Who We Are:
We are dedicated to helping our military members and their spouses in the transition so they can find a successful landing after their service; whether that is higher education, a dream job, or the ability to start their own business.

How We Help:
American Dream U offers two main services for transitioning veterans: Online programs and educational workshop events.
American Dream U’s online programs are catered to helping veterans become successful professionals in the world of business, with breadth in courses; everything from entrepreneurship to the intricacies of setting up a LinkedIn profile.
American Dream U’s workshop events are fueled by the same purpose; offering unique, differentiating benefits when paired with the online courses such as networking and connecting with other veterans, as well as hearing personal success stories of post-service careers.

Who We Help:
Military, Veteran and spouses are our mission and the stats below reflect the need. Here at American Dream U, we believe that a smoother transition will go a long way in improving these stats in the future.

– 2 out of 3 new veterans will find it difficult to transition
– About 400,000 veterans remained unemployed at the end of 2017
– 22 – 28 veterans will commit suicide each day.
– Approximately 245,000 Service men and women will transition out of the military in 2018.

SWVBRC IS AN ALL VOLUNTEER PUBLIC BENEFIT NATIONAL NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION

The Southwest Veterans’ Business Resource Center, Inc., Fallbrook, California in concert with the support of communities was established May 21, 2008 in honor of Memorial Day and its doors first opened November 1, 2008 in honor of Veterans Day. To assist veterans and active duty military members that have served in any military component, and with exception, spouses through outreach and education programs.

Our Mission

Empower communities with knowledge and best practices to serve Veterans
Provide a means to communities to learn about Veteran benefits and services available
Shape the future of communities serving Veterans
Our Vision
Be the nations’ premier Veterans’ Business Resource Center, providing world-class services; anytime, anywhere

Guiding Principles

We believe:

Communities are our most important resource
Veterans are our focus
Success is judged by those we serve
Service, professionalism, respect, teamwork, safety and compassion are valued
Building a veteran force, preventing homelessness, and harvesting knowledge are the cornerstones of our service
Quality service is centered on families and communities
Structured and disciplined resource decisions lead to sound business practices
Communication, coordination, and cooperation are critical to our success
Continuous improvement is essential to quality service and veterans’ success

Who we are

We are a national public benefit nonprofit organization that educates American Communities about best practices to serve Veterans. We honor their service by empowering Veterans to apply their training and skills to successfully transition to productive careers and enterprises.

We provide free vocational training 24/7 to all of our members through our website, in addition to local events. We believe the tenet that American Communities are the ultimate beneficiaries when Veterans claim their benefits and invest in productive endeavors.

The SWVBRC enlists the support of members of local Communities like you to increase Veteran awareness of the value of obtaining a VA card and receiving earned benefits.

Sponsorships, donations, volunteers and support from communities like yours enable us to reach out to Veterans and empower them to transition back into successful, productive enterprises that ultimately benefit all Americans and support future generations.

USO Pathfinder® Transition Program

USO COVID-19 Response: In response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, our USO Pathfinder® Transition Program locations are strictly adhering to guidance from military installation commands and abiding by CDC guidance on health safety practices regarding center operations.

We remain steadfast in our mission to support transitioning service members and military spouses. There have been minimal disruptions to one-on-one USO Pathfinder services, as we have shifted Transition Specialist meetings to virtual delivery. Program registration remains open with no disruptions to that process.

The USO Pathfinder® Transition Program extends the USO experience to active duty, Reserve, National Guard and military spouses by offering professional development services throughout the duration of the service member or military spouse’s career, as well as when they transition out of the military and settle into their new communities.

Want to be better prepared for future success before transitioning from the military? Are you a military spouse looking for new opportunities?

CONNECT WITH A USO TRANSITION SPECIALIST

USO Transition Specialists can help develop a personalized Action Plan and help you take full advantage of services and resources that are the best fit for you and your spouse in your new community.

How It Works
The USO Pathfinder Transition Program works with strategic partners to connect service members and military spouses to resources through a holistic approach, focusing on:

Employment
Education – Including leading online learning platforms like Skillsoft, IBM SkillsBuild and Coursera as well as the new 8-week course “Making Your Military Transition a Transformation”
Financial readiness
Mentorship
Increased access to relevant veterans’ benefits in their communities
Through the creation of an individualized action plan, USO Transition Specialists collaborate with individuals to identify their personal and professional goals and build a roadmap to achieving them, while also identifying services and resources that are the best fit for their needs. This program offers support to service members up to 6 months after they have officially left service, providing them with resources well along their journey to civilian life.

USO Transition Specialists provide these free services through one on-one support (either virtually, or in person) and help military families create a plan for success now – and for the future.

About Us

The Veterans Business Outreach Center Region IV, representing the State of Florida, has twice been honored as the VBOC of the year, in 2014 and 2018.

Under the leadership of Brenton Peacock, the staff strives to continuously meet the needs of its clients. We consider it an honor and a privilege to serve you and provide the necessary skills to start or grow your own business.

Following a 1999 law to promote veteran participation in the entrepreneurship and small business field, the Small Business Association created and established a number of VBOCs. The Florida program, which is one of twenty-two in the country, finds that success is reflected in many start-ups throughout the State. Our clients have cumulatively received millions of dollars in contract awards, the bulk of which is through federal government contracting and loans. We help strengthen our clients’ business by providing education and resources, with the understanding that military service has set-up veterans to be fine entrepreneurs.

Consulting services are free, and we offer one-on-one communications with clients. Our consultants have been entrepreneurs, were in the military or closely related to the military, have worked in various industries, and have a wide range of education and skills to assist with almost any type of business venture.
The Veterans Business Outreach Center at Gulf Coast State College
Proudly Empowering Veteran Entrepreneurship in Florida

Our Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC) serves active duty personnel, veterans, and military spouses who want to learn more about, then start and grow a small business of their own in the State of Florida. We serve the entire State of Florida, from our headquarters in Panama City at Gulf Coast State College.
WHAT CAN THE VBOC DO FOR YOU?

We are your tax dollars at work. The VBOC is funded in part by the US Small Business Administration (SBA). We stand ready to help with FREE business counseling and assistance to Florida’s veterans and military spouses to help you.

Test the feasibility and potential profitability of your start-up idea or expansion of an existing business.
Write a solid business plan before you spend any money.
Take the right steps to start and successfully manage a small business in Florida.
Identify funding sources (banks, credit unions, non-traditional business lenders) and SBA loan programs. VBOC is not a lender nor do we represent any lenders.
Understand business taxes and your financial statements.
Develop marketing and customer acquisition strategies to grow your business.
Consider government contracting and take advantage of your veteran-owned small business status in procurement at all levels (federal, state and local).

VetJobs.org is an anchor member of the VetJobs OCEAN (One Central Employment & Advancement Network) family of websites.

We are the #1 online resource for military-affiliated job seekers looking to attain a rewarding career and maximize their earnings.

Over the past 16 years, we and our sister sites have actively helped more than 63,000 military spouses, active duty military and veterans connect to high-earning careers.

What We Do

VetJobs has honed a very successful, proven method for ensuring our job seekers connect with the career opportunities they deserve.

Our approach has three parts: people, technology and education.​​​​​​​

1. People. Our people — all of whom are highly-educated veterans and military spouses themselves — get to know our jobseekers personally. They work to understand a candidate’s military service, the skills they’ve acquired and how that translates to today’s job market. We then provide personal, high-touch, free job placement support, leveraging relationships with hundreds of leading national employers.

2. Technology. After we get to know our candidates personally, we tap into a world-class technology backbone — graciously donated by IBM — which enables us to access over two million high-paying openings, donated through DirectEmployers Association, plus view applicants and track hiring outcomes the same way top employers do. Further, we track our job seekers’ progress after we place them, helping to ensure they succeed. As they progress along and advance in their career – we’re right there with them to help as needed.

3. Education. For candidates who need extra support when transitioning from the Military to the private sector, we have developed top-notch training, educational tools, career development resources and mentoring. Our training team — which includes professionals who have developed curricula for prestigious American universities — works closely with each job seeker to guarantee they’re positioned to get the job they deserve.

Our Values
We believe a big part of what sets us apart is our core values, which were deepened
through serving our country. Those values include:

Integrity – We don’t accept funding from any branches of the Military or corporate HR departments; our singular allegiance is to the jobseekers we serve.

Respect – We have the deepest respect for those who are serving, have served, and surround those wo have served; that reverance guides every decision we make.

​​​​​​​Commitment – We don’t think it’s enough to just help a veteran or spouse get a job. Nobody goes deeper, or stays involved longer, to help military-affiliated job seekers attain a rewarding career.

Focus – We have never strayed from our founding charter. If it doesn’t help active duty military, veterans or military spouses connect with a high-paying career, we won’t do it.

Efficiency – We are tirelessly devoted to ensuring every penny we spend advances our mission. Deloitte audits show that 96 cents on the dollar goes to that mission.

About the VetJobs OCEAN Family.

Chapter 1: Helping Military Spouses Thrive

The VetJobs OCEAN family had humble beginnings — founded with $323, in military housing, at the outset of the Iraq War. When Deb Kloeppel, a successful entrepreneur and senior executive at American Airlines, left her position to PCS overseas, she realized there was a need to better support the career aspirations of military spouses. She saw women and men who were accomplished, highly trained and highly educated, but suddenly found themselves living someplace very far away — because of their devotion to family and country. So, in 2004, Military Spouse Corporate Career Network (MSCCN) was born.

Chapter 2: 1 : 1 Job Placement Support for Active Duty Military and Veterans

MSCCN quickly grew to become the premiere job placement and career development facilitator for military spouses and family members. It was so successful that it inspired Deb and her husband, Rear Admiral Dan Kloeppel (U.S. Navy, ret.), to co-found CASY: Corporate America Supports You. Armed with a letter of need from the Army National Guard and startup money from Direct Employers, CASY was chartered in 2010, with the mission of providing free employment readiness, vocational training and one-on-one job placement services for National Guard, Reserves, transitioning service members and veterans of all branches of service. RADM Kloeppel — after a 36-year military career, plus 36 years as a commercial airline pilot — has gained a unique perspective on how to best support service members transitioning to the civilian workplace.

Chapter 3: Supporting Tens of Thousands, Joining Forces with VetJobs

From just under 500 job placements its first year, CASY quickly grew to become a powerhouse in helping military-affiliated job seekers connect to high paying, rewarding careers. By 2019, CASY and MSCCN had surpassed their 57,000th verified hired. It was at this point, with the financial help of Swift Transporation, that the opportunity emerged to acquire VetJobs.com, the best-known, online military job board. One immediate impact was the addition of thousands of new applicants, now receiving our one-on-one help. With the addition of VetJobs, CASY and MSCCN had their most successful year ever in 2019, helping nearly 9,200 active duty service members, veterans, and military spouses connect to career opportunities.

To begin 2020, the VetJobs OCEAN family welcomed MilitarySpouseJobs.org — powered by MSCCN, now sitting alongside VetJobs.org, CASY.US and MSCCN.org​​​​​​​.

MilitarySpouseJobs.org provides the same unparalleled career placement and advancement services to military spouses, caregivers, and military family members that MSCCN has delivered for years, as these onboarding gateways all lead to our same IBM technology, DirectEmployers Jobs, and our one-on-one assistance.