VEC Sponsored OSHA 10 Hour Construction Training and OSHA Certifications for 25 Marines and 1 Sailor

On April 12 and 13, 2014 the VEC partnered with the Thank A Vet nonprofit www.tavnow.org to sponsor OSHA 10 Hour Construction Training and the snacks and food at the 1st Civil Affairs Group in Camp Pendleton and OSHA Certifications for 25 Marines and 1 Sailor who completed the course. The OSHA 10 Hour Construction Safety Course was instructed by Henry Miranda, a former E6 USMC Combat Instructor and Range Safety Officer who used his Marine Corps safety experience to advance from a warehouse clerk to a Director of Safety at Kana Pipeline in 2 years. Henry kept the audience engaged for two days using a mixture of real world examples, military analogies and different types of media to illustrate Safety and the important aspects of OSHA as they occur in the industry. Henry is passionate about the fact that the Marine Corps provided him with the skills for an executive level career in Safety and he wants to give back by helping Marines understand how valuable their military experience is, especially in the Health and Safety Industry. Henry’s passion shows through in his instruction as there was only one participant who started the course and did not finish. The Course kicked off with Doug Fenstermacher, a 30 year retired US Army Command Sergeant Major with two tours in Vietnam, Desert Storm and Bosnia and a long list of medals that included a Bronze star and a purple heart talking to a room full of Marines and telling them just how military experience translates directly into the construction industry and the importance that networking plays in the successful transition from the military to civilian sector and beyond in creating long term business opportunities. Doug also described the course he uses to train new superintendents and how military experience provides an advantage that cannot be learned in school. Doug was followed by Lt.Col. AJ Munro, USMCR, the Division Manager of Veolia Environmental Services in Signal Hill, CA who came over from his USMCR Duty Station in his uniform. AJ addressed the class with his own challenges leaving the Active Duty Marine Corps and reentering the civilian sector and he stressed the importance of classes like the OSHA 10 Hour to transfer military experience into skills that civilians can understand. AJ also spoke of Veolia and the importance of safety in the oil and gas industry and how safety is a career track to enter and advance in the largest and most profitable industry in the world. Most importantly, AJ expressed strongly how important it is for Marines to tie into the Marine Corps network and use networking, especially with other veterans, as a primary tool to achieve

their goals. AJ said he wants to be surrounded by the same kinds of people he served with in the Marine Corps and they should look for that too. The After Action Surveys were 100% positive with most respondents expressing gratitude for the exposure to how their military experience will help them in the civilian sector because every organization with employees must comply with OSHA and for the information provided by the veteran presenters on what kinds of things they need to do to be successful in the civilian sector. The most common suggestion from the respondents was a request for more veteran presenters talking about their industry. Lt.Col. Wilfred Rivera of the Combat Logistics Battalion attended the class to see if it would be a good course for his Marines to take and he liked it so much that he also requested Career Management workshops for his Marines that will be transitioning out of the Marine Corps in the next few months. The workshops began the following week with 11 Marines who will be transition out of the Marine Corps between May and July. Below is the OHSA 10 Hour Construction Training roster of first name, last initial, rank and MOS. Lt.Col. Wilfred R. 0402, 1stSGT Jason P. 8999, USNE8 Jerry J. Machinist Mate, MSGT Max R. 0811, GySgt Phillip V. 0369, SSGT Evans F. 2862, SSGT Christina C. 0531 Drilling Reservist, SSGT Thomas L. 4671, SSGT Ronald J. 0861, SSGT Stephen S. 0629, SGT Harold L. 3531/4821, SGT Tony P. 3381, SGT Emmanuel M. 3043/8012, SGT Antione T. 0621, SGT Genero A. 2862, SGT Miguel H. Veteran, SGT Mark M. Veteran, CPL Jaqueline M. 0621, CPL Robert O. 2841, CPL Nanci E. 3043, CPL Joseph M. 0621/0622, CPL Dennis O. 3381, LCPL Greg M. 0621, LCPL Zachary Z. 3381, LCPL Derek D. 0621, PFC Brandon B. 3381