Military Connection: Experience- the Best Veteran Resource: By Joe Silva

Casey Taylor is a medically retired Master Gunnery Sergeant from the U.S. Marine Corps. Taylor was drafted in 1968 and was immediately deployed to Vietnam. His service spanned from 1968 to 1997. During that time, Taylor was also deployed to Somalia, Yugoslavia, Bosnia, Panama and in support of Desert Storm and Desert Shield.

If his military experience isn’t enough to impress you, after retiring, Master Guns went to work in the civilian world as a district manager, overseeing wireless network designs covering six states. He also worked as a GS-15 DOD civilian from 2000-2007. You could say that Master Guns Taylor has pretty much been there, done that.

In 2007, Taylor was medically retired from government service after having surgery on his back.

“I guess three hundred and eighty-seven jumps in the Marine Corps had taken its toll on my back,” Taylor told MilitaryConnection.com.

Something went terribly wrong with the surgery, leaving the retired Marine paralyzed from the waist down. This type of disability would leave most people discouraged and depressed. But Master Guns Taylor saw his new situation as the means to take on another mission. He decided to spend his time helping and serving his fellow Veterans.

From his home, mostly through email and over the phone, Taylor helps Veterans with a broad array of post-military problems, from employment searches and résumé advice to interviewing tips. Veterans spanning all branches of the service, ranging from E-4’s to O-6, seek Master Guns’ guidance.

“I give them the tools they need to succeed in the real world,” Taylor said. “I have knowledge of how the outside world works, and I’m here to explain what to expect.

Military Connection CEO Debbie Gregory has known Master Guns Taylor for a number of years, and has taken great pride in referring Veterans to him. Taylor not only provides Veterans with résumé templates, he also helps them make their résumé applicable to civilian employment, and offers to talk them through mock job interviews. Only after their résumé and interview skills are ready, Master Guns connects Veterans to job recruiters that he trusts; and only recruiters that won’t take money from the Veterans.

Taylor says that his work doesn’t end there. He often refers his Veterans to the MilitaryConnection.com website, where they can access all of the resources and information available there. Additionally, he keeps in contact with his Veterans, making sure that they are making it. Even after helping his younger Veterans get a job, he has helped them leave that job and find a better one.

Taylor told MilitaryConnection that to date, he has helped more than 500 Veterans, and he is currently helping about another 100. Master Guns couldn’t determine how much time he commits to helping each Veteran. He says that each Veteran is an individual with individual needs, and he makes sure not to treat them like a number.

The best part about the guidance that Taylor provides… it’s free. Master Guns says that he won’t even consider taking a dime from any Veteran. He helps them because he feels it is the right thing to do, and because he is able to. To Master Guns, working with Veterans is its own reward.

Taylor said, “Every year around the holidays, I get cards, phone calls, texts and emails from my Veterans. The best feeling in the world is a thank you.”

If you or a Veteran you know could benefit from Master Guns’ assistance, please contact Casey Taylor at mastergunstaylor@gmail.com

It is my hope that by reading this article, my fellow Veterans will be inspired by Master Guns’ story and take up the torch to help other Veterans, in whatever way they are able to… because it’s the right thing to do.

Military Connection proudly serves those who serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve, Veterans and their Families. We are the go to site for Veteran Employment and information on Veteran education. Militaryconnection.com provides Veterans with and Directory of Employers, a Job Board, information on the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and a blog that offers Veterans boundless information. Be sure to visit Militaryconnection.com, the go to site.

Military Connection: Experience- the Best Veteran Resource: By Joe Silva