Newport News Shipbuilding honored for hiring veterans and military spouses

It’s not just a commitment from the top that makes a company military- and veteran friendly -- what really counts is knowing some insider things, like what Newport News Shipbuilding’s Sultan Camp calls “that deep, deep military spouse network.”

Working that network is part of the shipyard’s efforts that have won recognition from Military Times as one of the nation’s best places to work for veterans.

The honor recognizes efforts to hire and retain veterans, as well as to provide work for military spouses. In the case of Newport News Shipbuilding, it goes to a company where 18% of the workforce are veterans. Just last year, the yard hired 530 veterans.

Camp, the yard’s point person for veteran and military spouse recruiting, says that reflects an outreach effort that has included regular programs at Fort Eustis, Langley Air Force Base and other military posts. But it also reflects the work of a 100-plus person veterans resource group that understands how skills learned in the military translation into civilian credentials and work experience.

The resource center group members also serve as mentors who can help new hires settle in quickly at the yard, and who understand what individuals making the transition from the military to civilian life have to manage.

“It’s like my battle buddy when I was in,” said Camp, a 20-year Navy veteran.

Another bit of knowledge -- the lead time military families get with a notice of a new posting -- is why the shipyard is more comfortable than many other employers with hiring military spouses.

“You’re going to know months earlier, it’s not two weeks notice,” Camp said. “And with that deep, deep military spouse network, they’re likely to come with a replacement -- and train them, too.”

The yard’s parent, Huntington Ingalls Inc., is one of the firms that signed up for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s program to hire 100,000 military spouses.

It offers financial aid for veterans who need to translate their military experience into a civilian credential, as well as a “Learn after the Whistle” classes at the yard. New managers get training in military culture.

And managers understand how to accommodate National Guard and reserve obligations, Camp said.

Those efforts won the yard a rank as the best Virginia firm for veterans and 18th best in the nation. Military Times gave Comcast NBCUniversal its top rank nationwide.

Other firms with significant operations in Hampton Roads that got its nod were Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), ranked 20th; Dominion Energy, ranked 41st; CSX Transportation, ranked 44th and Smithfield Foods, ranked 57th.

The rankings are based on interviews with veterans, veterans’ advocates and human resources professionals as well as a review of policies and practices on veteran recruitment and retention, efforts to obtain civilian credentials for military skills, jobs for military spouses and accommodations for members of the National Guard and reserves.

Dave Ress, 757-247-4535, dress@dailypress.com

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