JBLM Hosts Hiring Our Heroes Career Summit

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. – More than 1,000 Soldiers and Airmen from Joint Base Lewis-McChord met with federal agencies and employers at the annual Hiring Our Heroes Career Summit at American Lake Conference Center and the McChord Field Hangar 9 from Sept. 18-19, 2024.

The event's primary focus is to connect transitioning service members or recent veterans with federal agencies that can offer them employment.

Christopher Gentz, a transition services specialist at the Hawk Career Center, talked about what service members can expect while attending the event.

"Our transitioners can start job hunting in the last six months of their contract," Gentz said. "They're able to apply and accept a position and smoothly transition into that federal employment. This summit is all about promoting those opportunities so the right service member can find the right opportunity."

This year's Hiring Our Heroes Career Summit streamlined communication between agencies and service members by incorporating in-person and social media communication methods.

"Federal agencies promoting their opportunities and getting the message out is key," Gentz said. "Because, a lot of times service members just don't know these opportunities are out there. Being able to get that information out there, both on social media and face-to-face, is a tremendous help in moving into that next job or career."

Gentz hopes the Hiring Our Heroes Career Summit will retain some talent to continue working on JBLM in a civilian capacity.

"With federal employers, there are a lot of doors and windows open where service members can see how they want to advance their careers," Gentz said. "Fortunately for us we're able to keep a lot of that talent here on this installation."

Michelle Nolasco, the resource management officer at JBLM, outlined why veterans are ideal candidates for civil service positions.

"Veterans often possess a disciplined work ethic, developed through their military training and experience," Nolasco said. "A veteran's commitment to their country often translates into a high level of loyalty and integrity in their professional roles as civilians fostering a trustworthy work environment."

Joint Base Lewis-McChord and Yakima Training Center are participating in two initiatives, the Provisional Hiring Authority program and Installation Management Command’s Expedited Onboarding Policy, aimed at improving the federal hiring process.

Nolasco explained how the JBLM Resource Management Office is working to improve the hiring pipeline and recruit veterans into the JBLM workforce.

“We are leveraging these new initiatives to reduce the amount of time it takes to hire someone into federal service,” said Nolasco. “We are also utilizing special hiring authorities for veterans, like Veterans’ Recruitment Appointment and the 30 Percent or More Disabled Veteran authority, to expedite the hiring process.”

Veterans and other job seekers can find open positions on JBLM at usajobs.gov.