Vet brings different definition of stress to the workplace

When Tony Marty dealt with route clearance personnel while on a tour of duty with the Air Force in Afghanistan he would send vehicles out in tip-top shape, only to see then return on a wrecker.
When Tony Marty, the civilian employee, experiences logistical problems in his role at BonnaVilla Homes in Aurora, he knows the product he is working on won’t be finished on time.
Both situations may seem stressful in the moment, but there is no comparison, he observed. That perspective, over time, has impacted his attitude toward work.
“There is just a different level of stress that comes into it,” Marty said when asked to compare his role in the military to that as a production lead in the frame shop and pit area at BonnaVilla. “I never got close to seeing combat, but there is just a difference in the things you see and what you have to deal with. Here, it’s more a matter of dealing with a parts shortage, looking for that time when it will come in so you can actually get the job done. It’s just different.”
As plant manager at BonnaVilla Homes, Mike Morrow said he personally never wore a military uniform, but he appreciates the different view veterans bring to work each day based on their life experiences.
“From what I’ve seen, I think the military veteran’s perspective on stress is different and their ability to manage it is different,” he said. “Like Tony said, what they have experienced is stress; life or death, or perhaps supporting an operation that involves life or death and the protection of our country. The business environment is a little different because what they’ve been used to dealing with gives them a perspective on what is stressful. Is what I’m doing here life or death or is what I’m doing supporting a life or death operation or protection of our country effort? No. So I don’t think they respond to the day-to-day stress maybe quite the same way that the average employee might because they know what real stress is like.”
Marty and Morrow sat down for a combined interview at the BonnaVilla plant in Aurora, sharing their own perspectives on the skill sets, values and general attitude about work that military vets bring to the workforce.
“My military experience was very structured employment,” Marty said of his four-year stint in the Air Force, where he worked in logistics, stationed in Dover, Dela., except for two tours of duty to Qatar and Afghanistan. “You show up to work every day and you work your hardest. That’s what I carried with me throughout most of it, making sure that I was on time, staying busy all day long and putting out the best quality product I could.”
Having been employed at BonnaVilla for 10 months now, Marty said he brings the same attitude to work each day, but without the uniform or military chain of command dictating his every move.
“I think it plays a big factor in my attitude,” he shared. “I mean, even from a young age, I’ve always been taught to work hard for what you have and the military just prolonged that.”
Back in the civilian world, having worked previously at BonnaVilla years ago, Marty said he wanted to return to a place he felt upheld some of the same standards he saw in the Air Force.
“I like BonnaVilla, which is why I came back here,” he said. “There’s a certain standard that we want to uphold with the product and everything else. I do think that it compares, I believe, to the military, kind of a pride in your work.”

Sought-after employees
In today’s workforce, with turnover more common and candidates harder to find due to Nebraska’s low unemployment rate, Morrow said military veterans are some of the most sought after employees.
“The traits that they exhibit are going to be, generally, that they are organized, they’re going to be disciplined and they’re going to have a strong or stronger work ethic maybe than others,” he observed. “Having been part of the military, they will have made a high-level commitment, and they have kept to that commitment. And in terms of the teamwork element, they have the ability to work with people to achieve a common goal. I think those traits are very typical of a military veteran.”
Most business owners and managers, Morrow added, would agree that those are also traits any successful business needs.
“You know that somebody who has served in the military, as a veteran, those are going to be, generally, the things that you can expect to see,” he said. “Just by the fact that they’ve served and that they’re a veteran they are, generally, going to have those things that you want.”
Sitting across the table from one of many BonnaVilla employees who have served in the military at some point in time, Morrow took the opportunity to thank Marty, personally.
“I just want to say to Tony that I appreciate his service,” he said. “Your question to me was did I serve. No, I didn’t. I didn’t have the guts to do it and I have said over and over again that when we have Veteran’s Day events I personally appreciate the fact that there are people who did, because I didn’t. I am glad that there are people like you who were willing to do that, so thank you.”
“Thank you,” Marty responded.