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Wounded warrior shares personal account of Federal internship experience-- Part 3

July 24, 2012 | By taniameireles2
Andrew Turner is a Master At Arms Petty Officer 1st Class in the US Navy. After sustaining an injury while on duty at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Andrew started an Operation Warfighter internship with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the Department of Homeland Security. He shared an account of his injury and the beginning of his internship here. Read about Andrew’s first few weeks on the job here. Today, Andrew shares his final thoughts and reflections about his Federal internship experience. [caption id="attachment_4574" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Operation Warfighter intern Andrew Turner (second from left), recently completed an internship with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) office at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He is pictured here with (l to r) Ryan Law, Deputy FOIA Director, Katrina Pavlik, FOIA Director, and his direct supervisor Todd Fuss, Supervisory Paralegal Specialist."]
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VIRIN: 201001-N-XZ098-0120
My final day has come and gone at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and now I am back doing my check-out in preparation for becoming a civilian. I can truthfully say that the three months I spent in my Operation Warfighter internship for the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)/Public Affairs (PA) offices at ICE was a great experience.  I think it in many ways helped me face some things I was a bit scared of, such as reentering the civilian workforce after nine years in the Navy. I’m truly indebted to the staff there as well as the staff from Navy Safe Harbor for making this internship, as well as a smooth transition, a possibility for me.  So far during the job interviews I’ve had, two of the most frequent questions that keep coming up are about the Operation Warfighter internship and what skills I gained by being a part of this program. My answer never changes: “It has given me renewed confidence to face my next step in life.”  I will miss the Navy but without this experience I don’t think I would have felt the closure that I now do. Thank you to all the people that made this possible and gave me a bit of respite from the Medical Evaluation Board process.