Christopher Veade
Christopher Veade (DSS Operation Warfighter (OWF) Intern from September - December 2011) shares his personal experience with OWF.
My experience with Operation Warfighter was a great experience while interning at Defense Security Service (DSS). The internship offered me a chance to learn a new skill and trade. As an Industrial Security Field Operations (ISFO) NISP team Staff Action Officer Intern I learned a tremendous amount about the DSS mission and goals. The area of expertise that DSS focuses on is specific and helps keep America safe from vulnerabilities. As I started my internship, the first thing I noticed was how friendly everyone is at DSS. When I began talking to both government and contractor employees I realized how excited they were about working for DSS. A lot of DSS employees have held previous positions in the government and they all said that out of all the job environments, DSS has by far been the greatest. This is a product of the managers, supervisors, and employees who work at DSS.
Through my time at DSS, I have seen that the management personnel here at DSS care a lot about their employees and their welfare. The first day I started my internship I hit the ground running working on staffing packages, reports, attending meetings and outreach events, conducting ride-along on vulnerability assessments, and training.
While in the internship, I was also transiting out of the military going back to the civilian world. My mentors, along with my supervisors were very proactive in helping me make this transition. They allowed me to go to job fairs and also informed me of positions opening up within DSS. One of the positions happened to be a government contractor position within DSS, ISFO.
The position was doing the same thing as my internship, which was helpful since I had been learning this skill-set through my internship. In December, I interviewed and accepted the contractor position within DSS.
If it were not for the strong support from the ISFO team and the supervisors I worked with, this wouldn’t have been possible. The impact DSS has had on me and my life is enormous and DSS has helped mold me into who I am today.
I could not express in words or show how grateful I am to have had the opportunity to do this internship. OWF shows the success one can achieve if he applies him/herself and the impact that military members can make on the agency they work for.
Calvin Davis
Sergeant First Class (SFC) Calvin Davis (middle) is an OWF intern at the Center for the Development of Security Excellence in the Multimedia Productions Division on a web designer training track. {Pictured here with William and Valerie, DSS employees)
“As an Infantryman, this internship shifts my focus from limitations to abilities. William is teaching me how to use the different software … It really makes a difference in the way I’m learning the process. I hope that I can show him that everything he’s teaching me pays-off.”
Emily Moore
United States Army Specialist Emily Moore has spent five months as an OWF intern supporting the DSS Chief Information Officer (OCIO) at the Defense Adjudication Activities Facility (DAAF) located at Fort Meade. There, she provides Information Technology (IT) support services. When asked how she felt about her OWF experience she said, “This internship has given me the opportunity to experience the IT field for the first time. I am a helicopter mechanic for the Army; however, since I am a wounded warrior I knew I had to look into alternate careers in my future. While I have been in the Army’s wounded warrior program I have been finishing my degree from the University of Maryland University College in Computer Information Technology. However, I had no real time experience in this field, but DSS has given me the opportunity to work in the field I have studied. This internship will assist me in my future endeavors once I am medically retired from the military system. This internship has also given me a place outside of the military where I can feel as though I am not injured and able to succeed in the civilian government workforce.”
