There's No Place Like Detroit: Military History, S3's Military Recruiting Future

By Cynthia Pasky

Next week, we'll begin celebrating our nation's independence when the Detroit Ford Fireworks boom and glow over the Detroit River. It's a great show and a tremendous way to remember all those who fought in the American Revolution as well as those who have fought in all the wars since. We are indebted to them all and owe them our thanks and respect.

I have long been a military history buff so let me share just a couple of fast facts about the American Revolution.

 • In 1776, Americans had the highest standard of living and the lowest taxes in the Western World.
• The Americans recruited people living in the Detroit region as spies and sympathizers for the American cause. On Aug. 23, 1777, Lieutenant Governor Henry Hamilton of the British army issued orders that all strangers entering Detroit and any suspicious activity must be reported immediately to the military authorities. The first group the British military suspected of treason was Detroit's French inhabitants.
• After 1777, the average Continental soldier was young, single, without property, poor and in many cases an outright pauper. For three-quarters of the war, few middle-class Americans bore arms in the Continental Army, although thousands did serve in militias.
• A total of 25,000 Americans died during the Revolutionary war. About 8,000 died in battle and 17,000 died of sickness, went missing in action or died of other things.

Since our nation was founded men and women have defended it and all that it stands for. As they returned from battle the transition from military to civilian life often proved a challenge. At Strategic Staffing Solutions we believe we can offer an opportunity to those individuals leaving the military that will help them succeed in their new lives.

We just launched the pilot military program, the S3 Combat Recruiting Support Team. Under the program, four military veterans joined the company in our San Antonio office. They will reach out to qualified individuals who fit the job descriptions required by S3's customers and then turn those names over to our recruiters.

While they are based in San Antonio the team also will provide sourcing support for all our branches, including Detroit. In short, they will help us give our customers the best consultants possible. We do that by fishing in the right ponds to find them. The military is certainly one of those ponds. It requires people to think fast, learn quickly, adapt easily, build solid relationships and have strong ethics. That fits S3 to a T.

The four people we hired have strong credentials, which re-enforces the value veterans bring to the workforce and how those skills can transfer to the private sector.

Two are retired Air Force senior noncommissioned offers and former Air Force recruiters (one with an MBA from Columbia Southern). One was an intelligence analyst in the Army. One led 300-plus combat intelligence missions in Iraq and Kuwait without loss of life or equipment and has a bachelor's degree in sociology from Texas A&M-San Antonio. Another retired noncommissioned officer was a field medic in the Navy attached to the U.S. Marine Corps and is now completing his military career as a senior instructor at the Tri-Service Radiography School at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio.

Military people know the value of teamwork, and of being resourceful. That's what won the Revolutionary War and the wars that followed. It is also how those leaving the military for a civilian life will succeed in their new careers. At S3 we are very pleased to be part of that transition.

More at www.strategicstaff.com.