JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A classroom full of active-duty military and veterans enrolled in the Operation New Uniform’s (ONU) transition training program graduated Friday morning.
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Swisher, a longstanding supporter of the Jacksonville-based veteran service organization, sponsored the students’ training and their graduation event, which was held at Swisher’s headquarters on East 16th Street.
The graduation ceremony featured guest speaker U.S. Representative John Rutherford.
The mission of Operation New Uniform is to ensure that all of this nation’s veterans make a successful transition from life in the military to the civilian world.
One of the new grads is Master Chief Timothy Hardin, who recently retired from the Navy.
He hopes to transition to a career in human resources.
“You have to invest in yourself we all are valuable, we all are important. But sometimes you just don’t know how important you are. so sometimes it’s good to have courses to make you realize, just to remind you that you are important,” Hardin said.
So far, close to 600 veterans have graduated from the Operation New Uniform program and 97% of those graduates gained employment within the first four months with an average starting salary of $81,000.
Learn more about the classes including how to apply on the Operation New Uniform website.