Each year on November 11, the Nation pauses to honor those who serve and have served in the United States (US) Armed Forces. Veterans Day is a time to thank them for the sacrifices they have made on our country’s behalf. Here at Hagerty, we are proud to work alongside veterans who lend their talent and energy to the ever-important task of helping our clients prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate against disasters.
This year, a few of our veteran service team members paused to reflect on their personal experience in the military and how it prepared them for a career in emergency management.
Bryan Cochran | Navy
What did you learn about yourself by serving in the military?
I learned that teamwork is the key to accomplishing anything worth doing.
How did your military career prepare you for a career in emergency management?
As a Special Operations Officer (SOO), I learned how to deal with uncertainty and constantly changing environments. Additionally, I was trained to prepare and plan for known hazards and to adapt and overcome unknown challenges. These situations prepared me for a career in emergency management.
Jeff Ewaldt | Navy
What did you learn about yourself by serving in the military?
In my 20 years of service, I learned the meaning of perseverance, confidence, and integrity. In the end, integrity is something that cannot be taken from you, only given away – and this is something that I am not willing to do.
How did your military career prepare you for a career in emergency management?
In many ways, my military career taught me how to provide the mental and physical tools to adapt to the ever-changing emergency management environment.
Walter Flores | Marine Corps
What did you learn about yourself by serving in the military?
I learned that I don’t like to quit. In the Marine Corps, “never quit” is one of the fundamental principles they instill in all recruits during basic training. We were conditioned to have the unwavering grit to continue on when others quit. I have learned that this principle often carries over into my career and personal life, enabling me to get through tough times with an even tougher resilience.
How did your military career prepare you for a career in emergency management?
In the Marine Corps, we always had to be prepared for numerous response scenarios, including preparedness as a quick reaction force and occasionally providing support in many other operational areas. This translates very well to emergency management because we always have to be ready for the unexpected and capable of quickly reacting to the circumstances around a disaster.
Mike Sprayberry | Marine Corps and National Guard
What did you learn about yourself by serving in the military?
I learned that I have a competitive streak and love to take on a challenge to see how I will perform. The military presents challenges every day no matter what your job or rank is and I really enjoyed trying to see how well I could do whether it was physical fitness, marksmanship, or working inside a team construct to accomplish a common goal.
How did your military career prepare you for a career in emergency management?
While serving, I met many people with many different backgrounds and learned the value of being inclusive and listening to others to come up with the best solution possible. A common assumption that many people make is that in the military, the officers solely give orders, and everyone just follows them. The American military teaches all servicemembers how to think on their own, be self-reliant and, of course, be a part of a strong team and follow orders when needed. The core values I learned in the military transferred easily to emergency management, where success depends on your ability to collaborate within the team. Whenever the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) was activated, as the State Emergency Response Team Leader, I would tell everyone that with the talent assembled in the Situation Room, we could solve ANY problem! It’s really true!
Tyler Struwe | Navy
What did you learn about yourself by serving in the military?
I learned that I had a lot more that I wanted to accomplish than I previously thought, and I became instilled with a foundational discipline that truly amplified my ability to succeed. Before joining, I had few career goals outside of becoming a firefighter, and I never thought I would attend college because I did not particularly enjoy school. After working in emergency management while in the Navy, however, I found enjoyment in my work and a desire to pursue further education. Ultimately, this led to more disciplined study habits and a master’s degree in Emergency Management and Homeland Security.
How did your military career prepare you for a career in emergency management?
I have had the opportunity to support numerous emergency management projects of varying capacities and understand the importance of effective communication across entities as we collaboratively work together to accomplish universal goals. Most recently, I was deployed to the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, as a Navy reservist during the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, I worked in the base emergency management office, supporting various preparedness exercises to mitigate risks for nuclear fires, active shooters, natural disasters, and COVID-19—a task that involved contact tracing for over 10,000 shipyard workers daily.
Patrick Van Horne | Marine Corps
What did you learn about yourself by serving in the military?
During my time in the military, I learned how much I enjoy working with mission-driven professionals. It is incredibly rewarding to serve alongside people who believe in the organization’s goals and who come to work every day with creative ideas about ways to achieve them. After I left the military, it was exciting to find that same dynamic working in emergency management and supporting communities before, during, and after disasters.
How did your military career prepare you for a career in emergency management?
Military units deploying overseas and communities responding to disasters share numerous similarities, including an overarching desire to have been more prepared. I feel lucky to have been a part of teams in the Marines that didn’t stop their preparation efforts once they deployed but embraced a commitment to training, growing, and improving during their time overseas. In this way, it is similar to emergency managers’ daily work, leading communities through incredibly challenging times. We might always wish that there had been one more exercise or a few more training sessions for those in the EOC before the incident occurred, but we can also appreciate those who volunteered to respond despite not being fully ready. If we dedicate each day in response to making each person and each team just a little bit better, we can continue to grow our profession and better serve the communities we work in.
Today, we thank our colleagues, all those who have served, and their families for their bravery, courage, and service to our Nation.
