By: Jonathan Hernandez, Bell Senior Communication Strategist & VORTEX co-chair

What does it mean to support our Veteran employees?

For some Veterans, they may tell you it’s about honor and gratitude. Others may talk about the sense of camaraderie they felt while in and how they long to recreate that environment.

By understanding the process Veterans go through when transitioning from the military to civilian life and breaking it down into smaller initiatives, it becomes easier to create action items that ultimately support Veteran employees. 

Here are some of the ways Bell Textron Inc. works to make the phrase, “Thank you for your service,” mean more than just words.

Bridging the Gap

You may have heard that less than 1% of the entire U.S. adult population serves in the military on active duty. The thing is, this is hard to tell when you are actively in the military because you are surrounded 100% by that population.

It is not until getting out of the military that Veterans understand how small and spread out that population can be.

It’s culture shock, and it’s lonely.

I often ask Veterans to describe their career transition to me in 6-words or fewer. I usually will get a series of words that starts with terms like, “Daunting, Exhausting, Bumpy, Scary, Overwhelming,” and even “Train-wreck”.

However, in almost every case, these 6-word phrases transition into words like “discovery, transformation, exciting, rewarding, successful, and gratitude.”

Companies who recognize what career transitioning veterans are going through and have programs to actively recruit these individuals are setting themselves up to be part of that Veteran’s greatest success story.

And when a Veteran enters a new job and they are embraced by more Veterans who went through a similar process, the entire culture thrives.

About one quarter of Bell’s workforce are Veterans and work throughout Bell’s facilities across the United States. This adoption of the veteran workforce helps smooth the transformation process.

Empowerment Through Resources

After a company bridges the gap to bring on career transitioning service members, it’s important to support Veterans with opportunities and resources that enhance them personally and professionally.

Companies may have Veteran focused Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to support the Veterans in their organization.

At Bell, our Veteran Employee Resource Group is called VORTEX, an acronym for Veteran OutReach Through Employee eXperience.

(I know it doesn’t match every first letter and suspect this was probably made by a Soldier as such non-sense would never fly in the Air Force. It is too many words for the Marines to remember.)

One of the VORTEX initiatives that connects Veterans to resources is by inviting the local Veteran Service Organization (VSO) to speak twice a year during our member meetings.

A VSO office is a non-military organization that provides services to Veterans, service members, spouses, and survivors.  

The topic most requested by our VORTEX members  is how to navigate the Veteran’s Affairs (VA) process, including medical claims. And it’s not just Veterans. We had a surviving spouse attend our last VSO briefing asking questions about how to file on her late husband’s behalf.

Inviting organizations dedicated to supporting Veterans helps take care of the Veteran community throughout the company. This is especially true when new Veterans resources become available that may not be  known to the community.

Honoring Service

Do you know the difference between Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day? I guarantee you every Veteran does.

Memorial Day often marks the beginning of Summer and is dedicated to honoring those service members who have died. Veteran’s Day is about recognizing the contributions of all service members and Veterans.

I never even considered that someone might not understand the nuance between the two holidays until my first Memorial Day outside of the military.

Pro tip: do not thank a Veteran for their service on Memorial Day. Your intentions may be in the right space, but the day is to honor to fallen and the lost, something deeply personal to many in the Veteran community.

When companies invest in hiring Veterans, this cultural nuance is more easily recognized.

I had a chance to sit with our internal communications team about how to properly approach Veteran’s Day in 2024. Instead of an executive email or video, we worked out a way to invite Bell VORTEX members to share the names of fallen service members they wanted to honor. On Memorial Day we shared that video with the company so all who watched would hear their names and be able to share in the true meaning of the day.

We also had a really good Memorial Day Bar-B-Que funded by VORTEX.

Building Camaraderie

Perhaps more than anything else, what I observe Veterans are seeking once they exit the military is the right work environment.

The men and women we serve with in the military are more than just coworkers. Shared hardships and victories while working and living in the same ecosystem create a sense of family among service members.

It is why Veterans can often reunite after years of separation and pick up like no time has passed between them. 

Replicating that type of environment outside the military is hard because the lifestyles are so different. In the military, everything from the schedule, tasks, uniform and sometimes even food options were part of a well-established structure.

Outside of the military, Veterans must create their own opportunities to build camaraderie. Having a Veteran-focused ERG at Bell helps create those opportunities.

When we found not many people could make it to happy hours, we started doing polls on what kind of events people would be interested in. We scheduled trips to attend baseball games as a group.

When the spouse of one of our veteran employees designed an updated VORTEX logo, we worked to get it made into T-shirts. This created the opportunity for VORTEX members to purchase the shirt, letting people know they were a part of a veteran focused organization.

My personal favorite part of this was when a VORTEX member recommended we include a red color option for RED Fridays.

RED Friday is a tradition that stands for “Remember Everyone Deployed.” It is a simple way to show support for the Veteran Community. By creating the opportunity to participate with  a red t-shirt option, VORTEX works to help build that camaraderie.

Giving Back

Early this year, an organization called Wear Blue, Run to Remember asked Bell for its support in a special event during the Fort Worth Marathon.

Along a one-mile stretch of the route, the road was surrounded by pictures of men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice in service to the nation.

Immediately following the photos, volunteers held American Flags and cheered on the runners.

That day was cold and the set up was early. The VORTEX members who volunteered were among the first to arrive and with hot coffee in hand.

Seeing how willing Veterans are to give back to the local community makes me proud to be a part of Bell and honored to be a part of VORTEX. 

More Than Words

For a while, I never knew how to respond when someone said, “Thank you for your service,” upon learning I am a Veteran.  

I may have even panicked once and responded, “You too!” before awkwardly walking away. To me it never felt like service, it was always just something I was supposed to do, so I did it.

It wasn’t until I heard another Veteran respond with “Thank you for your support” that I understood what “thank you for your service” really meant.

They were showing support.

What is so unique about Bell beyond its initiatives to hire veterans and support them with a dedicated ERG is our business–building the aircraft that directly support service members. As such, the men and women who fly our aircraft today could be a Bell employee tomorrow.

Bell provides the infrastructure and foundation for the Veteran community to thrive. As Veterans, it is our responsibility to make sure we welcome them with opportunities when they come to work at Bell.

Beyond just words, supporting Veterans means creating opportunities.