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SkillBridge Program-Shawntrel McCoy-Marine Corps-veteran

Marine Corps Veteran Shawntrel McCoy Finds His Perfect Fit in the SkillBridge Program

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As Shawntrel McCoy closes out his 20 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, he’ll be spending his last six months pursuing his passion for environmental science in the SkillBridge Program at the San Diego County Water Authority. The program is helping military veterans transition to career-track training opportunities, including work in the water and wastewater industry.

There wasn’t originally a SkillBridge position in the environmental section of the Water Resources Department, but after discovering that the Water Authority was looking for SkillBridge interns McCoy decided it was worth looking into.

Marine Corps veteran lands at Water Authority

“That’s when I realized they [the Water Authority] had a whole webpage dedicated to SkillBridge. So that’s when I made the phone call and started working on the process,” McCoy said.

This phone call led to an interview, which ultimately landed McCoy his spot as the Water Authority’s newest SkillBridge intern. McCoy’s education – Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Science with a concentration in Fish and Wildlife management and sustainability – gave him most of the background needed to start off strong in his new position.

SkillBridge Program a “win-win”

Since joining the federal program in June 2020, the Water Authority has had six SkillBridge interns working in various departments. The program is a win-win for both employers and the transitioning military service member – the military service member can work fulltime in a participating agency for the last 180 days of their active duty gaining valuable civilian work experience, and the employer gains early access to the extensive experience, skills, and unmatched work ethos service members bring to the workforce, all at a very low cost. The service member continues to earn his wages and benefits from the military during the internship.

Even though his official start date wasn’t until early January, McCoy opted to begin preparing for his role two months before his first day as a part of the SkillBridge program. The environmental section of the Water Resources Department is a very specific niche, McCoy said, and he didn’t want to spend more time than he had to “trying to play catch up.” McCoy remembers the support he received during these early months:

“There’s only two people under the environmental section and they’ve both taken me under their wings and have been mentoring me. Just yesterday we visited three different sites to make sure that they were close to being complete. They’ve been doing great with the mentoring aspect.”

Valuable training

With McCoy’s internship well underway, a typical day of work can involve anything from planning meetings with contractors, screening documentation and analyzing data as well as the occasional site visit, which McCoy said is his favorite aspect of the job. His main project right now is tied with the newly finished FRS II structure in Mission Trails Regional Park.

“I’m currently helping the contractors to implement revegetation at that site so all the bare soil, after five years, can establish native vegetation,” McCoy said.

A job in the water industry was an option that stood out to McCoy when he was going through school since it involved social, economical and environmental factors. What drew McCoy into working specifically in the environmental section of the Water Resources Department was the opportunity to give back to the community, just like in his military service, while pursuing his passion for science in nature conservation.

“Ideally I’d love to stay at the Water Authority. I love it right now, it’s exactly what I wanted to do,” McCoy said. “I would love to stay with the company that’s teaching and mentoring me right now and just keep it going.”

Job opportunities in the water industry

The opportunities for both transitioning servicemembers and local water agencies are significant. More than 30,000 service members separate from the military each year in California, and more than half are transitioning out of active duty in the San Diego region.

Roughly half of the current water industry workforce in the San Diego region will be eligible to retire in the next 15 years – and approximately 1,400 water and wastewater industry jobs are expected to open in the region in the next five years.

San Diego Military Economic Impact Study 2019

Reliable Water Supplies Sustain San Diego’s Military Sector

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The military sector accounts for more than 20% of the San Diego region’s economy, and that would not be possible without a safe, reliable water supply.

The San Diego County Water Authority and its 24 member agencies, including Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, provide the water needed for military operations, military families and military contractors.

A new report shows that an estimated total of $28.1 billion in direct spending related to defense flowed into San Diego County during fiscal year 2019, accounting for one-in-five jobs in the region.

Reliable water supplies support military economy

The 2019 San Diego Military Economic Impact Study was released Thursday by the San Diego Military Advisory Council, or SDMAC. The military sector was responsible for about 354,000 of the region’s total jobs in fiscal year 2019, accounting for all the ripple effects of defense-connected spending, according to the report.

Brought to you by water

“Water is a part of everything the military does in San Diego,” said Mark Balmert, SDMAC executive director. “Everything to water for the troops, to washing aircraft and ships after operations – every aspect of what the military does. The military and water agencies have a history together, with the U.S. Navy partly responsible for bringing water to our region.”

Balmert is referring to the time when San Diego became a hub of naval activity after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States entered World War I in 1941. The Water Authority formed 75 years ago, when it became clear that imported water supplies were necessary to sustain a booming region at the forefront of the war effort.

Ever since, the Water Authority and its 24 member agencies have played a vital – though often unseen – role in supporting the largest concentration of active and retired military personnel in the world, serving several military bases and sustaining the San Diego region’s defense industry in a region with few natural resources.

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton encompasses more than 125,000 acres of southern California and approximately 52,000 Marines are based in San Diego. Camp Pendleton has been the largest employer in north San Diego County for more than 60 years. Photo: Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton

Safe, reliable water ‘major resource’

“The outlook for the military economy in the region for the coming year is positive,” said Lynn Reaser, chief economist with Point Loma Nazerene University’s Fermanian Business & Economic Institute.

Reaser, who provided oversight and analysis of the SDMAC report, said water is essential for military dollars to continue flowing into the region.

“Water continues to be a major resource that’s required for operations of our defense contractors, for the Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, Department of Veterans Affairs, everything from support of the bases to water needs of medical facilities,” Reaser said.

The Water Authority is a leader in water conservation, asset management, seawater desalination and water resource planning, delivering more than 400 million gallons a day to serve the region’s 3.3 million residents and sustain its $231 billion economy.

A 2018 study by the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp. concluded that $482 million a day in regional sales were supported by reliable access to water.