From Iraq to 35 W. Wacker: A Different Source of Adrenaline

By Mike Essary, U.S. Army Executive on Loan 

Mike Essary

I suppose it was probably mid-August last year when my thought process first began that would eventually land me here at 35 West Wacker Drive in the 3^rd largest city in the nation.

On the ninth month of my third tour in Iraq, it’s 129 freakin’ degrees outside (no lie, see pic below), and I’m lying face down in the desert.  

129 Degrees in Iraq

The bomb sirens are going off to indicate an incoming rocket will soon slam into our military base camp and I am praying it impacts in a non-populated area.

7,500 miles away and with a 9-hour time difference, my wife and 22-month old son are probably just waking up at our house in Manhattan, KS (near Fort Riley where I was stationed). I hadn’t seen either of them in months.

Mike and his Family

Fortunately, the rocket landed in a non-populated part of the camp. But it didn’t deter the primary thought I had while lying there on the ground on a scorching day in Iraq.

I’m gettin’ too old for this stuff! 

I love serving my country but I need to find one of those hidden Army jobs that aren’t well publicized but allow you to either pursue a Masters degree full time or work with a large civilian corporation for a year. And I need to better balance my home/work life and stop working 16 hours a day in third world countries. And hey, it would be cool to get a different perspective by spending time around a bunch of “civilian folk” for a change.

Mike when he was deployed.

So I reached out to my career manager that day and he informed me of this program called Training with Industry (TWI), formerly called the Army Executive on Loan Program. TWI is a one-year work experience program designed to take selected senior officers out of the military environment and expose them to the latest civilian business practices, organizational structures and cultures, technology development processes and corporate management techniques. And it provides that corporation with an executive level military officer with extensive leadership experience in a wide array of assignments.

The short story is I gathered all the necessary letters of recommendation, ensured my military file was in order, and applied for the program. I was informed during a business trip last fall to Washington that I had been selected by a military panel to join Starcom for a year.

Fast forward to June 9, 2011. I’m in a conference room with all the other interns kinda wondering what the heck I have gotten myself into.

I’m surrounded by young men and women, the majority of whom weren’t even born yet when I joined the Army in 1988. I’ve been out of college for 17 years and now I’m here with so many talented and energetic college students who are all so up to date on all the latest media and marketing strategies and so eager to begin their careers.

I don’t get intimidated very often. But that day, I felt a little unsettled. 

And in some ways, envious and nostalgic of being back at that point in my career again. As the meeting went on though, as I looked around the room at each person, I felt a great sense of pride and comfort knowing our future is in the hands of such dynamic and intellectual individuals. 

And though I’m clearly out of my comfort zone, I’m excited to be here. I plan to absorb as much as I can during my time here and pass some of my knowledge and experience along as well.  

Working in the Marketing Communications Department at Starcom offers me a different type of adrenaline. And gaining so much exposure from the entry level to executive level will greatly assist me as a leader when I return to the “normal” Army next summer.