I left full-time Army exactly one year and two weeks ago. My new leadership team took me out for lunch to celebrate one year with Gripfast Consulting. It is cliché to say how quickly time has flown and even more cliché to talk about how grateful I am to be a part of an exciting and supportive company. But, after all, this is LinkedIn and I am a PM, not an author so… let the clichés fly!

I have found transitioning from Army is as challenging as advertised, and, without a supportive employer and workplace, I can see how this would be a mightily difficult process. Gripfast, have shown me exactly why they earned Gold Level Veteran Employer of Choice status. They have helped me to meet this challenge every step of the way. I never asked for it, that’s just how they do things. It turns out that sometimes you just get plain old lucky.

I’ve had the chance to work on three great projects in this past year – Supporting the Queensland Veterans’ Council with the ongoing management of ANZAC Square, a refurbishment of an office building for QUT Kelvin Grove, and most recently, the construction of the new Legacy House at Greenslopes. There are some wonderful people in the Army, and I’ve quickly learned that there are plenty of great ones on the ‘outside’ as well. I’ve been lucky to have met some great people and have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the teams on these projects.

So it is with grateful enthusiasm that I look towards 2025. I am keen to see the new projects I can become a part of and the new people I can meet and work with. I am also excited to pay forward my experience where I can to other Defence Members finding their feet in the civilian workforce. It strikes me that there is some enormous human capital coming from the Defence Force and employers may earn significant dividends from loyal and committed employees that have been supported through their first steps away from service.

Thanks to the whole crew at Gripfast, I am proud to be on your team and look forward to a great year in 2025!

Marty Zimmermann