MSG Carlos Espada completes 60-day SkillBridge internship with the Europe District | Article

Contrary to popular belief, internships are not just for college students.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District recently hosted Master Sgt. Carlos Espada for a 60-day SkillBridge internship as a Contract Specialist. This is the latest of several SkillBridge interns the district has hosted over the years.

Espada began his military career in 2006 as a financial technician. After a few years, he reclassed to a contracting Military Occupational Specialty (MOS). In his most recent position, Espada served as a Quality Assurance Specialist with the 409th Contracting Support Brigade in Kaiserslautern, Germany.

His experience in contracting, purchasing and budgets served him well over the course of his military career. However, there are nuances between contracting in the military and contracting in the civilian workforce. As Espada prepared to retire from military service, he pursued a SkillBridge internship to broaden his knowledge of the civilian side of the field.

The DoW SkillBridge Program helps service members at the end of their military careers find civilian job opportunities that match their training and work experience. SkillBridge internships give service members a bit of job experience outside the military, whether with a government agency or with a company in the private sector.

Service members who want an internship with the program need to coordinate with the Transitional Assistance Program at their installation, as well as with the organization or agency they are interested in interning with. Espada reached out to more than one organization but ultimately gravitated towards the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“I’d done about 12 years of being in contracting, the first six years in construction work. USACE is known for their construction, so that interested me,” Espada said.

Espada secured a 60-day SkillBridge internship as a contract specialist with the USACE Europe District, a good fit for his military work experience. He arrived at the start of February and began working on a team within the district contracting branch, performing tasks at different stages of the contract life cycle. Espada learned from his civilian contract specialist counterparts how to work the construction, architecture and engineering requirements that exist within construction contracting.

“Honestly what I enjoyed and also was surprised by was the number of subject matter experts,” Espada said. “Biologists, geologists, engineers, project management professionals… it truly intrigued me how many subject matter experts are involved.”

The experience was also a boon to the district. Internships like this lead to the cross-pollination of ideas, allowing everyone involved to learn something new.

“Master Sgt Espada is not new to contracting but he is new to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers construction contracting. What we were able to do is integrate some of the decades of experience that he brought to this organization from his outside exposure and utilize some of that to educate some of our new civilian personnel within the team,” said Maj. Adam Shevock, contracting officer for the district.

As he leaves military service, Espada says he hopes to stay in Germany. Though, if he can’t find a position, he plans to return to Florida. Wherever he goes, he will have the experiences he gained from his short time with the district.

To anyone transitioning out of military service, Espada recommends asking about SkillBridge.

“Take advantage of it,” Espada said. “It puts you on the right train to refine your skills to assist with obtaining employment in the government or in the private sector. Overall, it’s a good transition tool.”

Any service member interested in a SkillBridge internship with Europe District can email DLL-CENAU-PA@usace.army.mil.