Bridging Military and Civilian Life: SkillBridge Opportunities in Cody
The Department of Defense offers a “SkillBridge” program to eligible service members transition to civilian life. It allows them to gain civilian work experience through apprenticeships and internships during their last 180 days of active duty or before their End of Service (EAS). This program is an opportunity for Cody businesses to help service members while gaining potential workers.
The program was established after the 2008 financial crisis to address concerns about transitioning personnel and their ability to return to civilian life successfully. Providing key tools and resources to ensure a smooth transition lies at the heart of this effort.
A story on DIVIDS illustrates the impact SkillBridge can have. “Last year, military veteran, Rohan Francis completed a SkillBridge internship that allowed him to prepare for his post-military career and currently serves as a property administrator for a Fortune 500 company. ‘It has been a major impact in my life, and I would even go as far as saying it saved my life. I didn’t know what was going to happen after my time in service,’ he said. ‘But with this training, I was able to showcase my skills and go into a completely new role that I was not familiar with.”
To participate, service members must be approved by their commanding officer and find a business offering this program in the town where they prefer to work. It’s a daunting task to change careers. Every job has a lifestyle attached to it, and the military creates an environment that can make the transition to civilian life seem impossible.
Cody’s SkillBridge Programs
Cody, WY, has two locations for a SkillBridge program: the Forest Service (USDA) and Builders FirstSource, a building materials supplier and building services. There are no prerequisites across the board, and the employer they decide to work for pays no payroll. Instead, the military members continue to receive their military pay/salary and benefits during these transitional periods.
We had a chance to ask Casey McQuiston, our local District Ranger for the USDA Forest Service, about this.
How has your experience with the military members in the program gone? Can you share your thoughts on how the program has benefitted the community?
“It’s been great! What has been big for the community is we’ve really been short-staffed on the Forest. To have the military members be able to come and give us some additional support and help with our workload is great. While they’re still technically in the military, a lot of their work has been focused on Developed Recreation. So plenty of opportunities for those military members relocating here to support the local economy indirectly. The members are also from all over. From the East Coast to the West Coast and everywhere in between.”
Have any of your members experienced wildlife encounters?
“Oh yes! One member this year was with our Wildlife Program. He specifically was around the Phelps Mountain and Francs Peak area monitoring and saw a lot of grizzly bears, elk, bighorn sheep, and even moose,” Casey said.
Get Involved
Wyoming has quite a large active, reserve, and retired military population. A 2024 Department of Defense report estimates the population at 44,792. In addition, a 2025 estimate from World Population Review puts the 2024 figure at 40,952. Wyoming’s total population is about 590,000. Anyone who appreciates our service members can help with the networking necessary to get more locally approved industry partners on board in the community.
If you are interested in applying for this program for your business, learn more here. For further information and forms, you should also contact your local TAP (Transition Assistant Program) center.
Stephanie Pate
Cody Journal Administrative Assistant