Meet Daniel Horton

This summer, we’re celebrating employees who have served our country through military service. So today is a perfect time to introduce you to one of Who’s Your HR’s quiet heroes behind the scenes—our facilities manager, Daniel Horton, who has shared his experiences here with us and you about what it’s like to move from military service to a civilian career, and he provides insights you might use as you court veterans for your own company staff.

WHO’S YOUR HR?: Tell us about your military service—where and when you served, and your role.

Daniel Horton: During my Army career, I was assigned to the 366^th Military Police unit in Stillwater, OK, as a reservist. But I ended up serving over two years on two active-duty deployments. The 2002 Operation Noble Eagle provided security to the NSA (Fort Meade) and Raven Rock (Ft. Ritchie). The 2003 Operation Enduring Freedom brought me to service in Baghdad, which included the EPOW camp operations (not the one that was in the news; we worked the “Deck of Cards” EPOW facility), convoy security, patrols with the 1^st Armored Division, law and order enforcement, and retraining the Iraqi police force.

I also did a peacetime mission in 2000 at the El Salvador base, providing worksite security. (The Air Force was building new schools and drilling water wells for small villages.)

What is your role like at Who’s Your HR? What’s your day-to-day look like?

I’m facilities manager and promotional ad specialties provider. If anything needs to be moved, fixed, adjusted, sourced, reviewed, or if any sweet promo swag is needed, I source those items. I’m the behind-the-scenes guy taking care of the related business stuff that is not the HR services that the experts of WYHR? handle. My day-to-day is whatever Penny (Horton) needs me to do! Also, I’m a resource for the WYHR? team to identify veteran skill sets that are transferable to any open positions for WYHR? or their clients.

What appealed to you about taking on a role like this after your military service?

This role requires the ability to be flexible and to know just enough in many fields to solve problems. That’s what soldiers are trained to do, adapt, and overcome.

What do you wish employers understood about working with and hiring veterans?

Unless the employer is hiring for a very specialized job, most veterans have a general skill set that the military training provided to qualify for most jobs. Also, civilians tend to think that people who served in the military were only in war—that is, fighter positions. 

But most jobs that you find in the private sector also exist in the military, even specialized and professional ones. A veteran who has successfully completed their military assignment and separated on good terms has proven that they are trainable, can follow directions, can work in stressful environment, and can be punctual. Yes, most were also trained how to shoot a target at 300 meters with open sights, but that’s just extra.

What’s something you learned in your military career that particularly helps you be a great employee in the private sector?

“Shoot, move, and communicate.” Those skills transfer into the private sector as “perform, be flexible to change, and communicate.” Great employees should be able to do those under pressure with grace.

Also, how to put up with bad leaders! It may seem hard to believe, but just like the private sector, there are bad leaders in the military too.

How can employers be more effective at finding and hiring great veterans?

There are a couple of options here. They can partner with one of many veteran transition services around the area—Coffee Bunker in Tulsa comes to mind. 

Also, if businesses have an advocate who understands the military lingo on a resume and how it transfers to their open positions, that helps. This is especially true for employers that use keyword-filtering software to review resumes. An employer could miss out on a great qualified candidate because the words used on the resume were different than the private sector terms.

In your view, why does hiring veterans matter?

Veterans have a unique skill set and perspective that can be an added value to employers. Also, these veterans volunteered to sacrifice themselves to a bigger cause. To me, that fact alone should make employers want to hire veterans! That “bigger than me” mindset will help their business to grow and be successful.

Businesses face all sorts of challenges, none of which typically include taking enemy fire from a competitor! Veterans have overcome obstacles while being shot at, so if metaphorically your business needs to take that hill, wouldn’t you want someone on your team who actually took a hill before?

How does Who’s Your HR? help veterans find the right place to get hired and/or help employers improve their veteran hiring?

They use me as a resource to help identify the transferable skills and understand military lingo to make sure a qualified veteran isn’t overlooked.

What’s something you love to do when you’re not on the job? 

I love traveling to places outside the U.S. to see how other people live outside of “the Machine” we live in here. I also enjoy playing golf and taking care of WYHR?’s mascot, Champ.

Level Up Your Veteran Hiring with Expert Consulting Guidance from Who’s Your HR?

Interested in hiring more veterans, or finding ways to more successfully reach these valuable potential employees? Have questions about how to leverage available grants, federal funds, and other services to make it easier to attract and retain veterans? 

Call Who’s Your HR? today at 539-215-8868 to schedule a consultation or to learn more.