GIJOBs

APR 2017

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18 G.I. JOBS | APRIL 2017 | GIJOBS.COM TRANSITION SPECIAL FEATURE LIKE MANY MILITARY VETERANS, Heather Thompson was a different per- son when she came back from serving her country in 2007. Now a project control specialist at the Tennes- see Valley Authority (TVA), Thompson said she was a sheltered, small-town South- ern girl when she enlisted in the Navy Seabees in 2003. "Except for a couple of trips to Chattanooga, I'd never been out of Spring City, Tenn. I didn't know what the world was like. I returned home older and wiser, but also tougher and colder." After boot camp and heavy equipment operator training, Thompson landed as an "Alpha Dawg" in the "Fighting Forty," a construc- tion battalion. Naval equip- ment operators and mechan- ics are all known as Alpha Dawgs, said Thompson. "It's a traditionally male group, so I didn't get an espe- cially warm welcome. A lot of the guys didn't think women should be in the military, and they certainly didn't think women belonged in construction. I had to prove myself over and over." Thompson was a petty of- ficer second class (E-5) when she left the Seabees in 2007 due to an injury. "I grew up a lot during my four years in the Navy," Thompson said. "I learned a lot about people, teamwork and trust, and I'd do it over again. But military service changed me in ways I didn't expect. "I looked at life differently when I got out. It wasn't FIND US ONLINE AT LNKED.IN/MILITARY-FRIENDLY about me and my family any more. It was about survival – what was around the next corner, who was out there to get me. I was always on edge; I couldn't relax. I was an emotional basket case and didn't know why. "I tried going back to school, but I couldn't handle it. I dropped out with only six classes left for an associate's degree. I tried the Veterans Affairs clinic, but that was a struggle, too." Help eventually came on four legs. Navy veteran's struggle to readjust ignites passion to help other vets. REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY HELP CAME ON FOUR LEGS Heather with her husband Jeremy Thompson, left, her father Mark Podbielski, and Abby.

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