Garland Williams

Location: i live in chandler, az, and work in phoenix.

About me

I retired from the Army on Halloween 2009 after having served 28 years on active duty and reaching the rank of Colonel. I was a combat engineer and commanded units up through and including brigade level. My family and I spent 11 of those 28 years overseas in various locations including Germany, Italy, and Japan. Currently I am the Associate Regional VP for Military at the University of Phoenix and have been in this position for just over 3 1/2 years.

Originally from Atlanta, I attended Auburn University for my undergraduate degree in Pre-Law/Journalism and was fortunate to attend graduate school on an Army Fellowship completing my Masters and Doctorate in Political Science at Duke University. I have published three book length manuscripts including Defense Reorganization and Change (my dissertation), Engineering Peace (published by the US Institute of Peace), and Perspectives on Leadership.

Finally, my wife and I have two grown daughters who have both earned their bachelor's degrees and one overgrown cat (who really acts like a dog).

Interests

sports, running, sailing, reading (novels and non-fiction)

Skills

writing for publication, public speaking, leadership and management

Activity

Garland Williams

Discussion Comment

Foundation of Trust

Kenton, I think you have hit on something valuable. Veterans, especially those that are retiring after spending 20+ years in the military, have established a very set way of looking at the world and their opportunities for military advancement are established through hard work and then subsequent recognition. Upon entering the civilian world, they almost have too many choices and are anxious about choosing the "right" path. In the military, the path is determined by the military occupational specialty. But veterans don't have the equivalent of an military occupational specialty and hence are faced with tough choices. Internships or even… >>>

Garland Williams

Blog Comment

Supporting Veterans in Becoming Gainfully Employed

With 1.2 million service members leaving active duty over the next 5 years, it is imperative that they set aside appropriate time to execute a successful transition. There is going to be a lot of competition for civilian jobs and the leadership skill set that these transitioning service members bring to Corporate America are unmatched compared to previous decades. But Leadership experience, although extremely valuable, will not provide guaranteed employment. In years past, service members would voluntarily attend TAP in their last few months of service, thinking that TAP would be enough to set out on a civilian career. But transitioning service members would… >>>

Garland Williams

Discussion Comment

Identifying Transferable Skills

Which transferable skills have you found to be the most civilian-valued and what techniques have you used to bolster these skills within the veteran student population?