An Open Letter From A United States Veteran

August 6, 2017

To Whom It May Concern:

I would like to start by giving my support to Andy and “Industrial Soldier,” and tell you a little about myself I served in the active Army for 12 ½ years as a Scout Platoon Sergeant. I was promoted to Sergeant First Class in just under 10 years, which is considered fast-tracking in the Army. I had goals of becoming a Sergeant Major in the Army, which is the highest rank for enlisted soldiers in the Army. I have received the Meritorious Service Medal, and an Army Accommodation Medal with Valor along with many other awards. Due to injuries received during combat missions in Iraq, I was medically retired in January, 2015. After my retirement, I spent the last two and a half years going to school at Texas A&M University to receive my Bachelors of Applied Arts and Science (BAAS) in business management, and an honor graduate with a 3.88 GPA.

Andy and Industrial Soldier have an important mission to create jobs for veterans, and placing them in positions that are suited for their disabilities. As a disabled veteran, I understand the importance of helping our wounded veterans find work. Having a job does a lot more than provide income, it helps instill pride and a feeling that you are still contributing to society. This is part of the healing process for many of our veterans, but many are unable to find or keep jobs due to the severity of their injuries. Veterans who suffer from injuries require more than accommodations for physical injuries, they need the support of their peers and leaders.

Industrial Soldier is unlike any other organization, because most organizations just attempt to bring employer’s and veteran’s together in hopes that these businesses will hire veterans. Well, I am here to tell you that this in not much help. This does not take into consideration that the employer’s may not be willing to accommodate for the needs of veterans who need emotional or physical support. Many veterans like myself, must go to several medical appointments in a week or month, which is not attractive to most businesses, and can eventually result in the veteran losing his/her job. Industrial Soldier creates jobs for veterans and builds environments where the veteran does not have to worry about losing his/her job. The veteran has the option to stay home if he/she is having issues related to their service connected injuries. Plus, they have the support of other veterans that they work with. No one understands what a soldier is going through, quite like another soldier.

Industrial Soldier has an accumulation of over 40 years’ experience in helping veterans. They create jobs, and train veterans in the skills needed to perform these jobs. The veterans will be working with other veterans which creates an environment of support and camaraderie, which all veteran’s urn to incorporate into their lives. These jobs create work history for the veteran if veteran decides to work somewhere else. Industrial Soldier does assertive technology assessment in their lab to find what abilities they have, not what disabilities they have, and to place them in positions where they can use these abilities. They are also the only company developing a program for corporate America, which will help other corporations learn how to understand and work with veterans with disabilities. Corporations will then be able to tap into a trained and dedicated veteran workforce. Also, Industrial Soldier will offer consulting services to corporations across the country so that they can hire veterans with successful results. This will create jobs for veterans with disabilities nationally and have a larger impact on the need to employ veterans.

I have personal experience with other organizations who are reaching out to wounded veterans, and they are nothing like Industrial Soldier. Most of these organizations are just taking soldiers on fun outings with other wounded veterans. These organizations are good, but do not address the long term needs of wounded veterans. Industrial Soldier addresses these needs and are continually looking for new ways to help integrate veterans into the workforce and society. All soldiers tend to seek out the camaraderie of other veterans that understand their situation and the environments that they have been in while serving this great nation. Please help build on the foundation to help employee our wounded veterans. I witnessed how other job organizations are attempting to find jobs for our veterans, but they do not create jobs, or have a business strategy to create companies that hire only veterans so that these veterans can work alongside other veterans and provide emotional and physical support. The Key message that should be taken from this is “Creating Jobs for Veterans,” not just bringing employer’s and veterans together in a conference room to help build a resume and interview techniques.

Sincerely,
Scott Schecht