Five officers reported for their new jobs on Oct. 5, but for the first time in years, not in wearing a uniform.
Two lieutenants, two lieutenant commanders and a commander started year-long stints at Amazon and FedEx as part of Navy Secretary Ray Mabus's Tours with Industry program, announced in May, to give top officers experience in America's cutting-edge companies that they'll bring back to the service.
The small first round is for just officers, but next year the Navy has plans to expand the program to up to 30 spots and start accepting enlisted sailors, who must commit to serving more years afterwardafterwards.
The first class of participants come from varied backgrounds, including one aviator who is taking a step off of his "golden career path" to try something new.
"I'm a pilot, so I'm not a huge fan of stepping out of the cockpit, but if I'm going to leave, this seemed like a great way to do it," Lt. Cmdr. Jared Loller, who flies the EA-18G Growler, told Navy Times in an Oct. 7 phone interview.
An experienced senior O-4 with 14 1/2½ years in uniform, Loller was the maintenance officer at Electronic Attack Wing Squadron 133 earlier this year, dreading the idea of leaving the squadron environment for his next assignment.
"I was trying to stay in the cockpit at a time in my career when I’m supposed to leave the cockpit to pursue opportunities that will make a me a more well-rounded officer, like the joint tour," he said.
But when SECNAV announced the new program, Loller jumped at the chance. He's now in Arizona doing his initial two-week training before he flies home to the Pacific Northwest, where he's been serving at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington.
At Amazon headquarters in Seattle, he'll work as a senior program manager with their customer excellence systems department, where he'll work with a small team on projects to improve Amazon's customer service.
"It just seemed like a unique opportunity to really gain some valuable experience in a way that I think few people who aim to spend a career in the military ever get a chance to do," he said.
The Tours with Industry program is designed to give top officers a chance to spend some time in corporate America and bring back to the Navy what they've learned.
In addition to Loller, four more officers are in the program:
- Cmdr. Shane Rice, a human resources officer based in Millington, Tennessee, is at FedEx in Memphis.
- Lt. Cmdr. Tenisha M. Finley, also an HR officer at Millington, is also at FedEx.
- Lt. Niki Elizondo, a second-tour division officer on the destroyer Dewey in San Diego, is at Amazon.
- Lt. William Hall, also a second-tour DIVO, is based in Everett, Washington, and assigned to Amazon.
The first round of tours was only open to officers, but next year, the Navy plans to expand is to 10 to -15 officers and 10- to 15 enlisted sailors every year, according to an Oct. 5 release from the chief of naval personnel.
Those spots would be open to O-3s and above with more than five years of service and a sea tour under their belts, as well as E-6s and above.
"But in order to go for this program, you have to be selected," Loller said.
The process involves submitting a biography and letter of intent to your command, who sendt the package to detailers at Navy Personnel Command to comb through his records and evaluations.
They're looking for the best of the best, Loller said, and the final selections are ultimately up to each sailor's type commander, who oversees the manning and training for branches of the service.
During the program, the officers remain on active duty with all of their pay and benefits intact tied to the area where they're stationed. They will have to serve two more years for each year spent at the industry internship.
Loller is moving his family south from Whidbey Island to Seattle, which will count as a normal permanent change-of-station move, he said.
His orders are with a Seattle-area ROTC unit, where he'll be on a random urinalysis list and where he'll take his physical fitness assessments.
It takes some organizing to keep track of Navy admin business while he's away, he said, but it's mostly a habit at this point.
"It’s not that bad," he said. "I think that as someone who’s been in the Navy for 14 and 1/2 ½ years, you kind of get used to dealing with it."
New environment
Though Tours with Industry participants are considered active duty, their day-to-day lives will be completely different.
"The most dangerous thing I will be doing will be driving down [Interstate]-5 rather than launching myself off an aircraft carrier," Loller said.
And then there's personal appearance, which at a tech company like Amazon is a totally different ball game.
"The hardest part is figuring out what to wear because I'm not putting a uniform on," he said. "If you wake up late and you skip shaving, no one cares at Amazon."
Despite the newness, Loller said, he's more excited than apprehensive to start heading up a team, though it will be a lot different than the squadron set-up he's used to.
"Leading sailors is kind of fun, but the one thing I've found when you're managing civilians, there's a much larger age range," he said.
There's also a wide range of experience and education, because companies like Amazon don't hire or promote by strict guidelines.
Otherwise, it will still be a lot of long hours and travelling, which isn't much different than a department head's job description, he added.
Once the year is over, the officers will work with their detailers to line up their next billets, known as a "utilization tour," to make sure they get to apply their new skills immediately.
Loller is due for a promotion next year, he said, so Amazon's unique leadership training will probably serve him at any O-5 job in the Navy, as well as after retirement.
Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members.
