Military Service

U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant

Experience

5 years served

Future

Seeking a career in manufacturing & construction

Location

Metairie , LA

About Jeremiah

My name is Jeremiah, and I served five wonderful years in the Marine Corps. I chose Counter Intelligence as my preferred occupation. However, since the Marine Corps does not allow direct enlistment into that specific field, I was told to choose an occupation that I would like to do since I would be doing it for four years, and then be guaranteed a lateral move into the Counter Intelligence field. I enlisted in 1995 choosing the Motor Transport/Diesel Mechanic field and quickly achieved higher rank, as well as earning the rank of Sergeant in less than four years, which in that time was not an easy thing to do, especially in the Motor Transport occupational field. My Commanding Officer noticed me for one reason or another and chose me to work in the company office as the Training NCO, where I handled the day to day affairs of the Company Commander and Company First Sergeant, as well as made the monthly training schedule and administered the weekly training classes. I also arranged for the Marines in the company to attend the rifle and pistol ranges as well as the physical fitness test twice per year and recorded their scores in the appropriate records.

After that the Company Commander asked me to ship out as his personal assistant while deployed, and I became the Operations NCO while attached to the Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU). We traveled aboard the great USS Nashville and USS Nassau and toured around the Mediterranean Sea, stopping in several countries and training with the various countries and their military factions. I also had the pleasure of embarking in both Bosnia and Kosovo conflicts as the first to be deployed.

Unfortunately early in my career I was involved in an accident that caused injury to my back in two places. I was not able to re-enlist and continue with my career in the Marine Corps. I separated in 2000, and have been working at various places of employment all across this great nation. I have worked blue collar jobs, to include the telephone company as a technician, alarm technician and vehicle recovery specialist and more. I have also been in the white collar realm where I was a top producing car salesman and even realtor, in both residential and commercial realty. I have been using the Vocational Rehabilitation, and the first school I attended was Nevada School of Construction, where I learned how to operate heavy equipment and cranes, as well as a CDL. Unfortunately I graduated that school in March of 2008, when the bottom was falling out of the economy, so It was almost impossible for me to find work in the Operating Engineers occupational field. I would go on interviews and was told that I didn't have enough experience. How am I supposed to get the experience if no one would hire me? I was able to find temporary work in the field, but that was only a few months. So I naturally fell back on my sales background and went to work as a car salesman.

Fortunately I was able to continue my education, using the Vocational Rehabilitation plan and am in the process of earning my degree in Business Management. Unfortunately, I had to put that degree on hold in order to assess a minor medical issue. In the mean time I am trying to find a job that will utilize my skills as a Heavy Equipment/Crane Operator, Operating Engineer, in order to bring in money to support my family. This will allow me to attend classes at night or online to continue towards my degree. Unfortunately I am running into the same issue of not having enough experience. I have also been trying to get on with maybe the Longshoremen as an operator there, but that is also hard to find information on.

My goal after graduation was to start my own business here in the greater New Orleans, LA area. I would rebuild cars/trucks/motorcycles and sell them at a reasonable profit and have money to re-invest into the company and make it grow. Another aspect of the company would be to flip real estate, since there are a lot of abandoned and unkempt houses and other pieces of property in this area. My main goal would be to hire DAV's and other Veterans in order to assist them in their transition process. I would also like to hire convicted felon's and assist them in their transition, since it is hard for them to find work, which often leads to higher recidivism rates. After all, who better to mentor someone in need than a Veteran? Who else knows how a Veteran transitions better than another Veteran, especially a DAV, when each of us have unique medical needs.

I know that I am going in two different directions with the equipment/crane operator and the business owner, but if I can't provide for my family now, how can I start a business in the near future?