Warren Wright manages one of Walmart's largest stores. His previous work experience? A captain in the U.S. Air Force.
Walmart and a host of other major corporations are making a major effort to hire veterans. The program is called "Welcome Home Commitment." Since its inception, 1,200 vets have gone to work in Florida stores.
For Wright, it is a big job staying on top of the 300 employees at the Cooper City store. But he says his time with the Air Force prepared him to be a manager.
"I may get a e-mail from my front office saying we need to have soap up front," Wright said. "I get something from my commander to say get ready to deploy some troops. It is the same thing."
The former captain, who spent more than 12 years stationed throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, says the military is all about management. From top to bottom military, officers and troops have to make daily, hourly and sometimes second by second management decisions. They have to be good in communication with each other and efficiency is key.
Right now there are 246,000 vets looking for jobs. That's a 6.5 percent unemployment rate among those who have served their country in military uniform.
Wright said his store is about to bring on another Air Force veteran. He described a typical veteran who has risen in rank as a person that has been involved 100 percent in management from the age of 18 to the age of 26, saying their mix of skills make them natural candidates for leadership positions.
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"Why would you not take that person and put him into one of our stores?" Wright asked.
If you are a veteran looking for a job or would like to learn more about Walmart's program, click here.
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