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U.S. Navy Veteran Cory Smith (Video Game Design, ‘26) is sailing to success. Cory served in the Navy from 2015 to 2023. Onboard the USS Oak-Hill LSD-51, he completed two deployments and several Special Operations. “In our second deployment, we were in the 5th fleet in the Persian Gulf, doing circles in the water because of COVID -- all ports were closed. We spent 151 days (about 5 months) consecutively out to sea. We performed round the clock drills to maintain preparedness. It was a challenging time.” “One fun experience was providing aid such as food and water for our brothers and sisters in submarines. It had never been done before.” Cory's process of enrolling at NEIT as a Veteran was smooth. “Coming from a Veteran family, dating back to WW2, my great grandparents were in the Navy; one became a Marine Raider, the first in his battalion to touch the beaches of Okinawa. Today, their sacrifices are even more important to me. " For Cory, one of the most rewarding parts of being at NEIT is the opportunity to learn from the faculty who are deeply knowledgeable about the field. “They are an essential tool helping students to be fully prepared for the future.” “One pivotal way that New England Tech prepares us for success is the amount of knowledge and practical experience the faculty has. They are engaging and encourage us to go above our skill level and do better.” Video games were instrumental to Cory growing up. He wants to pay it forward. “I remember going to my friend’s house to play Halo 2 tournaments, Rock Band, and Minecraft. Video games were an escape for me. Even in the Navy, I would hop on my Switch and play when I had time. I created core memories, and I met a lot of great friends. I want to create games that develop core memories for people like they did for me – that bring people together from different social classes, backgrounds, creeds, and cultures, so they can have that experience.” #videogamedesign #veteran #career #neit #succcess

A random musing about creative military Veterans... On the day I departed the ship for my last time, retiring as Chief Operations Specialist with a T/S clearance, I knew that finding a government contractor job would not be challenging. Two offers were on the table before I'd even signed my retirement paperwork. Those offers provided a level of financial comfort, but in looking at my career, I had to question if working for the Navy as a civilian was truly where I wanted to be. Of course, I took one of the offers and have been living a great life as a civilian, but the creative itch remains... There has always been this wildly unmitigated undercurrent of creative and performance energy fighting its way to the surface throughout my entire life. I've been acting since I was in first grade, dabbled in standup, have written more spec screenplays than I care to count, and have published more than a few books in my time. Entertainment is in my blood, and I was thankfully able to graft that into my Naval career for the sake of my shipmates. During the most grueling deployments, I earned the title "Fun Boss" by hosting morning shows on the ship's intercom system, doing random standup routines on the smoke deck, and may or may not have engaged in forms of creative diplomacy with foreign nationals. Without question, my greatest personal goal in the Navy was to provide morale to every person around me. Creatives, much like intellectuals, will always be creatives no matter what environment you place them in. We can't be caged. Our "feathers are too bright." Conversely, when placed in an environment to employ our talents, we soar. Though we find ourselves working as postal workers, physical security, or even as government contractors, creative Veterans forever hear an unending plea from our souls to find that perfect professional fit. During my transition to civilian life, I briefly attempted to parlay my writing resume into a fellowship at Activision Blizzard as a narrative content creator. While ABK is an outstanding organization for veteran job placement, and should be applauded to no end for their efforts, I was the first applicant to seek a role in one of their writer's rooms, as most veteran applicants were seeking game design and development positions. Even with the fellowship to bypass the guardians at the gates, I still didn't have a way in. It was irksome. Not one for resignation or defeat, in the last year, I took control of all that I could control and took bold steps. I re-signed with my talent agent for local and regional acting gigs, shifted my focus back towards growing the ConnorTheCutter.com brand (Book 4 out now!), and have entertained the idea of applying for local radio personality gigs, or maybe even lifestyle reporter for the local news channel. For the time being, I'll continue my march of freelancing on the side, audition for every breakdown that comes my way, and trust in God, that He didn't give me this talent for nothing.

Between classes, I am getting ready for next week's #wargaming #design session, a Contested Logistics Wargaming Workshop at the Association of Marine Corps Logisticians Symposium at Christopher Newport University. I am excited that AMCL, as a professional society, is bringing Travis Reese, Curtis Hudson Jr, and me with the collective wisdom of a diverse group from the military, industry, and academia, to produce approaches to logistics wargaming for Force Design 2030. Personally, this is an opportunity to hone my crafts - both as a logistician and as an aspiring wargame designer. I like how guild master Paul M. Kearney puts it in his article in "Forging Wargamers: A Framework for Professional Military Education" #pme He states "As with many skills, #learning by doing remains the gold standard for complex skill acquisition. The sooner that a wargamer can begin to design games, the sooner they are on the path toward mastery." Wed 9 Aug | Register at amclsymposium.org

NATO has just published its "NATO Wargaming Handbook" offering insight into professional #wargaming methodology. As outlined in the preface, the scope covers strategic to tactical level games across all domains, beyond just military contexts. While often associated with military planning, wargames are used across government, business, and academia to test strategies, gain insights, and prepare for uncertainty. As was recently published by instructors at the #usarmy War College, the use of wargaming when played with deliberate, calculated, and committed attention, can stimulate new levels of thinking. [see comments] 👇 [Check the comments also for a link to an article I published a few years ago in the Naval War College Review where I explored, among other things, the intersection between military and business wargames.] Back to the "NATO Wargaming Handbook" - it shares NATO's extensive expertise on when and how to apply wargaming for #analysis and learning. It provides frameworks to help design, conduct, and evaluate professional wargames that produce actionable findings; and it makes an excellent reference for any organization seeking to leverage wargames, regardless of sector.

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Happy DD214 Day. For "us"- is a celebration of finding a new path, and forging a new beginning. Finding life after service. For many years I struggled with many "Post-War" things- and after separation, the toughest was My Identity. I always struggled with identity issues after returning from deployments within the first few months- having to assimilate back into civilian life after having done "wild stuff". Discharging you can guess was quite the struggle. I Enlisted at 17, and after countless hours of training, 3 Combat Tours and 2 State Level Activations Later: Honorably discharged at 28. I had no idea what "normal" was. That was my normal. For me, I searched for the wrong sense of normal. Instead of accepting my first 10 years of adult life experiences, I tried to find who I was without it. Truth is that they happened. I am a product of my experiences and when I began to embrace that, and build on it- Life Changing. Try anything. Do anything. Go to school, learn new things. Eat weird stuff. You might like it. This year I challenge myself & you all to build on yourself. Whether it was a career (military or civilian) of 2 years, 4 years or 20,30,40,50,100. That IS your foundation. Together, we'll move forward in formation. Regroup. Get on line & Bravo Team Flank-left! #SecondSquad #Tower4 #GWOT #DD214

As a 13 year military veteran, I applaud you. Military veterans face an unnecessarily steep climb when transitioning to civilian life, especially when confronting persistent biases folks have that military experience has no equivalent in the civilian world. For example, I've turned boolean logic and avionics troubleshooting into heavy-lift data engineering for predictive analytics that can tell if a claim is headed toward litigation in the same way that a TFR (terrain following radar) ride line can determine if a plane is going to hit an upcoming cliff when flying 200 feet off the deck automatically. Both demand nuanced critical thinking skills; and I'm just one small example of veterans outperforming expectations at all levels. So let's show our thanks to veterans by hiring veterans.

As a 13 year military veteran, I applaud you. Military veterans face an unnecessarily steep climb when transitioning to civilian life, especially when confronting persistent biases folks have that military experience has no equivalent in the civilian world. For example, I've turned boolean logic and avionics troubleshooting into heavy-lift data engineering for predictive analytics that can tell if a claim is headed toward litigation in the same way that a TFR (terrain following radar) ride line can determine if a plane is going to hit an upcoming cliff when flying 200 feet off the deck automatically. Both demand nuanced critical thinking skills; and I'm just one small example of veterans outperforming expectations at all levels. So let's show our thanks to veterans by hiring veterans.

Sign up now for this October 26th Master Class, hosted by Military.com's Jacey Eckhart, and learn: · The most surprising industries, companies, and locations that want to hire veterans in tech jobs. · How to understand which tech jobs best fit your experience, personality, and personal happiness. · How to avoid the worst pitfalls of finding a job in tech after the military. · How to get hired at the best possible pay in the most desirable markets.