In January 1984 Dave Mooty, a Soldier fresh out of basic training, arrived at Fort Campbell. He was in the infantry and his assigned unit was 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, which would become 3rd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment in 1985.

During his time in the Army he would earn the Air Assault Badge, an Army Commendation Medal, two Army Achievement Medals and the Good Conduct Medal. His unit deployed as part of the Multinational Force and Observers as a peacekeeping force in the Sinai Peninsula in July 1985. In December 1985 the unit rotated home to Fort Campbell.

The flight that Mooty was supposed to be on crashed at Gander, Newfoundland in Canada, killing everyone on board.

“I had switched places with Scott Thompson,” Mooty said. “Our battalion commander, Col. Jeffcoat, was on the plane, but our battalion XO [executive officer] called a mandatory formation. We all met up and he started to speak and we couldn’t hear him and so he just told us all to huddle up around him, which was a little bit different. Then when he told us about it, it was a very significant life event.”

Mooty said that nearly every Soldier on that deployment who survived left the military, including the first sergeant, despite the fact “Fort Campbell did everything they could within their power to honor everyone and make it as respectful as they possibly could and they still do today.”

After completing a deployment to Grenada and missions at Fort Drum, New York, and Norfolk, Virginia, his time in the military ended in October 1986.

“All of my worldly possessions fit in the backseat of my Camaro. I drove home and I started going to the local community college on the Army College Fund,” Mooty said. “So I started going to the local community college to become a technician and over half way through me getting my degree I started at General Motors in January of 1988 as a co-op student, as a technician.

Fast forward 28 years, and he is now the Senior Operations Manager Engine, Transmission, Hybrid and Component Test Labs at GM Powertrain, which will soon change its name to GM Propulsion Systems. Though to his employees he is just Dave. Despite his Army experiences he still looks backs on his time in the military with pride. He enjoyed serving and being part of a team.

“I liked deploying with my unit,” Mooty said “I liked being at Fort Campbell.”

So Mooty decided to give back to the military and he reached out to several military installations about hiring veterans and Fort Campbell responded. Fort Campbell and GM Powertrain have built a strong partnership that helps transitioning Soldiers find jobs and provides GM Powertrain with quality employees.

“The relationship between Fort Campbell and us has been one that continues to grow and mature,” Mooty said. “Part of the reason I like Fort Campbell and not just because I’m a veteran, even when I was in, Soldiers down there work very hard in the present day to protect our future while always honoring our past and I will always admire that about them.”

Additionally, because he hires based on character Fort Campbell is a great recruitment spot for his company.

“Our mission is to ensure we have world class propulsion systems in all of our vehicles and when I say propulsion systems ... we don’t only test traditional gas engines and transmissions. we have hybrids, fuel cell, electrification,” Mooty said. “We test all cutting edge technologies to make sure they are safe and to make sure they are of the highest quality for all of our vehicles.”

Mooty is keen to recruit automotive and aviation mechanics, but also will recruit infantry if they can demonstrate they would make a quality hire. He said character and motivation are the No. 1 qualities that he is seeking in a new hire.

“Because we are so advanced in our testing and the products we test, I have to hire for character because I have to teach everything anyway,” Mooty said. “Whether they’ve been coming right out of college or they’re coming right out of the Army, I have to teach all the technology anyway because it’s nothing they’ve seen before.”

One thing that veterans bring to his organization is the ability to follow standard operating procedures, to work as a team and to use leadership skills they learned in the military.

“The average person we hire no matter the position, the most critical thing they can do on any given day is follow their standard operating procedures because we have processes and procedures in place that will ensure their success if they’re followed,” Mooty said. “If I’m working on an engine that won’t hit the market for another four or five years, the standard operating procedures haven’t been developed on that but there is a method and way that we do our work that has to be followed. If it’s a prototype engine that’s extremely expensive, I want to make sure we’re following our standard operating procedures to ensure that everything is successful and we don’t butcher the engine or transmission.”

He said technicians might think they are saving time, but if they skip a step, it could destroy an expensive prototype. Besides following SOPs, Mooty said veterans excel in remaining calm even in high stress situations. They also are phenomenal at and overcome obstacles they encounter

“When we have a high pressure job come through most of the veterans don’t even bat an eye,” Mooty said. “They say if no one is shooting at me this is easy.”

Because of the success they had with the majority of the veterans they’ve hired GM Powertrain has changed its policy to offer jobs at the job fair. This allows them to secure great candidates and Soldiers really respond positively to the job offers.

To make sure they hire the best candidates from job fairs, like Fort Campbell’s upcoming spring job fair which is from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. April 6-7 at Cole Park Commons, GM Powertrain always has a veteran present who can speak the same language as the transitioning Solders. Matt Holstege, a former captain and Rakkasan who transitioned in August, will be representing the company at this job fair.

Mooty is glad to give back to the Army because of his experience both in the military as a veteran and as an employer. He says all Fort Campbell does to help Soldiers and veterans – from preparing transitioning Soldiers to enter the civilian workforce to continuing to honor the past – has impressed him, especially all the unit and the post did to honor the 30th anniversary of the Gander crash.

“The Soldiers of today have no idea what the memorial service every December means to me, but it means the world to me,” Mooty said. “It means the world to a lot of people I served with and their Family members.”