Oak Ridge Creates Career Opportunities for Veterans
Strong military history and superb quality of life make this city a natural choice for transitioning to the civilian workforce.
Veterans looking for the right place to launch civilian careers are choosing Oak Ridge, where they discover a community that values their military service and is ready to help them find new opportunities for success.
Oak Ridge’s strong military history and unparalleled quality of life make it a natural choice for men and women transitioning to the civilian workforce. Many of them not only start new careers – they start new companies.
Veteran-owned businesses include IB3 Global Solutions, Omega Technical Services, ReNuke Services and Alliant Corp.
Finding Success in Oak Ridge
The latest U.S. Census reports that Oak Ridge has 90 veteran-owned businesses, and that number has only grown.
“Oak Ridge presents us with the perfect location to grow a company like IB3 Global Solutions, which focuses on radiological and nuclear national security solutions,” says Sean M. Gleason, president and CEO of IB3 Global Solutions and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran.
Executive Michelle Fierro is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. The company has more than 50 years of experience in nuclear security operations and provides services including testing and evaluation for government and commercial clients, training and nonproliferation expertise.
“Internally, we maintain a veteran hiring program, and 40% of our leadership team and 12% of all other employees are veterans. We find that veterans align well with our core value of ‘mission first’ – that customer mission success takes precedence over all else. They are comfortable with that as the backstop for all decision-making, and they are training to operate in a team environment to achieve success. Those are invaluable traits to an employer like IB3,” Gleason says.
Oak Ridge Offers the Perfect Location
“The workforce here has the specialized skill sets we tend to employ, access to customers directly within our core market, a community that presents fantastic work-life balance opportunities, a school system that is attractive for families and an overall better quality of life for our employees than can be found in the traditional hub of federal contractors, Washington, D.C.,” Gleason says.
ReNuke is a veteran-owned small business that has been supporting the nuclear fuel cycle industry with staffing services and turnkey projects since 2006. President and CEO Ian Howard is a veteran of the U.S. Navy’s nuclear propulsion program.
ReNuke has staffing contracts with commercial power producers, nuclear fuel cycle facilities and government agencies such as the Department of Energy and Department of Defense and their prime contractors.
“Our corporate office was moved to Oak Ridge in 2004 because of its location in the nuclear technology corridor, which not only enjoys a welcoming public opinion and support network for nuclear firms but also a knowledge base for hiring.”
Tim Trapuzzano, Omega Technical Services
In the Oak Ridge region, it’s not unusual to meet a business leader with a service-related disability. Alliant, for example, is a service-disabled veteran small business providing services for national and international clients in industries including government, construction, manufacturing, power and utilities, and oil and gas.
Omega Technical Services is another service-disabled, veteran-owned small business. Established by Tim Trapuzzano, a former U.S. Navy submarine reactor operator, Omega has expertise in nuclear facility operations, nuclear material management and associated support requirements.
“Our corporate office was moved to Oak Ridge in 2004 because of its location in the nuclear technology corridor, which not only enjoys a welcoming public opinion and support network for nuclear firms but also a knowledge base for hiring,” Trapuzzano says.
Supporting Veterans in Oak Ridge
Omega always considers transitioning military personnel for employment with the company because of their high integrity and discipline, as well as the technical and leadership skills that they bring to its many projects, Trapuzzano says.
UT-Battelle, which manages and operates Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy, was recognized with a 2022 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award. It is the highest recognition given by the U.S. government to employers for their support of staff members who serve as reserve members of the U.S. Armed Forces.
Creating jobs and economic opportunity is not the only way Oak Ridge’s veteran-owned businesses support veterans and their families.
“As a veteran-owned business, we support veteran initiatives both internally and through our philanthropic giving,” IB3’s Gleason says. “I serve on the Folds of Honor Tennessee Chapter executive board which provides educational scholarships to the family members of veterans and first responders killed or injured in the line of duty. Corporately, we direct a high percentage of our giving to support that cause.”
Event Benefits Wounded Veterans
The Oak Ridge Sportsmen’s Association held a trap and skeet shoot in 2012 to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project, and the event was such a success that it has taken place every year since.
Because of the event’s early success, the Sportsmen’s Association in 2015 formed a Pull for Our Veterans nonprofit organization whose mission is to raise money to benefit wounded veterans and their families.
The annual Pull for Our Veterans rifle shooting marksmanship competition takes place over two days every September, with sponsors and donors paying for costs and also organizing silent and live auctions. All of the money raised from the event goes toward supporting wounded servicemen and servicewomen.
Events at the fun competition include trap shooting, skeet shooting and firing at sporting clay targets. About 100 participants compete every year and pay a $105 entry fee.
Get to Know Oak Ridge
Want to learn more about living and working in Oak Ridge, TN? Check out the latest edition of Livability Oak Ridge, Tennessee.