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Hiring Heroes
Leslie Smith:
While I was in Bosnia, serving as a public affairs specialist, I developed a blood clot two weeks before the end of the deployment, and I obviously wanted to stay and finish with the division and come back with the soldiers, but unfortunately the blood clot that I had developed was too severe and I had to be sent back to the United States, and was sent to Walter Reed. So then I was taken into surgery and I had my left leg, right below the knee, amputated. A further complication of the blood disorder then was a minor stroke that I had. Shortly thereafter that caused permanent vision loss in my left eye.
Narrator:
You are a veteran and a hero. You’ve served your country with honor, pride, and valor. You’ve given your all for your buddies and your unit. Your wounds have put you out of action, but your spirit is still strong. Even though you can’t rejoin your unit, you want to stay in the fight. You want to support your comrades and serve your country…
Leslie Smith:
I currently work at the Joint Warfare Analysis Center as a Public Affairs Specialist in Dahlgren, Virginia. And I decided that I really wanted to continue service to my country.
Narrator:
DoD is committed to hiring our heroes. This means that DoD is providing every disabled veteran who wants to serve our country as a DoD civil servant the opportunity to do so.
As a civilian in the Department of Defense, you can plan an important role in the defense of our nation and in helping support our armed forces. The Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and other agencies in the Department of Defense employ more than 700,000 civilian employees. There are nearly 750 occupations that can offer disabled veterans diverse, challenging, and rewarding careers.
Leslie Smith:
What I’d like to say to my fellow war fighter is to be strong and to believe in yourself, and to know that you have support all around you from all different resources.
