CINCINNATI — On this Memorial Day weekend, one veteran organization says it's honoring and remembering the fallen while making sure those who make it back aren't forgotten either.
"Sept. 11, 2001, happened my senior year of high school, so that was kind of my call to action," Chris Newsome said. "There's a lot of growing to do, and the Army really forces you down a pipeline of growth and leadership and maturity."
Newsome enlisted in the U.S. Army after graduating from Anderson High School. He completed his basic training at Fort Moore (formerly Fort Benning). Then, he completed advanced individual training and airborne school, where he would become a member of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg).
He served in Afghanistan in 2003 and in Iraq twice in 2004 and 2005-2006, where he served in combat operations as an infantry paratrooper. Once his military service was over, Newsome admits it was a struggle transitioning from military to civilian life.
"I was grateful for the work I could find, but it definitely wasn't a career launch pad," Newsome said.
For him, it was not only a struggle translating his skills from what he learned in the military to civilian life, but it was a struggle fitting into a new world.
"I felt like a fish out of water to an extent," Newsome said. "When you take off the uniform for the last time these are the realities."
He worked some odd jobs, but Newsome felt like he lost his purpose.
"Handful of months prior to that, I was leading patrols in Iraq and to go from that to what I considered, at the time, to be kind of a professional step backwards, that's when I realized I need to advocate for myself, I need to make myself marketable as humanly possible, and more importantly than anything, I needed to find a role, a company that spoke to me kind of culturally," said Newsome.
Then he would find RecruitMilitary, a recruiting firm that helps veterans find careers after life in the military. The staff helps veterans not only find work that's best for them, but helps them with buliding their resumes and interviewing for jobs.
"Our community is very proud they're not always going to lead by saying I need help)," said Newsome.
He also told us some veterans have a difficult time articulating their military skills into everyday lingo on a resume. For example, Newsome was part of 11 Bravo, but if you were to write that on a resume, it translates to infantry soldier. It's those minor changes he feels can make all the difference for a veteran landing an interview.
"We have all of these great skill sets these great attributes, but it is on us to be able to vocalize those and articulate that to the recruiter at the other end of that conversation to make them understand why we are the right fit," Newsome said.
His new mission is helping veterans realize they've had it in them all along.
"Part of what we have to do as veterans as a community to honor the fallen is to live our best lives," Newsome said. "Part of living our best lives is making sure that we're caring for our families, starting them, nurturing them, being productive members of our community, having a professional career, living the best version of our lives that we can to honor those who no longer can."
Newsome's final piece of advice to veterans is to never sell themselves short.
"Don't go out there and just get some random job, get a career, be the most awesome version of yourself that you can possibly be," said Newsome.
You can learn more about what RecruitMilitary can do for veterans here.
