ENGAGING VETERANS AS A STRATEGIC OUTDOOR WORKFORCE PIPELINE
Last week, I spoke at the Colorado Outdoor Industry Leadership Summit in Estes Park for the state industry office’s 10-year anniversary. CORec invited me to share on a topic they care deeply about—veterans. As an 18-year veteran myself, it was rewarding to connect with my peers at Warrior Revival, the Veterans Adventure Group, and Vet X Therapy, and to demonstrate to non-veterans the unique professional value veterans bring as they continue serving their communities in new ways.
I’ll share more on the full experience later. Today, I'd like to share the script from that workshop with you. I hope it inspires you to consider veterans as a workforce opportunity in your own business.
I bring you…
FROM BOOTS-ON-THE-GROUND TO THE TRAIL: ENGAGING VETERANS AS A STRATEGIC OUTDOOR WORKFORCE PIPELINE
The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information and data does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.
The Year is 2014. My face is blistering under the winds, frost biting my cheeks as I hide under a fur-trimmed down coat hoodie
After the wind dies down, the first thing you notice is the silence.
Not exactly peaceful, tranquil kind—this is the kind that presses on your eardrums. A silence so complete it hums. It’s the middle of the Arctic winter, and the sun hasn’t risen for weeks. My world is lit only by the cold glow of the moon on snow. We are so far north that we only get to see the Aurora flicker in the south when the solar flares are especially strong.
Since we can’t measure days by sunsets, we do by coffee refills and bingo lunches. During the stormy days, of the wind rattling the station walls at a blustery 100 mph. The temperature sits at negative thirty… on a good day. On the worst, it dives past negative seventy-two with windchill, turning your eyelashes to needles of ice the second you step outside.
We were completely cut off. One flight came in each week—if the weather cooperated. And yet we were one of the lucky places. There was a small outpost even farther north, so remote they relied on supplies from us…that they would only receive twice a year.
Our work out there spanned everything from supporting National Science Foundation researchers drilling ancient ice cores to partnering with Danish colleagues on humanitarian missions sustaining local Inuit communities across the region. It was a place where you might spend one morning coordinating shipments of medicine and winter fuel—and that evening pushing through a ground blizzard on a snow plow, tracing down the polar bear that put the station on lockdown.
I spent months in that world. No roads out, no trees, and no sunrise from November to April—just endless white, and the sharp awareness that here, nature makes the rules.
Greenland. It felt like living on another planet.
And while many people imagine exploration as something you do by choice. Sometimes, exploration chooses you. It chose me… but not for an arctic expedition with National Geographic.
It was simply my job—on the top of the world— stationed.
During my time serving in the U.S. military.
WHY WE ARE HERE TODAY
Good afternoon. Today, I'm here as Dr. Alexandra Swanson. I’m a specialist (pioneer??) in Organizational Change & Leadership as well as the founder of Move The Journey, LLC — a boutique consultancy shaped by years in leadership development, thousands of hours of ORec Academia & field research, and real-world adventure experience.
Move The Journey was built to partner with both organizations and individual leaders in the outdoor recreation community — helping them strengthen culture, navigate change, and grow with purpose.
And while all of that matters deeply to me, today’s topic of conversation is especially personal: veterans.
Together, along with my partner from The Roaming Vet, Ms. Samantha Rucker, we will show you how welcoming veterans into this industry — not just as participants, but as professionals — can unlock growth and resilience for the ORec industry and your organization. And, specifically, we will help you build a plan for your organization to continue this important dialogue when you leave here today.
OREC CAREER DEVELOPMENT OVER THE YEARS
For a long time, there was a quiet idea in our industry — almost an unsaid rule — that to work for an outdoor recreation company, you had to already belong to its sport.
To be hired at a ski resort, you should already be a skier. Or to get a job where they build paddleboards, you'd better already paddleboard in order to prove you have the passion and will fit the culture.
But the industry changed. We ultimately recognized as a collective the value of crossing experience — of seeing how a shared purpose to connect people with the outdoors can strengthen our professionalism as a whole, irrelevant of your preferred sport.
But now, we’ve pivoted toward the next step: Looking outwards from our own industry.
For years, we’ve been focused on growing our people from the inside — investing in those already part of ORec culture, in a way that’s made it very difficult for cross-industries to break through. As a result, we risk overlooking the talent waiting just outside our doors.
Just as we shifted as we shifted as an industry internally, we need to consider our workforce opportunities externally: Get away from expecting people to arrive fully formed, and recognize what they can grow into.
And that brings me back to our arctic adventure.
Because experiences like mine in Greenland — harsh conditions, high stakes, constant change, separation from the familiar, and driving forward with resiliency & grit — are everyday realities for veterans.
Those are Experiences that shape people in lasting ways.
They teach you how to stay calm in chaos, how to pivot, how to lead when conditions change by the minute, and how to keep moving forward when everything around you says stop.
And that’s exactly why veterans are one of the most overlooked talent pipelines in the outdoor recreation industry.
THE VALUE OF VETERANS
In fact, their experiences may transpose to our ORec world more effectively than one may originally assume. But ultimately, whether than become a ….
Images Courtesy of DoD -DVIDS
River Guide
SAR tech,
Snowboarder
Backpacker
Or Divemaster
Most of them have the transferable soft skills and technical learning aptitude to be leaders in any field, any sport, any capacity. As we become larger as an industry, we won’t have to depend on leaders to develop within. There is a pool of them, right here, that know how to pivot and build teams in any environment.
Now I do appreciate that some of you already recognize this value of veteran experience. Others may need more to be convinced.
After all, if you have spent years investing in your people in your organization, it can feel uncomfortable to think about bringing in talent from the outside, especially from an industry whose purpose and operations are so different from our own.
Also, why create more competition for the people who’ve already given their time and passion to this industry?
But here’s the thing: competition isn’t the real threat to growth in business. Stagnation is.
So let's start with the science first.
THE INNOVATORS DNA & DISRUPTIVE LEADERS
Social Science specifically. This book, The Innovator’s DNA, is a landmark study by Harvard and BYU professors that reveals how cross-industry perspectives fuel breakthrough ideas, showing that innovation isn’t just luck — it’s a pattern that can be learned and applied. In the book, researchers studied leaders across the most disruptive, successful companies in the world.
They found that what set these leaders apart wasn’t how long they’d been in their industry…
it was their ability to bring diverse experiences from outside their industry and apply them in new ways.
On the topic of Associations - making connections between seemingly unrelated ideas. They present a very famous example. Steve Jobs:
He didn’t just study technology in school — he actually studied calligraphy.
That cross-pollination led to the development of beautiful fonts used in the computer world, something that had never been seen before. That design-forward culture, the fonts not the computer itself, made Apple stand out and become the phenomenon it is today.
So you should not replace the people you’ve grown.
You should surround them with people who think differently and who will bring new ideas. That way your organization - and in turn the industry - gets more innovative, and more resilient over time..
Veterans provide a completely different lens, forged in a completely different environment —
ready to those spark ideas.
ADDRESSING PERCEPTIONS ABOUT VETERANS
Now, let’s look at the human factor. A veteran’s lived experiences.
When many people think about veterans, the first image that often comes up is of a group in need of help — connected to PTSD, disability, and recovery. As a disabled veteran myself, I can say there is a need that perception addresses. Programs like Project Healing Waters, Higher Ground, and our own local Huts for Vets have done tremendous, VALUABLE work in those spaces, and they matter deeply to the veteran community. But disabled veterans also need to be seen as more than broken. If a recovering narrative is where their story ends, we miss the whole person concept of vets as individuals. We also risk overlooking an entire professional gold mine.
Another perception is that military values don’t align with outdoor recreation — that veterans are too rigid, too structured, or too different to thrive in a culture built on openness, individuality, and creativity.
But these views really just scratch the surface, and forget that the veteran once was or is your neighbor. The military is often called the “cross section of society,” people recruited from every state and neighborhood across the country, and nearly every way of life.
So what’s REALLY in the mind of a veteran? How do they perceive themselves?
This persona reflects the lives of several veterans I've worked with as well as my own, and reflects a generation entering the civilian workforce today— people whose stories and lived experience are far more nuanced than the perceptions on the last slide.
Something to highlight is the section labeled Career at the top.
The job hunt is often the first challenge for a veteran to separate the identity of the uniform from the identity of the individual. Military members leaving service are often recruited into what they already know — logistics, operations, security, contracting… because it’s easy too when that’s been your life. As a result, these industries are filled with veterans, because as many of you know…job hunting is hard.
But many military members would rather pivot into something new. That type of veteran faces a much harder road. The U.S. government even requires all active military to attend what’s called the Transition Assistance Program upon departure. The course is designed to help translate military experience into a more recognizable civilian résumé — but even in that program, veterans are warned up front that immediate pay cuts and hiring setbacks are likely. Despite all their professional work experience, new industries remain challenging to break into. These members have a lot to offer, and perhaps just need a few more doors opened by organizations that are willing.
You can also see - based on this veteran’s story — that there is one additional challenge. The Loss of community & purpose. Many veterans will tell you that the hardest part of leaving service isn’t the job search — it’s losing your place within a community. The teammates, the culture of inclusiveness, even the consolidated housing down the street from your friends, and their specific purpose, defined for them by the organization itself. That’s the part they miss most. And time and again, they rediscover it right here…. in outdoor recreation.
PROOF OF CONCEPT
Veterans carry a strong need for community, and many are already finding it among their peers in outdoor recreation. Groups like The Roaming Vet, The Military Yogi, and Rogue MTB have grown quickly because they meet that need — offering veterans a place to belong, stay active, and hold onto the camaraderie that shaped their daily life in uniform.
And what stands out is that none of this is manufactured. Veterans are seeking these spaces on their own. They’re showing up on the trails, on the rivers, in yoga classes, and they’re saying: this feels familiar, this feels like home.
That pull is powerful. Outdoor recreation isn’t just an attractive option — it’s already a landing place for veterans who want to keep community, purpose, and shared challenge alive after service.
So the proof of concept is clear: veterans are already gravitating toward this industry. The opportunity now is to translate that interest into professional pathways — and that becomes much easier when organizations have the data, the tools, and a game plan to move it forward.
THE DATA - NATIONWIDE
Now, as a recovering engineer, I myself am a data-driven decision maker, so here are a few numbers for you.
Focusing on nationally before we zoom in on Colorado, there are about 15.8 million veterans, roughly 4.7% of the U.S. population. Of that number, around 8.3 million are of workforce age — a significant share of the labor force.
Of the inbound workforce, military members today, about 25.6% already have a bachelor’s degree or higher, and another 8.1% completed an associate’s degree. Only 1.5% of the military force has no formal certificate of education, but even those military members, like all of them, complete schools called Professional Military Education and career field-specific technical training that don’t always convert to college credits.
Lastly, nearly a third of veteran students in your universities today are over 30 years old. Many wait until after service to use their GI Bill benefits (a school scholarship program), timing education as part of their transition into civilian life. That makes this population distinct — they’re pursuing higher education after significant work experience, bringing maturity and perspective to higher academia.
That is veterans today, but we also need to plan for the veterans of tomorrow. This is data from the Department of Defense describing the Active Duty and Reservist populations today across all branches of service.
On the right, you’ll see the makeup of that population by gender, race and ethnicity. What this shows is that the U.S. military truly is a cross-section of American society. Service members come from every background, and together they reflect the same mix of people we see across our communities. If Colorado’s outdoor recreation industry is serious about expanding who participates and who belongs in this space, understanding this dynamic of troops today — and acknowledging their practiced skillsets in unifying teams from individuals of unique backgrounds and moving them toward the same goals as a unit — positions veterans as a ready-made workforce aligned with the very goals this industry is working toward.
On the left, you see where those service members are based. States like California, North Carolina, and Washington stand out with big numbers — and they should, because they’re among the nation’s largest states overall. Colorado, by contrast, is only the 21st most populous state. Yet we still rank ninth nationwide for active duty presence.
THE DATA - COLORADO
And the preponderance of those bases is concentrated right here on the Front Range.
So while we may not be the biggest state, Colorado plays an outsized role — both as a home for today’s service members, and as the launching point for the veteran workforce that will follow.
For Colorado Veterans Specifically - There are about 433,000 veterans in our beloved state — that’s 7.4% of the state’s population, compared to a national average of 6.2%. Veterans are a larger share of this state than in much of the country.
The unemployment rate for veterans here is 3.5%, slightly higher than Colorado’s overall rate of 3.3%. That difference may look small, but it represents thousands of people.
26% of Colorado’s veterans are disabled, more than double the 12.6% of the non-veteran population. That 26% figure can look heavy, but it’s important to understand the context. The military medical system is required to track every service-connected injury or illness, which means the definition of disability is broad and captures a wide range of conditions. This points to a community that is significant in size and often navigating added challenges and biases during the move into civilian life, that ultimately don’t affect their professionalism…as you can hopefully see today.
RESOURCES FOR OUTREACH & RECRUITMENT
Alright, you’ve listened to me for a while now, so let’s shift gears. I want to give you something practical you can use to start building an action plan.
This slide matches the handout on your tables. It highlights the main ways your organization can connect with veterans. These handouts are for you to take home, and give you details and contact resources so that if you felt inspired by their story today and our discussions to follow, your organization can build a relationship with the military and veteran community. These systems already exist — and you don’t have to create anything new.
One example I want to highlight is SkillBridge. When you register as a partner, your organization is listed in the Department of Defense’s system, and service members can apply to spend their final months of service training with you while the military continues to pay their salary and benefits. AT NO COST TO YOU
But if you’re not registered, SkillBridge can still open doors for both you and inbound veterans. Individual military members, like perhaps a connection from a job fair, also have the ability to propose a SkillBridge placement with organizations that aren’t formally registered. That path can sometimes offer more flexibility around start dates and scheduling, since it works outside the structured application process.
Beyond SkillBridge, you’ll see job fairs, nonprofit partners, registered apprenticeships, and career summits give you many points of entry. Each gives you a doorway into the veteran community.
For now, keep that handout nearby — because in our next step, you may want to use it as part of building your own action plan, and as a Google keywords to look for more specific programs in your location and industry area.
Now, I’d like you to take some time with the members at your table. This workshop is designed to help you walk away with a tangible starting plan for your own organization.
There are two parts. You’ll work with your table groups for both, and you’ll need the pens, papers, and handouts in front of you. You’ll also see small cards — those are for any questions you’d like to ask the veterans in the room. Write them down as we go, fold the card, and we’ll address them later.
OUR CALLS TO ACTION
I would first like you to take a few minutes to introduce yourselves if you haven’t already, and talk about your interest in the military community.
Then, I want you to use the rest of the time to do two things. I want you to use the worksheets given to answer question one privately. Take no more than a minute, just respond with your first inclinations. It won’t be shared with the room, so this is just for self-reflection. But feel free to frame those ideas into one of the question cards if you’d like us to discuss those anonymously at the end.
Next, using your internet search engines of choice, I’d like you to try and locate two organizations that connect you to veterans that feel conducive to your organization and business model. Locally or nationally, it does not matter. As you begin to find options, consolidate your findings as a group using the poster. Make sure that if your teammates find a few more options that resonate, you capture those also on your worksheet.
You’ll have 10 minutes for this.
Great — now let’s expand this. Part Two is about applying what you just surfaced to your actual workforce needs.
Work through these four questions together. The worksheets have space for your own notes, but for this exercise, please use the big poster to collaborate your thoughts together.
As before, if any questions come up, please feel free to use the question cards.
THANK YOU
Our time is up. I appreciate the opportunity to work with you all and bring this important topic to you that is near and dear to my heart. I hope you walk away with some calls to action that can bring value to your organization. And if you enjoyed this workshop, Move The Journey can provide classes and lectures like this to your organizations for any topic of interest you may have. We look forward to working with you.
