Basic training for the United States military was like nothing Amy Barnes had ever experienced.
“Basic training tries to break you down, but once you get through that, you have such a sense of accomplishment,” she says. “That accomplishment was an important aspect of the training that I’ve carried with me my whole life.”
“I learned I can do anything I put my mind to.”
At INB, we’re proud to employ veterans and to support veterans’ causes.
And this Veterans Day, INB is expressing our heartfelt gratitude to all our military veterans who have selflessly served our country!
For Amy, assistant vice president of Wealth Strategies at INB, joining the military was intimidating but exciting. Her family was proud, and she felt like she was “living out an aspect of my childhood dreams to fly and serve my country, as my grandfather did.”
Learning Resilience, Time Management
Amy served as an Air Surveillance Technician (AST) in the 965th Air Surveillance Squadron at Tinker Air Force Base. One of her most vivid memories was participating in Survival School in Spokane, WA.
“They showed us how to navigate through the woods and mountains; we participated in a mock POW (prisoner of war) camp and interrogations, which was pretty scary,” she recalls. “But then you start thinking ‘if I can navigate that, what else can I do?’”
The independence and determination cultivated during her years in the military has translated well to Amy’s career at INB.
“In the military you learn how to create and cultivate relationships with people from a variety of different backgrounds, so I use that in my current profession as well. You also learn how to be professional and work with people at different levels,” she says. “Veterans have resilience and good time management skills. We’re able to bring the determination, structure and independence instilled in us into our careers.”
Career Delayed to Serve
For Andy Roselle, it’s “easy” to point to similarities between his military experience and career as a commercial lender at INB.
“The culture here at INB is so unique to any other organization I’ve been involved with; it’s very team-oriented, and there’s a tremendous feeling of empowerment to get the job done right and help people out,” he says.
Andy joined the U.S. Army in 1991 right after graduating from law school and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
“I had a law school professor who said something that stuck with me: that we are a military country, and we became a country because of our military strength. That made me want to serve my country,” he recalls. “In the Army, I learned a lot about how things work, and it’s definitely a humbling experience serving your country in that way.”
Andy was active for three years, mobilized for two more, and retired from the Army Reserves in 2018 after 28 years. He is grateful for INB’s support of his military service.
“INB has been tremendously supportive of me. Ever since 9/11 happened, I’ve been mobilized often as an officer in the reserves,” he says. “If I needed to take off extra time to fly somewhere and figure out issues, they supported that. There’s a lot of lip service to veterans and veterans’ affairs, but they walk the walk and talk the talk here at INB.”
Amy agreed that she’s proud to be part of an organization that supports veterans. Her time in the military, a rarity for women in the early 90s, changed her life.
“When you’re in training and then in wartime situations, you really understand the importance of military and global relations,” she says. “My time in the service has given me a nostalgic view on what it truly means to be a U.S. citizen.”