Home » Military Veterans » Military Veterans

Freight Rail's Military Veterans

Previous Next

Gary Adkins

Manager of Signals and Communications
Canadian National
Chicago, IL
17 years in the industry
6 years in the military
Base: Twenty-nine Palms, CA

As a small child, Gary Adkins remembers wanting to grow up to be in the military and work for the Illinois Central Railroad where his father, a Vietnam War veteran, had operated trains and was later an assistant superintendent. So after leaving the U.S. Marines in 1994, Gary continued to follow his dream and took a job with the Illinois Central as a trackman laborer. Responsible for maintaining track, he steadily climbed the ranks to his current job as manager of signals and communications for Canadian National (CN), which merged with the Illinois Central in 1999. Read More »
David Applegarth

Field Placement Coordinator
Canadian Pacific
Portage, WI
9 years in the industry
20 years in the military
Base: San Diego, CA

A big part of David Applegarth's job as field placement coordinator for Canadian Pacific in Portage, WI, involves telling job recruits about what it takes to work for a railroad, and he always strives to give it to them straight. “You'll be working in all kinds of weather in all kinds of climates, and sometimes you'll be away from home,” he says, adding they'll get more than a job, they'll get a lifestyle. “And then I let them know they'll be paid very well for that lifestyle.” Read More »
Will Chevalier

Mechanical Foreman
BNSF Railway
Springfield, MO
3 years in the industry
6 years in military
Base: San Diego, CA

Never underestimate the power of advertising. After a six year stint with the Marines, Will Chevalier was ready for a change. While exploring his options, including an opportunity with the Federal Bureau of Investigations, he spotted a BNSF commercial on TV. “It said BNSF recruited and hired military vets big time,” he remembers, so he checked out their website. “I've always loved big equipment and heavy machinery, so when I saw what BNSF was all about they jumped to number one on my list.” Read More »
Ken Cox

Superintendent of Locomotive Reliability Center, St. Paul
Canadian Pacific
Prescott, WI
20 years in the industry
3 years in the military
Base: Fort Sill, OK

After 20 years in the freight rail industry, Ken Cox knows three things: winter is harder on locomotives than other seasons; North America's rail infrastructure is critical for the continued delivery of goods and supplies to people; and hiring military vets is a slam dunk for the railroads. For Cox, who manages Canadian Pacific's locomotive repair center in St. Paul, MN, the quality of vets hired is consistently high. Read More »
Chris Horman

Police Communications Officer
CSX
Jacksonville, FL
5 years in the industry
8 years in the military
Base: Camp LeJeune, NC

For a former Marine who's been unemployed, homeless and permanently altered by combat, Chris Horman is a remarkably happy man. A police communications officer in CSX's Jacksonville, FL dispatch center, Horman is responsible for ensuring the safety of CSX property, coordinating with 230 special agents to keep tracks clear of potential hazards. He works nights, sometimes days, while also earning a BA in supervisory management from Florida State College of Jacksonville. Read More »
Keith Jones

Manager of Terminal Operations
Union Pacific
North Little Rock, AR
6 years in the industry
8 years in the military
Base: Fort Chaffey, AR

Keith Jones, manager of terminal operations for Union Pacific (UP) in North Little Rock, AR, may be a first generation railroad employee, but he feels right at home working in freight rail. Enlisting in the army immediately following high school graduation, Jones spent eight years as an infantry soldier before leaving to join UP. The army taught him about discipline and hard work, paying for his degree in mathematics from the University of Arkansas along the way. Read More »
Kelly King

Director of Network Planning
Kansas City Southern
Kansas City, MO
10 months in the industry
5 years in the military
Base: Fort Drum, NY

As a 2005 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, West Point who later served in Iraq and South Korea, former army Captain Kelly King feels at home when working at Kansas City Southern (KCS) headquarters in Kansas City, MO. “I didn't know anything about the industry, but found it had a similar working environment to the military,” says King, now director of network planning for KCS. “The work is 24/7 and it's a close knit community. Everyone is responsible, everyone is important and everybody counts.” Read More »
Andrew Loyer

Assistant Track Supervisor
Norfolk Southern
Easton, PA
4 ½ years in the industry
15 years in the military
Base: New Castle, DE

People might be surprised to know why Andrew Loyer, an army reservist who flew Black Hawk helicopters, enjoys working for Norfolk Southern. As assistant track supervisor in Easton, PA, Loyer gets out of the office and into the elements where he is responsible for monitoring the integrity of 90 miles of track. At least four times a week, he performs visual inspections and takes electronic measurements of railroad track using advanced technology called track geometry cars. Read More »
Mark Major

Manager of Yard Operations
Union Pacific
Eugene, OR
1 year in the industry
18 years in the military
Base: Springfield, OR

It's clear that Mark Major, manager of yard operations for Union Pacific in Eugene, OR, loves serving his country. He spent a decade of active duty as a deep sea diver for the Navy then signed up with the Oregon Army National Guard more than eight years ago. After devoting five years to establishing a ballet academy with his wife, a former ballerina with the San Diego Ballet, it was Mark's turn to pursue a career. Read More »
Kevin Mohwinkel

Electrician
Canadian Pacific
St. Paul, MN
3 months in the industry
18 years in the military
Base: Minneapolis-St. Paul Air Reserve Station

By his junior year in high school, Kevin Mohwinkel knew he wanted to be an electrician in the U.S. Air Force. He'd taken electronics courses in vocational school and realized he enjoyed, and had an aptitude for, working on electrical equipment. That talent served him well throughout his 18 year career in aircraft maintenance. What he didn't know then, but knows now, is that a career in the freight rail industry both complements and expands on that talent and experience. Read More »
Val Ochoa

Terminal Trainmaster
Norfolk Southern
Ashtabula, OH
3 years in the industry
21 years in the military
Base: Naval Station Mayport, Jacksonville, FL

When Val Ochoa retired from the Navy after 21 years as a senior chief in charge of engineering on destroyers and other Navy warships, his family wanted him home. Estimating he'd been away on duty for roughly 70 percent of his military career, his wife and three children said it was family time. Without a college degree, Ochoa worried about what to do next. “I wondered where I would find the same kind of community and camaraderie I'd found in the military,” he says. Read More »
Todd Pollard

Assistant to the Vice President, Transportation
Norfolk Southern
Norfolk, VA
4 years in the industry
24 years in the military
Base: Naval Air Station, Oceana, VA

Ask Todd Pollard about similarities between freight rail and the military and his list is long: safety, reliability, punctuality, teamwork, diversity and getting the job done. All his life Pollard has loved trains—being around them, riding and watching them—so after retiring from a distinguished, 24-year navy career as an F-14 Tomcat pilot, it seemed natural that Pollard would follow his heart into his lifetime passion. Read More »
Chuck Pollock

Carman
Canadian Pacific
Huron, SD
4 months in the industry
9 years in military
Base: Huron, SD

Chuck Pollock, a carman for Canadian Pacific (CP) in Huron, SD, is really happy with life these days. For five years he worked as a machinist at a welding facility in his hometown, struggling to attain the lifestyle he envisioned. A reservist with the Army National Guard, he accepted every deployment opportunity he could, traveling to Iraq, Ireland, Germany and around the U.S. But life suddenly turned around four months ago when he accepted a carman position with CP, the same job his dad has held for 9 years. Read More »
Yowanda Russell

Signals and Communications Officer
Canadian National
Homewood, IL
3 years in the industry
4 years in the military
Base: Fort Bliss, TX

Yowanda Russell's job as a signals and communications officer for Canadian National (CN) requires her to think and act, fast. Responsible for all signals, track or crossing issues on the U.S. side of operations, Russell monitors problems, dispatching maintenance crews to fix them within CN's Southern Region. Russell likens her job to that of a 911 emergency call operator and responds quickly when a track or signal issue call comes in. Read More »
Eloy Sanchez

Superintendent
Kansas City Southern
Shreveport, LA
14 years in the industry
5 years in the military
Base: Fort Carson, CO

As a “military brat” and son of a Texas Mexican Railway railroad man, Eloy Sanchez has learned from the best while following in his father's footsteps. Enlisting in the army in 1991 after high school, Sanchez, a former military policeman who says he's honored to be a veteran, served five years before seeking his dad's advice on a long-term career. Opportunity, Sanchez's dad suggested, could be found working for railroads. Read More »
Vincent Terrill

Railroad Consultant
Self Employed
Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA
59 years in industry
26 months in the military
Base: Pacific Ocean Theatre

There's hardly a railroad job that Vince Terrill—who remembers when surfacing was done using a fork and sheer manpower—hasn’t done. Now a self-employed railroad consultant from Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA, Terrill knows that everything, from the kind of ballast used to the proper ties, relates to safety, and for him that's the only way to run a railroad. Read More »

All Faces of Freight Rail

Gary Adkins

Manager of Signals and Communications
Canadian National
Chicago, IL
17 years in the industry
6 years in the military
Base: Twenty-nine Palms, CA
David Applegarth

Field Placement Coordinator
Canadian Pacific
Portage, WI
9 years in the industry
20 years in the military
Base: San Diego, CA
Will Chevalier

Mechanical Foreman
BNSF Railway
Springfield, MO
3 years in the industry
6 years in military
Base: San Diego, CA
Ken Cox

Superintendent of Locomotive Reliability Center, St. Paul
Canadian Pacific
Prescott, WI
20 years in the industry
3 years in the military
Base: Fort Sill, OK
Chris Horman

Police Communications Officer
CSX
Jacksonville, FL
5 years in the industry
8 years in the military
Base: Camp LeJeune, NC
Keith Jones

Manager of Terminal Operations
Union Pacific
North Little Rock, AR
6 years in the industry
8 years in the military
Base: Fort Chaffey, AR
Kelly King

Director of Network Planning
Kansas City Southern
Kansas City, MO
10 months in the industry
5 years in the military
Base: Fort Drum, NY
Andrew Loyer

Assistant Track Supervisor
Norfolk Southern
Easton, PA
4 ½ years in the industry
15 years in the military
Base: New Castle, DE
Mark Major

Manager of Yard Operations
Union Pacific
Eugene, OR
1 year in the industry
18 years in the military
Base: Springfield, OR
Kevin Mohwinkel

Electrician
Canadian Pacific
St. Paul, MN
3 months in the industry
18 years in the military
Base: Minneapolis-St. Paul Air Reserve Station
Val Ochoa

Terminal Trainmaster
Norfolk Southern
Ashtabula, OH
3 years in the industry
21 years in the military
Base: Naval Station Mayport, Jacksonville, FL
Todd Pollard

Assistant to the Vice President, Transportation
Norfolk Southern
Norfolk, VA
4 years in the industry
24 years in the military
Base: Naval Air Station, Oceana, VA
Chuck Pollock

Carman
Canadian Pacific
Huron, SD
4 months in the industry
9 years in military
Base: Huron, SD
Yowanda Russell

Signals and Communications Officer
Canadian National
Homewood, IL
3 years in the industry
4 years in the military
Base: Fort Bliss, TX
Eloy Sanchez

Superintendent
Kansas City Southern
Shreveport, LA
14 years in the industry
5 years in the military
Base: Fort Carson, CO
Vincent Terrill

Railroad Consultant
Self Employed
Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA
59 years in industry
26 months in the military
Base: Pacific Ocean Theatre