Our Veteran's Stories

The stories that our Veteran team members shared were rich and varied. While we weren't able to share their contributions in full in our post about Veterans Day, we wanted to make these accounts available to readers, to share their lessons and experiences. 

Jillian Forster, Sr. Analyst in Regulatory Affairs & Former Corporal 

What inspired you to serve in the military? 
One of my older brothers joined and I was able to watch his bootcamp graduation at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. I was in middle school and knew at that point, that is what I wanted to do after high school. It is truly one of the coolest things I have ever seen, still to this day, so being able to be a part of it, and becoming a Marine several years later, was truly an honorable accomplishment and something my brother and I will share forever. 

A couple years later, I remember being so eager and going to the recruiters off at 16 trying to sign up and them sending me away because I was too young yet. I went back as soon as I could to join the delayed entry program. My mom even came to the recruiter’s office to sign me up at age 17. I graduated high school a semester early and left for bootcamp Feb. 2006. While my class was graduating high school, I was graduating Marine Corps boot camp. 

How did your military experience shape you professionally and personally? 
The Marines taught me to clean and show up extremely early! Haha! But on a serious note, I learned so much that helped define who I am today. I learned about leadership, integrity, loyalty, determination and tact, to name a few. I learned that there are always going to be challenges but you have to keep pushing though, this can be related to anyone’s personal or professional lives. One of the phrases we used was “embrace the suck.” One day you will look back at the hard/challenging times and always find good from it and learn from it as well. Be patient, be positive and always have that determination to keep pushing forward, in life and in your profession. 

Teamwork and dependability is another big experience I learned in the military. You're dependent on everyone to do their part to be successful. Without working as a team, you will not be successful. I am happy to be a part of a company and team that promotes teamwork and is always pushing forward. 

Chris Reilly, Territory Business Manager & Former Petty Officer

What inspired you to serve in the military?  
Past family members I looked up to and the need for structure. Also to see the world and help with college via GI Bill.  

How did your military experience shape you professionally and personally? 
It helped me to achieve tasks that I never thought I could complete. To never give up. Gave me structure and promptness in everything I do. Also, helped me to help others when in need. 

What drew you to Drive, and how have your skills from service helped you contribute here? 
Met leaders of Drive as a customer and wanted to be part of that team. I believe some military experiences I learned in the Navy have helped me in my career here at Drive: 

Joe Lewarski, Senior Vice President, Clinical Affairs & Former Hospital Corpsman Second Class

What inspired you to serve in the military?
It was 1983, I was halfway through my second year of college as a physical therapy major, and I was flat broke. My parents were unable to provide any financial support for college, yet despite their financial condition, I didn’t qualify for any financial aid. The country was in a very severe recession, and the unemployment rate in my community was 10-11%. The minimum wage was $3.35/hour…if you could find a job. I wanted to complete my education and was looking at alternatives. I knew little about the military, and it was 8 years since the end of the Vietnam war, which left many people skeptical of the military. A couple of veterans I knew encouraged me to consider the military, specifically the Navy, due to the high quality of the training programs. I enlisted in the Navy to become a Hospital Corpsman (medic), and later attended a joint military respiratory therapy school, earning my AS degree in respiratory therapy.

How did your military experience shape you professionally and personally?
I was young, still a bit immature and unsure of my future. The Navy gave me a purpose and direction, improved my self-discipline, and subsequently taught me key leadership skills. The concept of leading by example (first one up, last one to sleep, do the hardest task before your team, never demand something you wouldn’t do, etc.). At 21 years old I had 30 people reporting to me; leadership roles present early in the military. The training also taught important management skills, such as respecting the fundamentals of the chain of command, handle problems at the lowest possible level, never discipline a person in front of the team, respect rank, even if you don’t respect the individual, be firm but treat people with respect, have empathy and compassion, take care of the team and they will take care of you, among many others. The concepts and skills I learned in the Navy are still present in my behavior and work today.

What drew you to Drive, and how have your skills from service helped you contribute here?          
I knew of Drive as a customer from they day the company began selling product. I had the opportunity to be a customer, and then later a competitor to Drive, so I was able to watch the company’s incredible growth and success. As I met more members of the team over the years, I was impressed with the quality of the people, the strong entrepreneurial spirit, and drive to succeed, and later, the culture of the company. I believe in meritocracy and love a work hard, play hard environment that allows individuals to grow and succeed. I think my military background, and my core beliefs and attributes were a good match to Drive and the team, which helped me successfully grow with the company over my 9+ years with the organization.

Andrew Avaritt 

What inspired you to serve in the military?  
My father inspired me to serve, and I really wanted to make him proud. He was in the Army during Vietnam and his father was in the Air Force and served in Korea. I have a lot of military members in my family who served in all the branches, and it was an easy decision to make.   

How did your military experience shape you professionally and personally?  
Discipline, respect for authority, chain of command, and the attempt to solve all conflicts at the lowest level were just some of the maxims that were refined during my time in the Air Force. I was hard-headed and argumentative, and I learned quickly that those traits were incompatible with consequential jobs like working on military aircraft and support equipment. More importantly, I learned resilience. Like many stressful environments, there were issues, as any other service member will tell you, and you learn quickly to value when things are going well, and to work even harder when things were difficult. You also learned to work with people you didn’t necessarily like, but you still had a mission to complete, so you learned to work through those issues as best you can. Many of those lessons have transitioned into my personal and professional life outside of the military. I was also fortunate enough to form some really great friendships with some amazing men and women while there. I value those people and that time very much.  

What drew you to Drive, and how have your skills from service helped you contribute here?
After my active-duty time, I transitioned into the Air National Guard and went back to college. While there a friend of mine was a sales rep at a local DME and asked me to come on as a mechanic working on complex rehab power chairs. I didn’t know what any of those words meant at the time, but I was hired and learned how to work on them. After that I fast-tracked through technician & delivery driver to sales, finished college, then to sales management, and then ultimately was hired on at Drive. I’d say the military ultimately helped me to better understand that the macro of a mission is only accomplished by understanding the importance of consistently developing efficient habits and routines in my daily life. 

Michael McDonald, Receiver & Former Air Force Technical Sargeant 

I come from a family that has served; my father retired from the Air Force which is the branch I chose to join. My older brother joined the Marines when he graduated and of my two younger brothers, one went into the army and the other became a firefighter.  Initially, it was for the chance to travel and see the world but as my career progressed it became more about the close friendships and bonds with family that I cherished the most.  The military experience will prepare you for any and everything and those things stay with you for life.  What clicked for me with Drive was during the Pandemic when I saw a group working so hard in getting out vitally needed supplies to those in need.  I’ve made some good friends and met some great people during my time here at Drive which I hope will continue for at least a few more years till it’s time to retire again.   

Joey Waggoner, Quality Control Technician & former Aerospace and Control Warning Technician

What inspired you to serve in the military? 

I come from a military family. My father served in the US Army. He was enlisted as a tractor-trailer support driver. He was also in the same time as Elvis Presley. In fact, he knew Elvis personally.

And my older brother was also in the US Army, and my younger brother was in the US Marine Corps. I was enlisted in the US Air Force. My job was an Air Traffic Controller. I controlled anything aerial from ground to infinity.

I was controlling the space shuttle Challenger when it unfortunately had a catastrophic failure mid-flight. I can only share a little bit of my experience with the space shuttle. My radar unit was tracking it on radar the day it launched. There were multiple sites controlling the vehicle that day. As we were tacking it on the scope, it just simply disappeared off of the scope screen. We did not know what happened at first. However, we did know that something catastrophic had occurred. 

How did your military experience shape you professionally and personally?  

Being in the military prepared me for a professional lifestyle. I also gained invaluable experience. Being in the military gives you a sense of being very proud, not only for protecting one’s country, but also gaining life skills as a young adult. I served most of my time in the European theater, in Germany. I got to travel extensively all the European countries while serving my country.

What drew you to Drive, and how have your skills from service helped you contribute here?

I was hired into this family at Drive by the recommendations of a former Quality Assurance manager. I am so glad I was given the opportunity to work at Drive and offer my skills as a Quality Control Technician. I have been here at Drive for 5 years this past August. I am so glad to share my skills I gained in the military with a company that shares the same values as myself. I enjoy helping out people when I can. Working here gives me another sense of purpose. I served our country proudly and I feel like I proudly contribute my skills gained.

Jordan Marsh 

What inspired you to serve in the military?  

Patriotism and family history. 

How did your military experience shape you professionally and personally?  
Enhanced and defined discipline and leadership skills I already possessed. 

What drew you to Drive, and how have your skills from service helped you contribute here? Drive is the 3^rd stop in my medical device career, which has always been about serving a community in need and providing independence and dignity. 

Lorenzo Lindsey, Distribution Center Supervisor & Former Army Command Sargeant Major

What inspired you to serve in the military? 

The Army commercial was, “Join the Army and Be All That You Can Be.”  

How did your military experience shape you professionally and personally? 

The Army helped to shape me by enhancing my ability to understand accountability, responsibility, discipline, ownership, leadership etc. These key elements combined with my willingness to meet the motto of being all that I could be, propelled me to the rank of E-9, CSM, highest enlisted rank and complete 28 active years of service. During this time I was afforded the opportunity to go to Equal Opportunity (EO) school for four months. This enhanced my inter- and intra-personal skills which helped to shape me personally. 

What drew you to Drive, and how have your skills from service helped you contribute here? 

There was a woman by the name of J.C C.hilds that worked with Drive whom I had worked previously, who recommended me to Drive where I was hired as an Operations manager. The skills, knowledge and abilities that I acquired in the military were very instrumental in assuming my position as second- and third-shift Operations manager.