Operation IMPACT Makes News Across Divisions > SRD Compass Joins in Northrop Grumman's Effort

SRD Joins in Northrop Grumman’s Effort to Help Severely Injured Soldiers
[Article orginally published in SRD Compass News]

Like many of us, Ward Critz, a senior program manager in the Information & Technical Solutions Division (I&TSD), has a number of personal ties to soldiers serving in Iraq. When a young lieutenant who was a close friend of his high-school aged children suffered the loss of an arm while stationed in Iraq, Critz sought ways to help him and others like him maintain productive lives and ambition for the future.

At the fall 2004 Association for the United States Army (AUSA) annual meeting in Washington, DC, Critz struck up a conversation with an old Army buddy, Lt. Gen. G. “Buster” Hagenbeck, the Army’s deputy chief of staff for personnel. Their conversation quickly turned to Hagenbeck’s new responsibility—the Disabled Soldier Support System (DS3).  DS3 is an Army program that provides services and support to severely disabled soldiers and their families. Hagenbeck was avidly promoting the then 6-month-old program. Critz’s interest was piqued when he learned that one goal of the program was to help severely injured young soldiers make the transition from military service to civilian life by preparing them to find meaningful employment.

“I immediately thought that Northrop Grumman could hire these returning heroes and provide them with technical training and education,” Critz said.  On returning from the AUSA meeting, he immediately told his senior management team about the DS3 employment initiative.  Since that day, funds and resources have been dedicated to this initiative, and other divisions, including SRD, have jumped on board to help.

Kymberlee Dwinell, SRD human resources (HR) director (formerly the HR director for I&TSD) has briefed the HR community, including the corporate and sector vice presidents and HR directors, to solicit broader support.  Alice Chin, SRD HR generalist (formerly an HR generalist with I&TSD), took the lead in developing the process and communication tools to support the new program.  A special Available Talent List of severely disabled service members has been prepared for distribution. Critz furthered the effort by reaching out to other military programs, such as the DoD’s Military Severely Injured Joint Support Center, the Marine for Life program, the Air Force Palace Hart program, Veterans Affairs (VA), and a new Navy program.

“This is not a charity program,” Critz said.  “We are looking for a win-win situation for the former soldier and our company.  Our greatest concern is young service members who don’t have much work experience or education. They have economic responsibilities that disability income and pensions don’t cover. We want to target these veterans and their spouses and offer legitimate jobs that keep them productive members of the community. I mention the spouses because, in some cases, they will have to become the family’s breadwinner because of the severity of the veteran’s disability.”

This is a two-part effort that requires, first, identifying and recruiting disabled veterans and, second, creating opportunities for them within Northrop Grumman.  Locating eligible service members is a challenge. No master list of severely disabled exists.  Government databases cannot be searched for such service members, and laws prohibit the services from freely releasing medical information. To find the people who need our help, we will need to establish an outreach program to invite them to contact us.
“We want to leverage our business contacts and vendors to get them involved in supporting these service members,” Chin added. “I spoke with the director for government and education markets for Skillsoft, our eLearning vendor. He is very enthusiastic about getting involved with these programs. Many soldiers don’t have degrees, and many Northrop Grumman positions require degrees. Skillsoft is willing to offer free access to their training curriculum so that these soldiers can get technical training that will provide opportunities for their futures.”

“Our vendors could be a tremendous help,” Critz echoed. “They can be another resource for providing jobs and support. By talking with other companies we do business with, we can provide wider outreach and opportunities for these veterans.”

Chin is currently the SRD contact person for the injured soldier program, working closely with representatives from I&TSD and the Mission Systems sector.  “We have begun coordinating efforts with sector to establish guidelines and design the program. Together, we are making strong headway and hopefully we’ll soon be able to roll this out to the rest of the company.”