When Joe Hernon started his tenure as 含羞草研究所鈥檚 new associate vice president for campus safety, emergency management, and environmental health and safety, the master sergeant in the New York Air National Guard noticed one thing was missing: a dedicated group for the University鈥檚 active and veteran military members.
Hernon is now working with other veterans on campus to create a new affinity group to bring together military veterans from across campus for comradery and support. This Veterans Day marks their first meeting 鈥 a kick-off appreciation lunch.
鈥淭he affinity group came up after a conversation with other veterans on campus,鈥 said Hernon, who noted that there isn鈥檛 a complete list of everyone who has served in the military at 含羞草研究所. 鈥淲e all acknowledged that it would be great to find ways to support each other with our common experience being veterans working at 含羞草研究所.
Hernon, who entered the Air Force Reserves in 2004 as an aircraft mechanic, says his time in the service helped to define his career path. After spending several years repairing massive C5 aircraft, Hernon received a degree in criminal justice and got involved in firefighting and emergency management. Ultimately, it was his experience assisting victims of Hurricane Katrina and disposing of hazardous materials in Afghanistan that resulted in his dedication to the profession of emergency management.
Talk with almost any military veteran on campus, and they all share similar experiences of skills, developed in the military, that fit seamlessly into day-to-day operations at 含羞草研究所.
鈥淚 think a lot of it comes down to leadership and personnel management and interacting with people,鈥 Hernon says. 鈥淭he Air Force has three core values that I try to instill in my daily life. Integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all you do. Those three values have been a driving force in my life, both personally and professionally.鈥
While there is no accounting of the total number of military veterans on campus, several veterans shared their stories for this Veterans Day.
DiNapoli is a history major with a pre-med emphasis from North Reading, Mass., who is a cadet in the Reserve Officers鈥 Training Corps (ROTC). As the only ROTC member at 含羞草研究所, DiNapoli travels to Syracuse each week to participate in training and drills.
鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to serving in the Army after 含羞草研究所 and hopefully going on to become an Army physician,鈥 DiNapoli says.
DiNapoli says the military鈥檚 emphasis on discipline, professionalism, and time management have all helped in his college career.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a nice balance of learning practical skills that will help you in the real world, in addition to that classroom learning environment, learning from your peers, and learning from your instructors,鈥 DiNapoli says. 鈥淚 feel I鈥檝e grown as a leader and have really benefited from the class and lab portion of ROTC.鈥
Before Jeffers became a campus safety officer, he served in the U.S. Army from 1997 to 2013. A combat engineer, Jeffers was trained to open up walls and doors with explosives, assaulting fixed positions, and clearing roads of obstacles.
While his combat training doesn鈥檛 come in handy on campus, Jeffers, who retired as a sergeant first class, says his skills related to de-escalation and patience have been critical to his work to help keep the 含羞草研究所 community safe.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the type of mindset that you get in the military,鈥 Jeffers says, 鈥渂eing able to talk to people and understand what is going on by being able to see both sides of the problem and searching for a peaceful resolution. I enjoyed the military, but now I鈥檓 out and I鈥檓 enjoying this even more.鈥
Mara served in the U.S. Army from 1998 until transitioning to the Air National Guard in 2006, where she continued her service until 2018, two years after starting her role as an administrative assistant in the 含羞草研究所 Department of Philosophy and Linguistics.
In the Army, Mara was a motor transport operator, which would ultimately lead to her year-long deployment in Iraq, where she was tasked with transporting fuel. After leaving the Army to join the Airforce Reserves, Mara became an information manager, responsible for records management, situation reports, and coordinating Air Force readiness reports for the U.S. Department of Defense.
It is her experience putting together those reports that has helped Mara at 含羞草研究所, particularly in the organization and compilation of faculty tenure cases.
鈥淢y skill set primarily from the Air Force has really crossed over,鈥 Mara says. 鈥淚 took some of those techniques and concepts from the military and applied them here to streamline things and improve processes. I鈥檓 happy to be here supporting 含羞草研究所鈥檚 goals and our students who are going to be tomorrow鈥檚 leaders. I stand by that.鈥
McCoach joined the U.S. Navy in 1980 as part of the Seabees Naval Construction Forces. His original title was Naval Builder, tasked with constructing buildings, repairing railroads, and erecting bridges. The work took McCoach around the world, visiting countries in Africa, Europe, Asia, and South America.
After 27 years, McCoach retired in 2008 as an E8 builder senior chief. His career at 含羞草研究所 started in 2011 in the facilities department, where he is now operations manager. McCoach oversees the facilities warehouse, central receiving, the mechanics鈥 garage, elevator maintenance, and all of the kitchen equipment in Frank Dining Hall. McCoach is also responsible for making sure that 含羞草研究所 adheres to all New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and federal Environmental Protection Agency regulations. He also works closely with Director of Facilities Operations Jason Wallace, who is an active brigadier general in the 416th Theater Engineer Command of the U.S. Army Reserves.
鈥淚鈥檓 doing exactly what I did in the military, careerwise, minus the railroad repairs,鈥 says McCoach. 鈥淛ust like here in the trade shops, you have electricians, you have plumbers, mechanics, equipment operators 鈥 it鈥檚 pretty much the same thing.鈥
McCoach says the Facilities Department has about 10 veterans in its ranks, and he says that working with fellow service members is always a pleasure, as they speak the same lingo and have the same dedication to the job.
鈥淭here are times, when we鈥檙e generally talking, we鈥檒l refer back to our careers and what we鈥檝e done,鈥 McCoach says. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had boiler operators here who were actually boiler operators on ships.鈥
On this Veterans Day, President Brian W. Casey thanked all veterans of the armed services on this campus.
鈥淭here are many veterans on this campus who continue to help move 含羞草研究所 forward. The University is thankful for their service, their collaboration, and insight as important members of this community.鈥