me to understand more about a business operation, more about how large, complex organizations work."
Sanderson, a retired colonel, is putting those skills to work in his civilian job as the director of operations and chief of staff for the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, where he runs the day-to-day operations and oversees the organization's 66 field offices.
He is a native of Waynesville, North Carolina, but said he decided to stay in the Midlands for a variety of reasons. For one, he wanted to provide his son, Jake, a rising junior at the time, the opportunity to finish high school without having to move once again after a lifetime of military-related moves. He said that besides personal reasons, other aspects of living in the area make Columbia an attractive choice for retirees as well. Sanderson said he loves the Columbia community and the South Carolina climate, but mostly he appreciates the openness with which the civilian community embraces the military and its veterans.
"One of the things about South Carolina is it's a very, very military-friendly place," he said. "That means something. It means something to a veteran. It means something to me to be able to hug a young Soldier who is going through the airport, who's standing there waiting for a bus. ... A military retiree, in my opinion, would really have to do a strong analysis to leave South Carolina because it's that much of a draw, and it's just a great place to live."
Despite the positive relationship between the state and the military, Sanderson said he wished civilians better understood the importance of Fort Jackson, its training mission and its impact on the Army, the local community and the country.
"The fort's mission is absolutely critical," he said. "But I don't think people realize what a value added Fort Jackson is for both the nation and specifically here for South Carolina."
Besides training approximately 70,000 Soldiers each year in Basic Combat Training, Advanced Individual Training and leadership development courses, the post also has a significant economic impact on the area. Fort Jackson's economic contributions to the local community are estimated to be $2.2 billion annually.
Sanderson left the Army as a decorated veteran. He enlisted as a private in 1979 and became an officer after completing college in 1984. He was deployed to Iraq during operations Desert Spring and Iraqi Freedom, and his decorations include the Silver Star, two Legions of Merit and the Bronze Star.
"I'm extraordinarily proud of my military service and my military record ..., but when it's time to walk away from that, it is a major demand to walk away from that and embrace everything that's coming before you."
Sanderson has faced that challenge not only by embarking on a new career, but also by crossing off one of the items on his bucket list -- publishing a novel. "The Sweetwater Peace" was released in 2014 and is purely fictional, Sanderson emphasized.
"I was trying to combine four or five major elements of the military and faith and of all the things Soldiers go through when they go on a deployment and specifically (post-traumatic stress disorder) when they come back. Because the harder part here is never the combat. The harder part is always the reintegration," he said.
Editor's note: Andrew McIntyre contributed to this report.
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