Donna Gates ⋅ Richmond , VA ⋅ 5 years experience

I am recruiting for a retired Air Force LRO who is open to an opportunity in the DC Metro area specifically Andrews Air Force Base. Chris- feel free to contact me at dogates@deloitte.com.

Thanks,
Donna

Tom Cal, CFA ⋅ San Francisco , CA Army Veteran, Investment Manager ⋅ 25 years experience

Chris,
Have you thought about a carer in Project Management, and embarking on a path to earn the PMP or CAPM certifications? Veterans qualify for free-training and paid exam fees. (An approximately $2500 value.) PMP's are in high demand, with over 13,000 jobs on indeed.com.

http://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=pmp&l=

See the informtion in these threads and topics:
https://acp-advisornet.org/discussion/903
https://acp-advisornet.org/questions/topic/project-management
https://acp-advisornet.org/questions/topic/pmp

Ray Martinelli ⋅ Flanders , NJ U.S. Marine Corps, Sergeant ⋅ 8 years served

Hello Chris,

As a fellow Military Logistician who works in Allentown, PA I would be happy to assist in whatever way possible. I am not clear on the industry or capacity you are focusing your new career though. If the past year or so is any indicator, perhaps the government & contracting is one to move on from.

I have always loved the fact that ours is a profession that transcends all industries. This dog has learned quite a few new tricks working with other manufacturing organizations in electronics, medical device, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, graphic imaging, and others.

Have you tried networking with some of the local traffic clubs? I know Lehigh Valley has their annual clam bake August 21 at Green Pond CC. There are countless other organizational groups too. Also there are quite a number of other industry specific groups that you may want to look into depending upon the industry you choose to target.

Your strong background will always be an asset to any organization and perhaps in many more capacities than you might market for yourself.

Best Regards,

Ray Martinelli
http://www.linkedin.com/in/rmartinelli1

Christopher Stim ⋅ Ambler , PA U.S. Air Force, Major ⋅ 22 years served

Jason,

Thanks for the well wishes for new employment success!

I am an old guard logistics officer (albeit a retired one), meaning that I started out as a supply or trans or log plans officer, etc. who transitioned into the then-newly created LRO career field (a combination of the former) via bridge courses. (I took mine while on one of my deployments to Kuwait for OIF.)

Q1: What type of employment (I assume post USAF) did my LRO experience set me up for?
A1: Only answer I can give you is that I was hired into a civilian defense job, more Army than AF, in the capacity of an Integrated Logistics Support/Sustainment Manager (supposed soup to nuts coordination of logistics efforts at a company from concept development, to gov't contract competition, to fielded support of systems sold to the customer). Of course, the economics of the world saw me out of a job after just over a year (along with 700+ other people of varied lengths of employment).

Q2: What are your general thoughts about being an LRO?
A2: You will be under-appreciated by base and mission leadership for the importance and impact you bring to the mission. Most people don't understand what that word logistics is all about, let alone can spell it. Even on "the outside", when people hear of the word logistics, they only think of UPS's advertising slogan of "We are logistics" and think military logistics people just move packages. LROs (and the word logistics) are so much more than that. You are an INTEGRATED, multifunctional, support, sustainment and life-cycle professional (among other attributes). Additionally, you need to think of what kind of USAF professional track you want to take as an LRO. If you aspire to command of a LRS, you need to (at some point) serve in an Ops Officer position within such a squadron. Oh, and be prepared for en lieu of deployment taskings for duties more commonly based in the Army experience, such as line haul convoy duty (if you haven't done so already).

Please feel free to email me via the link to my profile and I can type up a more expansive response with another 2-cents worth of comments. ;-)

Best of luck with your new duties, position and career track!

Regards,
Chris

Jason Nordlund ⋅ Poughkeepsie , NY U.S. Air National Guard, Second Lieutenant ⋅ 15 years served

Hi Chris, how are you? I am interested to hear your thoughts about the LRO training and experience you recieved in the USAF because ill be starting that same position soon at my ANG unit here in New York. What type of employment did your LRO experience set you up for and what are your general thoughts about being an LRO? I hope you find the right position soon! Thanks. - Jason