CHARLESTON, W.Va. — As the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq wind down, tens of thousands of troops are returning home this year and next to an uncertain economy.
But the natural gas industry is booming and, with a little training, these physically fit, teamwork-ready veterans can be ideally suited for jobs in the field.
Chesapeake Energy Corp. is among companies making that match, offering troops what they need most: steady jobs with family-supporting salaries.
“As an American company, we believe it is our duty to hire former soldiers,” said Martha Burger, Chesapeake Senior Vice President of Human and Corporate Resources.
Chesapeake began its effort in 2008 by recruiting junior military officers. Retiring lieutenants and captains, many of whom had engineering or business backgrounds, were hired for work in the field or at the Oklahoma City corporate office as engineers, business analysts or office supervisors.
Chesapeake Operations Manager Zack Arnold, working out of Jane Lew, supervises two former junior military officers he said were hired through an extensive interview process at company headquarters in Oklahoma City.
“I deal with probably three new hires a year that come in through the engineering doorway, so probably nine since I’ve been here,” Arnold said.
“These guys came in with an organizational skill set that is very different from what most people have,” Arnold said. “I can immediately give them very technical projects and, even though they’re new to the industry, they learn quickly, they’re used to adapting on the fly, and they’re able to work hard.”
The two are trained as engineers, “but their military training brings them in with teamwork and problem-solving that a lot of people don’t come in with out of college,” Arnold said.
Arnold has been impressed with their ability to take on any responsibility and said he would welcome more junior military officers.
“Chesapeake obviously feels some desire from doing the right thing to hire these folks,” he said. “But to be completely honest, the benefits to the company from a productivity standpoint are far greater than what we achieve from doing the right thing.”
Following the success of its junior military officer hiring program, Chesapeake partnered with Troop Transition of California to hire returning enlisted men and women.
Troop Transition provides on-base job training for active-duty servicemen and women, reservists and National Guardsmen transitioning from military to civilian careers.
Since its founding in 2006, the organization has trained nearly 3,000 for employment in three industries: trucking transportation and logistics, renewable energy, and oil and gas roughnecking. It offers certification and job placement assistance, all at no cost to the trainees.
Chesapeake has become a major participant, hiring more than 10 percent of Troop Transition’s candidates this year alone.
Most of them in this region are working in the Towanda, Pa. area, said Chesapeake spokeswoman Lindsay McIntyre, where she said Chesapeake is drilling most actively at this time.
The company also participates in recruiting fairs on military bases.
All told, Chesapeake’s efforts have led to its employment, currently, of more than 350 former military personnel in positions ranging from engineers to rig hands.
In 2011, G.I. Jobs magazine recognized Chesapeake as a “Top 100 Military-Friendly Employer.”
And the company’s participation in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Hiring Our Heroes program includes service on a new Veteran Employment Advisory Council that aims to promote the hiring of veterans and to increase
Veterans are heroes, said Chesapeake’s Burger, and hiring them is the least the company can do to demonstrate appreciation for their service.
“We hope to show other companies that this is not only the right thing to do, but that there are business benefits as well most notably, securing top employees,” Burger said.
