JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — There are thousands of members of the military who live on the First Coast, and while the region has one of the largest military populations in the country, our veteran population is even larger.
In this week's Stories of Service, we salute the latest graduates of the Jacksonville nonprofit Operation New Uniform, an organization with the mission to help servicemembers transition to the business world.
In an auditorium at Keiser University, they stand, not at attention, but proud of being graduates of Operation New Uniform. Before they walk across the stage, each of the 15 graduates delivers a speech about their journey.
"Operation New Uniform has helped me develop to have a more professional mindset in the business and corporate world," said Miguel Ambrocio, who served in the Marines for five years. "Especially transitioning from the military and I now have the tools to identify exactly what skills and what I can pull from my Marine Corps service into the business world."
A piece of the Marines will stay on Ambrocio's new uniform, his tie tack is the Marine emblem.
"Can't forget where you start," he said with a smile.
Adrienne McDonald hopes Operation New Uniform will help her utilize more than 20 years world of skills in the Army in a future career in media relations.
"The beautiful thing about Operation New Uniform is it reminds us that though we have certain missions we had to become passionate about, now we get to operate in our passion as a career," said McDonald.
City Councilman Chris Miller greeted each graduate. He was in their shoes as an Operation New Uniform graduate in 2014 after 30 years in the Army.
"I struggled when I transitioned back in 2014," said Miller, "and because they helped me so much in making a good transition, it's a matter of wanting to give back."
Operation New Uniform is provided free of charge to qualifying applicants thanks to corporate and donor support. Over the last 10 years, they've supported more than 500 veterans and military spouses across the country.
More information about Operation New Uniform and how to sign up can be found on their website.
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