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Flight deck, you can’t hear nothing. You got sound protection, ear protection on you
you’re worried about, depending on you in the gulf, its ridiculously hot. It’s over
100 degrees then you got the jet blast going and you got to always be on the lookout because
when you got that many plans coming in, you got the trip wires then you got the drills,
it’s always something going on. It is a constant reminder from everybody that you
can always get hurt because nearly everyday, somebody does.
Enter the fall of 2001, that day came for sailor Troy Reynolds; deployed, soon after
the September 11th attacks, Reynolds was serving on board the USS Enterprise as it headed towards
Afghanistan. One day, in what he describes as a freak accident, he hurt his leg and back.
In an instant, his time on the flight deck of Enterprise was over.
You don’t really win when you’re going against a steal deck.
Troy would eventually leave the Navy in 2006 at a time when his life was at a cross roads.
Still dealing with the lingering effects of his injury, he now had to find a new direction
for his career. Troy got his bachelors degree in 2009 and was able to find jobs here and
there. Keeping them, was another matter.
It was difficult, because nobody really wants to work with somebody that has limitations
who can’t stand, certain things you typically see somebody my size you want to get most
the use you can out of somebody like that
Job after job nothing seem to fit Troys needs and allowed him to spend the time he wanted
with his 6 year old son, Tyron. But he would eventually stumble, literally, on a solution
Funny enough, Wounded Warriors project was right across the street from my previous job.
I didn’t really know much about them because I was new to the area. I just happened to
go over there one day and I was intrigued by actually what I was seeing
At Wounded Warrior project, Troy learned about programs offered to honor and empower warriors
like himself. This is when he found out about the Warriors to Work program
Warriors to Work, I would say is a full service career development program. Where we help
warriors individually with any types of needs they may have. Some warriors come in and they
have needs for the full gambit of services, it would be resume development, job searching,
job placement, interview skills. Our local manager of warriors to work made a phone call
to the local Nexcom and developed that personal relationship with them, looked at the candidates
that we had available for the jobs they had open and of course Troy, with his experience
in the Navy, fit their HR associate position just perfectly
Troy joined the Nexcom family at NES Jacksonville in November of 2010.
We consciously took Troy on as kind of the new recruit and took baby steps, didn’t
over burden him with a lot of things to begin with, took on one thing at a time and built
on that to the next thing. And then, I think we got to the point where he was comfortable
with us and we was comfortable with him and everyday it’s been adding additional responsibilities
to his role. So we think he’s got tremendous potential
I love it because it’s simple, it’s simple and I’m helping people. I want to help people
the way I’ve been helped
Troy isn’t resting on his laurels, he’s pursuing his masters in Human Resources in
hopes to become a more integral member of the Nexcom family but more importantly, he
said the job that improved his future, has also allowed him to focus more on his family
My previous job, I was out, maybe 8, 9, 9:30, 10 at night. I wasn’t getting a lot of time
with my son, the sole purpose of me moving here. Once I got on with the Navy exchange,
I work 7:30 to 4 everyday
The energy he saves by staying off his feet at the job, he puts to work on the football
field, teaching young kids, including his own the finer points of the grid iron
Down, sec, hut
Here, Troys pain, truly is his game
Well, from the injury, I didn’t know how server it would be as far as you know walking
with a limp or anything from being able to do things like that. But what it turned into
is now I’m out here coaching, I feel pain, I mean I’m just, I try to push through everything
or I sit down, I got a assistant coach who help me out
More than 500 warriors nation wide take part in Warriors to Work. For those who put their
heart and soul into the program, Troy represents mission accomplished
Well, we’re honoring and empowering warriors by helping them with their new normal, their
new career. We want to empower them to be able to make enough money to pay for their
kids, pay for their family, pay for their future, what ever they want to do
We think he has tremendous potential in human resources, I know he’s going to school and
he’s doing other things to develop that and we want to serve in that mentor ship role
to make sure he’s got the tools to succeed
I don’t see a ending for this job, right now by me still being new, the full aspect
and full scope of everything I don’t know yet. I know I enjoy working in human resources
and being there to help people, so in a sense, I’m already doing it, I just want to be
able to do more.