Welcome to Season 6 of Veteran Voices! In this new episode, host Mary Kate Saliva interviews Army veteran Laurie Pimentel-Johnson. Laurie shares her journey from joining the Army, serving for 12 years, and transitioning back to civilian life.

Listen in as Laurie discusses the challenges she faced during her transition, including finding employment and adjusting to a new lifestyle. Laurie emphasizes the importance of building a network before transitioning out of the military and offers her assistance in helping others navigate this process. She also highlights her involvement with various organizations such as The Mission Continues and The Key Community, which provide support and resources for veterans and their families.

Intro/Outro (00:02):

Welcome to Veteran Voices where we amplify the stories of those who’ve served in the US Armed Forces. Presented by Supply Chain now and the Guam Human Rights Initiative, we dive deep into the journeys of veterans and their advocates, exploring their insights, challenges, impact, and the vital issues facing veterans and their families. Here’s your host, US Army veteran, Mary Kate Saliva.

Mary Kate Soliva (00:35):

Hello everyone. It is Mary Kate Saliva, your host here for Veteran Voices. Veteran Voices is a podcast where we interview veterans who are serving beyond the uniform. So just a quick programming note before we get started. I’m really excited to introduce our guest today, but we are a podcast, a part of the supply chain. Now. Family of Supply Chain is one of the leading supply chain podcasts out there, and Veteran Voices is proud to be part of the supply chain. Now, family again, we are gearing up for an incredible season of episodes, so stay tuned and welcome back to those of you who continue to tune into Veteran Voices. And welcome if this is your first time tuning in and you can get these podcasts wherever you get your podcasts from. Now without further ado, I’m excited to introduce a veteran sister of mine, army veteran Lori, Lori Pimentel Johnson. Thank you so much for tuning in with us today. I believe you’re tuning in from Texas, is that right?

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (01:38):

Yes, Marianne, thank you so much for the invitation.

Mary Kate Soliva (01:42):

I’m so excited to have you on the show. I know we’ve been trying to make this happen and I’m glad we’re finally making it happen. Yes, rain or shine, just glad to have you on the show. And again, we’re going to be talking about the Key and some other incredible organizations that you’re working with right now. I’d love to kick off the show as I always do with motivation, pumping them up, and I always say, if you want to sing out a cadence, you’re welcome to, but if you could pump us up with a favorite motivational quote, I’m all for it.

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (02:14):

So one of my personal quotes that I use and I love to share with others, just show up. It doesn’t matter if it’s a job fair, if it’s a workshop, if it’s an event, a networking event, just show up because you don’t know what can happen. So that’s my personal quote that I love to help motivate a lot of the folks that I assist. But the one that I want to share with everybody is Brene Brown, and her quote is, vulnerability is about showing up and being seen. It’s tough to do that when we are terrified about what people might see or think. So with that, we got to drop that, let it go. If you’re out there job searching and looking for your next career, just show up. That’s all you got to do is just show up. Give it five, 10 minutes. If it’s not at your cup of tea, you can leave. So

Mary Kate Soliva (03:17):

No, that’s true. I know from a loved one of mine, he ended up showing up at a job to go start out as a front desk person and the person that was actually running their books ended up not showing up to work and then decided just to quit abruptly. And they told him, can you just sit in this seat until we find somebody? And he ended up doing so well that he got the job. He ended up moving up so quickly, ended up getting a job that he didn’t have previous training, but he just showed up even though it wasn’t his first job pick showed up and it ended up being an incredible career opportunity for him. And so totally love that quote then. You’re the first one to bring that one up for us and sharing with our listeners. So thank you so much.

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (04:05):

Yes, absolutely.

Mary Kate Soliva (04:07):

I’d love to, again, love having you here as a veteran sister, also army veteran. I of course interview from all different walks of life, different branches. But a special shout out, of course you being Army would love to take it back a little bit and just start, but prior to you joining the Army about your upbringing, sort of some of the influences there, and tell us where you grew up.

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (04:35):

So my parents were divorced. I grew up in two different states, Hawaii, I know what a bummer. And California, Northern California. So those two great states is where I grew up. It was tough being back and forth between parents, but I also had a great upbringing. So that’s where I grew up.

Mary Kate Soliva (05:03):

And I say, did you have influences? I know you said two different states. Were you near military bases at all? Did you grew up in base housing, military, family at all or was it sort of different? Completely separate from military upbringing, unlike me where I actually grew up in Navy housing, so I was surrounded by a military from my first breath, so to speak.

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (05:25):

So I am one of the first generations in the last couple of generations in my family that joined the service. So when I was ready to join the service, I called my dad and told him what I was going to do and I was afraid because again, we didn’t come from a military background. And his only advice to me was, you only live life once, go and do it now because you’re not going to have a chance to come back and do it again. So do it now because you may not be able to have this decision or choice 20, 30 years down the road. So I did join the service. I joined from Fort Dusi in Honolulu, Hawaii. So Honolulu is my Homer record. So I didn’t really have a military influence. I grew up as a tomboy, and so I guess I kind of gravitated to having more of what my family would’ve seen as a masculine type of career field. But once I joined it, I absolutely loved being in the army.

Mary Kate Soliva (06:41):

I love that. And sort of what you say, not having that military influence, do you come from a big family? Is it just you and going back with your parents? Do you have a lot of siblings? Just curious about that, the influence coming from big family.

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (06:55):

So my family was kind of small. I have two brothers, two younger brothers. And so when we think I had a large extended family, we were all distant families in Hawaii. So I’m Filipino, Portuguese, and then Hawaii is where a lot of my Filipino family is. And so they’re really big and very close, but I didn’t really always grow up with them. I did a lot of back and forth from California to Hawaii. So then I had my dad’s side of the family, which was Portuguese, and they’re also really big, but we were so far apart, so we didn’t always have those close family gatherings. So I consider myself coming from a smaller size family.

Mary Kate Soliva (07:49):

I like the cultural dynamics are super interesting as well, especially Hawaii even you kind of get adopted into the big family, even if it’s not by blood, it just simply by affiliation. Because the

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (08:04):

Fiesta parties, everyone’s an auntie, everyone’s an uncle every Yes,

Mary Kate Soliva (08:08):

Exactly. And I was like, I’d have these little kids coming up and saying, auntie Mary Kate. I’m like, wait, who do you belong to? My sister doesn’t have kids. I’m like, who’s your mother? So again, just that cultural difference between Hawaii and then of absolutely with California as well. Super interesting. And then I know you said with that tomboy influence that I’m sure would help you, but I would love to hear about why the Army, especially because you didn’t have the military influences. It wasn’t like your dad was Army or anything. I’ve had guests on the show say it was literally a billboard and I’m like effective recruiting or commercial top gun maybe for Navy. But what was it for the Army, especially the year that you joined?

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (08:51):

I love that you asked that question right now because there’s a story behind this. Why it’s the army. The Marine Corps was my first choice. I went into the Marine Corps recruiting office there in Honolulu. The recruiter was sitting there asking me questions, what kind of job I wanted to do, and I was like, I want to be a military police officer. And so he asked me some questions. I was real small. I’m only five one on a good day, so I’m really short. And at the time I was really tiny. I only probably weighed about 115 pounds. So his question to me was, how would you be able to subdue or arrest, for lack of better word, a drunken 200 pound male on base? And I can’t remember my response to that unfortunately, but he was asking me these certain questions and then he said, well, we do have a height requirement, so in the back room we have a bar. We’ll just have you hang from the bar and just hang there as long as you can and then we’ll remeasure you. And again, I am barely

Mary Kate Soliva (10:10):

Stretch you out like Willy Wonka Laffy.

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (10:13):

So I’m sitting there and I’m hanging from this bar. It’s going to make me taller for the measurement. I was their joke for the day because afterwards I came out, of course, there’s no change in my height whatsoever. So that kind of bruised my feelings a little bit. And I left the recruiting office and then I ended up right a couple doors down was the Army recruiting. And I went in there and they were like, oh, come on in here, sign here on the dotted line. Let’s get you to meps, let’s get you to go take your ASVAB test. And I was in the Army. That’s how quickly it worked.

Mary Kate Soliva (10:54):

No way like that same day.

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (10:56):

It wasn’t exactly that same day. It was just like

Mary Kate Soliva (11:02):

The Marine Corps. I mean, gosh, shame on the Marines for doing that, but they’re famous for having that pull up bar all over the place when they do recruiting. But the fact about trying to stretch you out, stretch

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (11:15):

Me. Yes. So it was a joke. I didn’t get it at the time, but now that I look back on it and I was like, ah, they were playing with me. So

Mary Kate Soliva (11:25):

Wait, I am so glad, Chris, that you ended up in the army and that you didn’t let that deter you from joining and wanting to serve again. That’s what they say is kind of innately in our DNA of that service above self and just wanting to serve in whatever capacity, there’s room enough each of us to take part in the fight somehow. So when you walked into the Army, recruiters, what was on the table? I can tell you on the table for me, they were cook and I was like, Nope, I can’t cook a driver. And I was like, oh, I don’t know about driving mechanic. Well, I don’t really know anything about all that stuff. So I ended up with Medic. But I would love to hear what some of the options were for you, what you were thinking at that time.

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (12:08):

So when I actually joined, it was during the holiday season and of course, so Army headquarters, they were in Washington dc they all shut down early or what have you. So when I went into Mets, I got the same, you could be a cook, you could be a mechanic, and I think maybe driver, right? And then they came with personnel. And so I was like, oh. So my recruiter was there and he was like, no, you don’t want to do mechanic. I was like, oh, I’m going to go do mechanic. He’s like, no, you don’t want that. You don’t want go with personnel. And so I went with personnel and I came in as a 75 Echo was personnel specialists back in the day.

Mary Kate Soliva (12:52):

Now I’m wondering is that similar to the 42 Alpha admin? Was it similar as it is now or what was the tasks at hand that they wanted you to do?

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (13:04):

So absolutely similar. Very similar. They’re exactly the same. 75 Echos did convert over into 42 Alphas. So I started out as a 75 Echo personnel specialist and then transitioned into the 42 Alpha human resource specialist.

Mary Kate Soliva (13:27):

Mad respect, I dunno how you all do it. I still get confused at all the boxes and the numbers. You have to be so meticulous with things and I feel like I always, nine times out of 10 will get some form kickback because something is wrong on it. I’m like, I don’t know how they 42 stare at this all day. But as far as, and I’d love to again to hear about the dynamic. So at this point, early on in your career, were you still not married, no kids, or you live in your best Life first duty station? Tell me about that.

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (14:05):

So I came in the Army in 1993, and so my very first assignment was Fort Bragg, now known as Fort Liberty there in North Carolina. And so soon as I got there to Fort Bragg and I’m in the reception station, they gave us the opportunity, how many of you guys want to go airborne? And so a lot of people raised their hand, they got sent off to Airborne School. I just wanted to get to my first unit. I wanted to get settled in. I wanted to just start being a soldier. So I didn’t raise my hand. And sometimes I look back and wish that I did, I would’ve loved to have been jumping from planes while serving

Mary Kate Soliva (14:49):

Laurie. I’m telling you, you would’ve just gotten, I mean you thought it was bad walking the Marine Corps station. I was like, I think I’ve lost an inch and a half

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (14:56):

From Oh, you jumped. You

Mary Kate Soliva (14:57):

Were a jumper. Yes, I did. Yes. But I think I’ve definitely, I was five five on a good day too, and I somehow between the rocking and Airborne, I don’t know. I think I’ve lost an inch.

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (15:10):

Oh wow. Well, I did actually do a jump. I did a tandem jump. Well, I was active duty. I went and did a tandem

Mary Kate Soliva (15:18):

Jump. I wish I had that option.

(15:21):

Oh no. But I love that what you said about just getting started and just going for it because people sort of don’t think about that. They think that we go to the recruit station and it is that first day you sign in and it’s as easy as that and you get shipped off. But especially depending on where time of wartime piece, of course that changes, but there really is a long process and the time you’ve gone through basic and your advanced training and you’re like, I’m just ready. Let’s go. Let’s start. It’s already been a year, so no, I absolutely get that. What were some of, I guess, your favorite locations? I cannot, I won’t believe it if you tell me Fayetteville, North Carolina, but you’ll have to sell me on that if you tell me that that was your favorite duty station.

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (16:05):

It wasn’t my favorite, but I’m very honored to have been stationed there. I feel like that set the precedence for the rest of my military career and what was expected of me because of what’s there at Fort Bragg or Fort Liberty, you got Delta Force, you got special forces. It was just like the cream of the crop were at Fort Bragg. And even though I wasn’t airborne, I did wear a beret. I belonged to an airborne unit when I was assigned there. So I still wore the class A uniform with the jump boots, and I had a Maroon Beret at the time, it was a maroon beret, so I still looked the part, I just didn’t jump. And so it wasn’t my favorite. And my military career, I can’t say I had one bad assignment. I went from the east coast to the west coast. I was stationed in Germany, I was stationed in Hawaii. I did a lot of great exercises or missions I should say. I never saw combat. But I was in Bogota, Columbia, I was in Macedonia, Thailand on different many assignments. But I finished my career at South Con, so United States Southern Command there in Miami, Florida.

Mary Kate Soliva (17:33):

That’s wonderful. And do you speak any other languages? Did the Army train you in a language?

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (17:39):

No, English is my only spoken language.

Mary Kate Soliva (17:42):

Okay. Same here. I try to dabble in others, but unsuccessfully maybe to kindergartners, and I still think they run circles me. But no, I mean you’re making it sound like I chose the wrong MOS. And I honestly feel like as far as the travel goes, that you wouldn’t have gotten that same in the Marine Corps. I mean, I know the Marines travel too, but I feel like just from some of those exotic locations that you mentioned that I think that it was meant to be, so to speak.

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (18:12):

Yes, it was. I just love sharing that story about how I wanted to be a Marine because they got the best uniforms. And they

Mary Kate Soliva (18:19):

Do still. They do.

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (18:21):

Yes. The Marines will always be my favorite branch of our brothers and sisters in arms. But I am very honored to have served in the army.

Mary Kate Soliva (18:36):

I mean, you’re even wearing red today. I know we’re wearing red and it is Friday. So depending on this episode airs or when our listeners are tuning in, just remembering all those deployed. So it’s just one of the things that I’d love to hear about is about how long you served and sort of that point in your career where you were like, this is it. So

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (19:05):

I served a total of, I think it was almost 12 years. So I got to the halfway mark. I was in stationed in Miami at the time. I wasn’t married at the time, but we were going to get married and we didn’t want two green suitors to start a family. So I went ahead and I said, well, I’m at my halfway mark, so I’ll get out and then I can always come back in after I have kids. So that was initially my plan was to come back in. But once I got promoted to mom, that has been the best role I have ever had. And so I never did come back in, but I still serve. I am still serving my community. So during the service serving those 11 years, I learned a lot about myself. We grow up. I grew up in the military. The military was my extended, I guess, parenting unit. They taught me responsibility, how to have accountability for our own actions, our choices, decisions, et cetera. So I give a lot of credit to the Army for molding me who I am today. So I’ve had failed marriages. I’m one of those that married and been divorced, so I’m now a single parent and I’m rocking it. I am rocking it.

Mary Kate Soliva (20:42):

Good for you. And I love what you said, I was getting goosebumps. I do not have children of my own. But the fact that you said about your promotion to mom, because I have so many girlfriends who are stay-at-home moms or were stay-at-home moms for many years and they’re trying to step back in the workforce and they’re like, ADE, I’ve been a stay at home mom for 10 years, or I dunno how to do this. And I was like, are you kidding me? You got the toughest job in the world 24 7, keeping these little humans alive and just so much respect for moms. And of course the green suitors, those who are still serving, who are mothers, hats off to them that they were able to manage that too. But I know it looks different for every family and kudos to you, and I appreciate you sharing that because it does change.

(21:31):

And there is a whole transition piece that we continue to go through and that segues into really one of the things that I love about Veteran Voices is being able to talk about the transition journey because it does look different for everybody. And you mentioned Fayetteville and you’re with the Deltas and Special forces, and there’s this sense of badassery right when we’re there and you’re literally, I remember driving home one day from Fort Liberty and a helicopter was literally hovering down the street alongside of me. I could see in the window and wave to the pilots and the fact that they were just hovering, it’s like you feel like you’re in a video game and then to go from that to a completely different world, whether that’s parenthood, whether it’s just being a civilian, just navigating that. So I’d love to hear about what the transition was like for you at 12 years and advice that you would have for those going through the transition right now.

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (22:30):

So when I transitioned out, it was back in the year of 2004, I pretty much got handed my DD two 14 and I was shown the door. There was not a lot of organizations that we see out there now like hiring our heroes, a CP, vets to Industry, the key community. There weren’t these organizations out there looking for us that were transitioning out to kind of grab us and be our sponsor back into the civilian life. I felt like I was going to land a job easily at 11 years of honorable military service in human resources for sure. I thought I was going to land a job. I couldn’t get a job at Walmart. I didn’t know how to fill out applications correctly. I didn’t really know how to write a resume. And I really got out thinking, well, I’m a veteran, of course they’re going to hire me. And so reality slapped me in the face to where I couldn’t find a job. Not even so much as being a cashier somewhere. Eventually I did. Luckily when we got to his duty station and I was a military spouse, I applied for a role in the federal government and worked that role for a short period.

(24:02):

So the transition was kind of tough. It was kind of tough.

Mary Kate Soliva (24:08):

I just want to go back a little bit about what you said, how it was 2004 and just for people to think about going, oh my gosh,

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (24:15):

That almost 20 years. That’s almost 20 years.

Mary Kate Soliva (24:19):

You have me goosebumps right now. But that was even the thing that I was highlighting. It was the fact that it was 2004. I mean we’re talking about 2001 happened September 11th, and then you’re making that decision to transition just a couple years later, especially when the war had just the war started. So did that play a part at all do you think, in just not having the things available? They weren’t really thinking about those who are getting out because they’re thinking about those they’re sending over. What are your thoughts on that?

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (24:58):

I don’t know that it’s just that they weren’t thinking about those that were transitioning out. But you’re right, there was a lot going on in our world. That’s when deployment started, just started up when I was getting out. So I just don’t think they had those things set in place as I was transitioning out. And it was pretty much our wave of transitions throughout the years that created all these other programs saying, Hey, our veterans are getting out. They’re not finding jobs, they’re losing their homes, they’re becoming homeless, and they don’t have the education background to compete with the civilian private sector job seekers. When I got out, I had that 11 years of HR experience, but I didn’t have education to back it up. I had Army, human, military, human resources, but I didn’t have what the private sector was looking for. They wanted compensation and benefits, payroll, but we had specific departments in the military that covered those areas for us. So I pretty much got out as a glorified admin clerk is pretty much what I was equivalent to without an education.

Mary Kate Soliva (26:23):

And even looking now, I mean we say we’ve come such a long way in 20 years, but it seems like a lot of those organizations you just mentioned have only started existing in the last five years. So it’s like we talk about how much you’ve grown in 20 years, but even the certifications and having things like the DODs Skill Bridge program and the pool program for credentialing opportunities and professional certifications and for them and their spouses and the military family. So a great opportunity for us to talk about the key and to talk about some of the incredible organizations that you’ve worked with. And I guess this would be a great time too, to add about what you benefited from these organizations, how you got started and what they do.

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (27:12):

So I really find it very important to volunteer. So I started out volunteering with an organization called The Mission Continues. The mission continues is nationwide, just about every large city is going to have a platoon and there are veterans that are out there in their community making a difference. So I started doing service projects here with the platoon here in San Antonio. And so those will roll around.

Mary Kate Soliva (27:45):

I just got accepted into Mission continuous.

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (27:48):

Oh, well congratulations.

Mary Kate Soliva (27:50):

Thank you.

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (27:50):

So

Mary Kate Soliva (27:52):

Yeah, again, it was all word of mouth, right from Veteran Sisters that are like, you got to do this. And that’s how we find out.

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (27:58):

Did you get into the leadership program or

Mary Kate Soliva (28:00):

Yes,

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (28:02):

Yes. Well, congratulations. I haven’t done that yet.

Mary Kate Soliva (28:09):

Think about that. For women, it’s just that not having that opportunity to surround ourselves with many other women, a lot of times we’re the only woman in the room, or there might be one other woman, but I think this will be great.

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (28:20):

And mass deployment will be here in San Antonio in June of 2024. Fantastic. So every year there’s a mass deployment somewhere in the nation where they bring about 80 folks from the Mission continues to work on a project, and it’s going to actually be here in San Antonio. So I’m super excited about that. So yeah, with the mission continues that I really believe in giving back.

Mary Kate Soliva (28:48):

Yes,

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (28:49):

Excuse me, sorry, that one of those little tickles. So even on a small scale, it’s all about making change and making change in the community. So with that, I ended up, I just want to share a little bit of personal story too, is after my divorce and becoming a single parent unemployed at the time with a 2-year-old, she was only two at the time, I decided to go back to school. And so I said, well, I got to make myself, because now I’m going back into the workforce since being home as a stay at home mom, stay at home wife, I needed to make myself more. So I decided to finish my degree and I went through Grand Canyon University, which allowed me to do it remotely. And so I was going to school, I was unemployed, but I ended up finding a job. And that was with the Texas Veterans Commission for the state of Texas. Wonderful. And so I was working full time, working on my degree as a single parent of a small child. And so all those nights that I would tell her when she’d be like, mommy, come play mommy, come play. And I’d be like, oh, not right now, honey. Mommy’s got to do homework. Or I would find five minutes to sit down, do a puzzle or color with her because she is the most important thing in my life. But I also, a lot of weekends were spent doing homework, working on papers. So

(30:37):

When it was time for me to get my degree, I had the option of having them send it to me, which I would’ve been fine with, just mail it to me, I’ll put it in a frame, put it on my wall. But it was really important for me to fly my daughter to Arizona where this campus is so she could watch me walk across the stage in cap and gown to see, I’m so sorry for this go.

(31:04):

And so it was important for her to watch me walk across the stage in Cap and gown to see all those weekends that I told her we couldn’t go to see World, we couldn’t go to the movies. Mommy had a homework. I wanted her to see why and why I did what I did. But during the time that I was unemployed, I had to dig through coin Jars just to get quarters to go get a quarter gallon half gallon of milk from the corner market. That takes a lot to dig down and it’s a huge pill to swallow, but you do what you have to do as a parent to make sure. So even though times were tough, I showed her or tried to instill in her that

(32:12):

We still got to dig deep and keep fighting to stay in the fight. And so fast forward here I am, I’ve been with the state working for the state for almost 10 years now. I get involved in the community, I do a lot of volunteer. My daughter comes out and does a lot of projects with the Mission continues. So she’s out there learning the value of volunteering. This weekend, we’re volunteering with the Rodeo here in San Antonio. Again, I volunteer with the Mill City Meetup. This is their fifth year in operation. It was founded by four individuals, Chuck Bunch, Quincy Harper, and the two powerhouses behind it is Ray and Sam Domingo. Ray’s an Air Force veteran, Sam Samantha, she is the military spouse, but they saw the importance of networking. And so they built Mill City meetup. It happens once a month here in San Antonio and gives a foundation for people to start networking. So I started volunteering with them and I kind of am their volunteer manager getting volunteers to help assist and set up the event. During the pandemic, Ray and Sam Domingo created the key community, the key community key stands for keep Elevating Yourself. And during the pandemic, that’s what we all needed. We were all closed down, shut down, everybody was sent home, people were losing jobs left.

(34:01):

So they wanted to bring something virtual. So they started the key community. Well now go. So during the pandemic when we all really needed to feel a connection, that’s when they created the key community and the events were done virtually throughout most of the years, the years during Covid. Well now that we’re all back in person, the key community is starting to have in-person events. And so anyone that’s, and the key community is not just military focused, it’s open to everybody because our community, it’s our neighbors, it’s the people at the grocery store, it’s the people at our gym, at our churches, it’s everybody I love in our community. So that’s why the Key was created and it’s a community within itself. And so if you haven’t checked out the key community, I strongly advise you go into your search your browser, type in the key community, the key community.org and check out and see what they’re building.

Mary Kate Soliva (35:18):

No, it’s wonderful. And I remember when they were Kick-starting it, and it was at a time where I really felt like I was going through the transition myself. And during the pandemic I transitioned off active duty in 2021 out Fayetteville, North Carolina. And so a lot of things were shut down and people in my unit were getting covid. So a lot of things were social distance and we were having to do it from home. And navigating the remote world, the virtual world, to try to find these resources was really challenging for me, especially when I was sort of programmed to say, don’t put so much about yourself on the internet. And instead when you’re transitioning, employers don’t want to hire a fake person. They got to know you’re real. So to know you’re real, you got to start putting more about yourself, even if it’s on places like LinkedIn.

(36:09):

And I think we sort of take for granted how hard that is for somebody who has served in the military to talk about themselves because that part of us is sort of stripped at basic training to say, it’s not about you anymore. It’s about we about the team and now you’re in the military and it’s about the team. But then when you’re transitioning out, it’s back to we again or me again, it’s back to the individual person. And that’s hard. And so the community seeing what you all have been doing has been absolutely incredible. And the amount of people that you have helped both the service member, their family, but even beyond that, like you said, and if any time that we learned that we needed a community, it was during the pandemic, we sort of realized that even that cranky neighbor we didn’t like before where I actually missed that guy. So no, I love that. And I’d love to hear about how folks can get, you said the Keys organization, but is there any way as far as, like you said, Texas as well has a huge support group out there for the military and their families, how they can reach out, how they can get involved, or where is the help needed for our listeners?

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (37:22):

So for listeners, depending on what they’re looking for, what they need help with, if you want to connect just virtually building your network, check out the key community.org because the key community is global, but specific to Texas, I don’t want to say just to Texas because listeners can be listening and from anywhere is reach out to the Mission continues, Google Mission continues, see if there’s a platoon there near your city and get involved that way. Start building your network. Definitely connect with me on LinkedIn. I’m out there on LinkedIn Super. Just if I don’t get to your connection request right away, don’t fret. I will get to it. And if you want to connect virtually with folks like on LinkedIn, definitely send a message when you’re trying to connect like, Hey, looking to build my network. That’s all you need to say because if I have to go in and research why Mary wants to connect with me and I don’t see how you’re affiliated with the military or how you’re affiliated as someone like a recruiter or something in my interests, then I may overlook you as a connection request. So definitely send us just a simple little note when you’re trying to connect with people.

Mary Kate Soliva (38:53):

Great advice. And again for our listeners, this is Laurie, L-A-U-R-I-E, Pimentel Johnson. So look her up. Definitely connect with Laurie online on LinkedIn and those incredible organizations like the Key Community Mission continues and I love that you said Mission Continues has Platoon, so they’re sort of keeping some of that same lingo in there that we’re so used to and familiar with, but it is really, we both get how challenging it is to put yourself out there. And my mentors jokingly say, and from vets to industry about how I didn’t have a last name when I first put on the LinkedIn. I was just Mary s, I didn’t even have Mary Kate on there. So I feel like I’ve come such a long way, but the transition looks different for everybody. Lori, thank you so much for sharing that. Besides LinkedIn, is there any last remarks you’d like to make about folks reaching out to you or some of the things that you’re doing now that you could support them with? Whether that’s resume help, putting their LinkedIn together, anything?

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (40:01):

Yes, most definitely. So definitely reach out to me on LinkedIn. If you want assistance, reach out to me there. You can also email me at the key community. And so unfortunately my email address is really long, so it is L Pi andelJohnson@thekeycommunity.org and I can spell that phonetically if someone wants to jot it down. It’s Lima, Papa India, Mike Echo, November, tango, echo, Lima, Juliet, Oscar Hotel, November Sierra, Oscar november@thekeycommunity.org. Sorry, I just spell it out.

Mary Kate Soliva (40:47):

Well done. Some people do. Is she going to remember all these letters? Good for you, Lori.

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (40:51):

I do because I’m always having to spell my last name, so I’m always spelling it phonetically. You start,

Mary Kate Soliva (40:56):

People say here saying C for Cat.

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (40:58):

Yeah, but you mentioned vets to industry. So yes, go vets to industry, always has a virtual event. Attending these virtual events. I pop onto those Alfredo’s Coffee House, it happens every Sunday. Alfredo’s coffee house,

(41:17):

Yes, hope White and Alfredo Torres. It’s his coffee house. But that there is a unfiltered space. It is a safe space. We’re in there talking about anything from transition to just things going on in life. So you just come as you are to these events. But yeah, usually on Sundays when my time and my schedule permits, I’m in there in Alfredo’s coffee house, hanging out with them, laughing and sometimes crying. But isn’t that what our support is all about? And I’ve never met these people. Most of them I’ve never met in person, but there’s a connection there. They’re friends, they’re my safe space when I go into that.

Mary Kate Soliva (42:04):

I love that you mentioned that because it’s so important. I feel like the majority of my mentors, I haven’t actually met in person, but I trust them so much. There’s so much that I’ve been able to laugh with them and cry with them and be able to talk to them at all different hours of the day. They drop what they’re doing to just help or even the random check-ins to say, how’s your family doing? How are you doing? And sometimes the how are you is met with tears that I can’t believe you just messaged me now having the worst day and sometimes the timing by design. So I really love that. Laurie, thank you so much for coming on Veteran Voices. It’s good. I do

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (42:46):

Have one last thing I want to say. Yeah,

Mary Kate Soliva (42:47):

Absolutely.

Laurie Pimentel-Johnson (42:48):

To any transitioning service member right now and their military spouses dependents, you guys are getting ready to transition. You need to start building your network now. Don’t wait until after you get out. Start building that network now so that you have a nice foundation. So when you actually do transition out, you’re getting that guidance and that building those relationships of those that can help you navigate the transition process. Transitioning is not always smooth. You hear those stories of like, man, I got out, I landed $180,000 a year job just like that. And you’re like, oh, in a million. Yeah, okay, the truth and the ugly, let’s talk about the ugly truth about transitioning and how tough it can be. So definitely reach out to me. I’m always happy to assist whether that’s federal resumes helping you guys navigate that process, converting your civilian resume into civilian terminology, talking the private sector lingo, anything that I know I’m happy to share and happy to help. And services are absolutely $0 99 free,

Mary Kate Soliva (44:09):

99 free. Thank you so much. And I love, again, to circle back about what you said about volunteering because don’t wait to start your network now if you’re still serving stealing uniform, but also you can volunteer now for many of these organizations that we listed or just pop in. Even if you can only spare five minutes to just, I guarantee you’re going to want to stay longer and you want to going back, just show up. Just show up and circle back and see, look at the great things. Your daughter’s right there alongside of you volunteering with Mission Continues. I just love that piece. And thank you again for being vulnerable and sharing that story. Your story of motherhood, of being a single mother and a veteran and just the power of your story I’m sure is going to touch many of our listeners who are tuned in today.

(44:57):

Thank you Lori, again, for our listeners. Thank you. Hope you enjoyed this episode. Reach out to Lori. Rewind. Listen again, lots of golden nuggets to take away from this episode. And again, veteran Voices is part of the supply chain now, family of podcasts and programming. And you can get our episodes wherever you get your podcasts from. And as we love to say, do good, pay it forward and be the change that’s needed. And as Lori says to show up. So that’s all you got to do. Folks, it’s been a pleasure. I’m Mary Kate Saliva, your host of Veteran Voices, and we hope to see you next time. Take care.