When John Shrieves was 16, he made a decision that would affect the rest of his life. He obtained his parents’ signatures, packed his bags, and enlisted in the U.S. Navy, kicking off a long career and diving into the life that would set the stage for his future.
“My dad was a cop,” said Shrieves, Vice President of Financial Excellence at Intrepid USA Healthcare Services. “We didn’t make a lot of money in the house, and it was hard. They couldn’t send me to college, but I was like, I’ll get there.”
Within four years, Shrieves was discharged and used his veterans benefits to earn his bachelor’s degree in accounting at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland. With degree in hand, he returned to the Navy as an officer and embarked on a fulfilling 24-year career, retiring as a lieutenant commander in 2000.
“My whole family was in the military – my dad, my uncles, everybody was in the military someplace,” Shrieves said.
He jokes that as his family’s first military officer, he outranked them all.
July 25 is National Hire a Veteran Day. Shrieves is grateful for the opportunities he had in the military, as well as those he found after. Reflecting on his service, he is also mindful of the big contributions veterans make at all levels of business.
“When I start a job, I’m very dedicated because of that military background and I don’t really look to jump jobs,” Shrieves said. “I’m looking for consistency.”
It’s these same qualities that make veterans good employees, he said. “I would love to add more military people to Intrepid. We can be a little bit rougher at times on people, but it’s because I think we all expect more because of what we’ve gone through during our service. We try to uphold some of the same values we had in the military.”
He said this is across branches of service and across generations.
“At Intrepid, we do a lot of work with the VA and a lot of our staff are either partners with someone with the military or were part of the military themselves. When you go out to a veteran’s home, you respect that, and you have good stories to tell each other. It puts the patients at ease and helps them work through whatever they’re trying to get through.”
Shrieves went from lieutenant commander in the Navy to Omniflight Helicopters, a popular helicopter ambulance transportation company. Before ultimately joining Intrepid USA, Shrieves also worked with The Expo Group – an exhibition and events organization.
But some of his greatest career achievements are from his time in the Navy.
“As an officer, I went into a branch called supply and became a supply officer. The highlight of my career was in the logistics community working with cargo handling battalions in Virginia,” Shrieves said. “That’s where I got all my awards.”
As the Officer in Charge for the Cargo Handling Battalion Thirteen (NCHB-13), he oversaw the flexible support of logistics in the form of transportation and supply support globally. During tours with NCHB-13, Shrieves was awarded two Naval Achievement Medals and the Battle “E” Medal for best battalion type in fiscal year 1996. He also received the prestigious award of Junior Officer of the Year for NAVELSF in fiscal year 1995, and the Navy Commendation Medal for superior operational performance in support of active-duty commands worldwide.
Choosing to remain active in the community, he continues to support the military with contributions to the Marine Corps College Education Fund and has no plans to stop.
“I knew what I was getting into,” Shrieves said. “I always wanted to be an officer. I just had to figure out the best way to do it.”
Are you a veteran who is interested in joining the Intrepid USA Care Team? Please visit the Careers Page to learn more about the company culture and view available openings.
