Posted on May 22, 2018
Col Plamp, Interim CEO of Hire Heroes USA, here for a live Q&A on 5/30 at 3pm ET. What questions do you have?
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Christopher Plamp joined Hire Heroes USA after leaving the Air Force as a Colonel in May 2014. He was an Air Force Command Pilot, flight instructor and evaluator, primarily flying the A-10 Warthog, MQ-1B Unmanned Predator, UV-18B Twin Otter and TG-16 Sailplane. He was an A-10 Fighter Squadron Director of Operations, an MQ-1B Reconnaissance Squadron Commander, and a Flying Training Group Commander at the United States Air Force Academy. He also served in the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), as the director of a four-star general’s Commander’s Action Group, and his final position was as the Director of one of only two NATO Combined Air Operations Centers responsible for the military air defense of the 14 NATO countries in Northern Europe.
Mr. Plamp participated in Operation SOUTHERN WATCH, Operation ENDURING FREEDOM and Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. He received two Bronze Stars for actions in Afghanistan, the first one in 2001 as a member of JSOC for actions during the initial combat operations after 9/11. The second was earned for his work in the 74th Fighter Squadron for critical operations, including the planning and execution of the Operation Redwing “Lone Survivor” rescue. As Commander of the 15th Expeditionary Resonance Squadron, he led his squadron to provide all conventional Predator Unmanned Aircraft operations during ‘The Surge’ into Iraq, as well as personally flying missions. His other awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, three Air Medals, and the German Silver Cross of Honor.
Mr. Plamp first served as Director of Veteran Programs at Hire Heroes USA and was promoted to Chief Programs Officer in July 2015. He was named Chief Operating Officer in July 2017, and is currently also serving as Interim Chief Executive Officer. He holds a Masters in Military Arts and Science and a Masters in Strategic Studies. He also has a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Air Force Academy. He currently resides in Canton, Georgia with his wife and two daughters.
Mr. Plamp participated in Operation SOUTHERN WATCH, Operation ENDURING FREEDOM and Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. He received two Bronze Stars for actions in Afghanistan, the first one in 2001 as a member of JSOC for actions during the initial combat operations after 9/11. The second was earned for his work in the 74th Fighter Squadron for critical operations, including the planning and execution of the Operation Redwing “Lone Survivor” rescue. As Commander of the 15th Expeditionary Resonance Squadron, he led his squadron to provide all conventional Predator Unmanned Aircraft operations during ‘The Surge’ into Iraq, as well as personally flying missions. His other awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, three Air Medals, and the German Silver Cross of Honor.
Mr. Plamp first served as Director of Veteran Programs at Hire Heroes USA and was promoted to Chief Programs Officer in July 2015. He was named Chief Operating Officer in July 2017, and is currently also serving as Interim Chief Executive Officer. He holds a Masters in Military Arts and Science and a Masters in Strategic Studies. He also has a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Air Force Academy. He currently resides in Canton, Georgia with his wife and two daughters.
Job Seeker
Operation Southern Watch
Q&A
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 9
Col Christopher Plamp, thanks for joining us. With veteran unemployment being at its lowest levels in years, how is Hire Heros reshaping their mission to attack the current challenge of underemployment?
Col Christopher Plamp
Brandon -- this is a great question. Two parts to the answer... the first is that we started about 20 months ago to focus on underemployed veterans, we added that as a category when you register so we could track how our service delivery helped them. 12 months later the data told us that just by focusing on getting them to be able to talk about their service, update their resume to highlight their skills, teaching them how to network and the rest that we do -- the average veteran that said they were underemployed when they registered significantly raised their salary ($+25,000 average) -- this shows the issue... they are not working in the right jobs for their skill level, expertise and education. We continue to look at our service delivery and results to see how we can do better... but so far we are having success. The second part of the answer is that your question assumes that when national veteran underemployment is reported low that there is not an issue. I believe this is still a problem (and not only because I don't think the data is correct) -- many transitioning service members are novices in finding a civilian job (I was -- after 26 years of service!)... they still need to know what skills they have, how to tell people what they did, etc. So even when the numbers are low -- there is still a need.
Col Christopher Plamp Thank you for sharing your expertise on the RP platform! Is there any methods of mentorship that Senior grade personnel or retirees can assist the H2H program as an individual? Are there website and improvements to H2H that you wish to highlight for RP members?
Col Christopher Plamp
John - thanks for the question. As a retired Col, I now know how much I did not know about transitioning to the civilian sector... it is part of the problem, the leadership chain that helps you throughout your career usually does not have expertise either. We do have a large cadre of volunteers (+750) from industries... many of which are veterans... they provide insight on sectors (IT, retail, gov contracting, etc) to our clients. This mentorship is the highest ranked (in surveys) of any of our programs which speaks to the power of helping each other as we navigate the transition
LTC John Shaw
Col Christopher Plamp
Sir,
Thank you, I found the key is engaging with H2H and asking for cadre with the expertise through the program. I found the H2H folks awesome to work with, they want to help and will try very hard to connect mentors to mentees.
Sir,
Thank you, I found the key is engaging with H2H and asking for cadre with the expertise through the program. I found the H2H folks awesome to work with, they want to help and will try very hard to connect mentors to mentees.
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