VIDEO: The Oceanside Fire Department recently adopted the SkillBridge program, helping service members step into their professional lives outside of the military.
“They’re able to work on the ambulance and get real world experience that really does matter for them to get that next job,” said Oceanside Fire Chief David Parsons.
The Department of Defense program pairs with professions all over the country to give military members unique work experience, but locally there was nothing quite like this. “This is one of the few programs I saw that actually gives you the experience of actually treating patients and operating on a 911 platform, so that’s why I 100% went for this,” said Naval Petty Officer Reid Dillion. Dillion sees this setting the stage for his dream of being a doctor.