For Americans, Veteran’s Day is a day to stop and thank all of the individuals who serve and for the work they do to protect our nation. For Joe Hayes and Tyler Cason, Veteran’s Day means a little more.
Hayes, the assistant dean of students and director of Campus Center and Student Experiences, served in the Navy between 1999 and 2009 and was commissioned as a Naval Officer through the Naval ROTC program at Marquette University. Cason, currently a student at IUPUI, served in the Army from June 2011 to June 2017.
“Veteran's Day is a day of pride and celebration,” said Hayes. “I think it is important for society to recognize their neighbors and co-workers who served in the armed services because it is very unique and it isn't something everyone can do. It isn't about free lunch or parades, while nice and appreciated, but an opportunity to celebrate national service.”
“I think a lot of veterans tend to minimize their impact for numerous reasons, but they understand the gravity of the oath they swore to uphold and see it as a sacred bond they have with the country that gives them so many opportunities,” Cason said.
Hayes spent five years on active duty and five years in the reserves. The Navy was in his blood with both his grandfather and father serving their own stints. In his 10 years, Hayes completed several tours that took him all over the world. Internationally, he went to Spain, Morocco, France, Italy, Malta, Croatia, Japan, Kuwait, Qatar, South Korea, Thailand and Slovenia. Domestically, he was stationed in Rhode Island, Virginia and Mississippi.
Over a decade into his post-military career, Hayes cites his military service as an integral part of his development because of the people, places and situations he was exposed to as a newly graduated young professional. At just 22 years old, Hayes was thrust into a leadership position of 30-plus men of various ages, backgrounds and experience.
“The Navy stressed ‘intrusive leadership’ of its young division officers, which meant it was my job to get to know the Sailors that I was responsible for and do everything in my power to help them be 100 percent ready to do their job onboard the ship,” said Hayes. “That meant getting to know them personally and seeing the world through their eyes to help them navigate the roadblocks in their lives. The experience popped the privileged midwestern bubble that I grew up in and allowed me to see the world differently.”
Flash forward to present day and Hayes provides administrative leadership for 13 professional staff, a team of graduate assistants, and more than 70 student employees in his role. His transition into higher education was “remarkably smooth” and he has found that several skills from the Navy have translated to his current career such as working one-on-one with students and decision-making.
Cason, a senior pursuing a B.S. in technology with an emphasis in organizational leadership, completed two combat tours in the Army with the first running from January through October in 2013 in a southeast region of Afghanistan known as Paktika Province. His second tour, from September 2015 to May 2016, took him to Al Taqaddum in Central Iraq.
“To me, Veteran’s Day is a day of remembrance and reflection,” said Cason. “It is important to remember those that served before, with and after myself. I think a lot about my brothers and sisters that struggled and triumphed with me and the bond that we enjoyed in those moments. I also think of those we lost and how fortunate I am to still be here.”
After Cason’s time in the Army came to a close, he moved back to Indianapolis to be closer to his brother and now wife. Prior to his service time ending, Cason had applied at IUPUI and stepped on campus to find a place that gave him more than he expected.
“I honestly did not anticipate how much I would come to love the university, but from the moment I stepped onto campus, I truly felt a new sense of belonging,” he said. “When a service member separates from the military, there is sometimes a longing to find a new mission and purpose. I found that in a lot of ways when I came to IUPUI.”
Finding his mission and purpose has included being involved on campus. Cason is currently a work-study student for the Office for Veterans and Military Personnel, vice chairman of the Chancellor's Student Advisory Board and a former Undergraduate Student Government senate representative for the Student Veterans Organization.
Like Hayes, Cason has also seen the military’s lessons translate nicely to his college experience. “My life looks a lot different than when I was in the military, but there is one thing that has not changed and that is that I continue to study,” Cason said. “In the military it is imperative to constantly study to refine your technical skills, combat tactics, strategic planning and to give yourself a greater advantage over your foes. Studying in college is similar, but for much different reasons.”
With Veteran’s Day approaching, Hayes and Cason hope that it’s a day of appreciation and greater understanding for what veterans have gone through for the preservation of our Union.