Some military careers transfer perfectly to civilian life, and that was absolutely the case for Ron Broadbent, who simply went from one design-build organization to another.
Back in 2002, when he transitioned to civilian life, Broadbent left a career as a Navy Master Chief in the Seabees Construction Battalion to begin one as a project superintendent for Haskell.
As a current exclamation point, Broadbent is currently overseeing construction of a Marine Mart at Camp Pendleton, outside of San Diego. A Marine Mart is a one-stop shopping venue on a military base that includes a small exchange and spaces for private vendors as well as a barbershop and gas station. The project is slated for completion in late 2021.
Broadbent, 60, served in the first Gulf War. The Seabees were major participants in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, during which they built the camp for the Second Marine Expeditionary Force, which turned out to be the largest wartime multi-battalion Seabee project since the Vietnam War. The Seabees built six modules to house 2,500 troops. Each module included berthing, office space, showers, toilet facilities, a galley, roads and helicopter parking. Work was almost constant, suspended only for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The days consisted of 12-hour shifts in 120-degree heat.
“Shade? There was none. Zero. Just open desert for miles,” Broadbent said. “There was sand and dust everywhere,” he said.
During Operation Desert Shield, his unit and the Navy Seals were briefly stationed with Marines for a brief period and proved to be the northernmost American combat force. The Seabees were kept busy constructing roads, helicopter landing pads and other critical structures.
Broadbent was honored as the 1991 Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 74 Seabee of the Year and was subsequently promoted to Chief Petty Officer.
“I was just living up to the Seabee values,” he said. “‘We build, we fight’ and ‘Seabees can do’ are our two mottos.”
As expected, it’s been a perfect fit. Joining Haskell allowed Broadbent to stay in the Jacksonville area, which pleased Clarita, his wife of 33 years. However, three years ago, the couple moved to Boise, Idaho, to be close to their first grandchild.
“I was in the Navy for a total of 21 years,” he said. “My thought was to retire with a military career. I saw opportunities in civilian work. As a Navy Seabee I was responsible for construction and operations. That lines up perfectly with a design-build company like Haskell.”
Honoring Our Veterans
Haskell proudly employs veterans of the United States Armed Forces and currently has 68 team members who previously served our country. To commemorate Veterans Day, Haskell.com is spotlighting five of those team members. In addition, Haskell annually presents each veteran on our team with a special thank you gift.
As Haskell’s Workforce Development and Talent Acquisition teams continually evaluate and address the personnel needs, veterans play a greater role now than ever before.
“What we consistently find is that veterans are adaptable, dedicated professionals who understand that learning new skills is a part of every job,” said Dave Balz, who leads Workforce Development. “Whether someone has served on a submarine, as an on-the-ground war-fighter or supported through logistics and IT, they understand mission, structure, results and accountability. They also have a background of doing for the good of the team. These attributes fit hand in glove with our core values of Team, Excellence, Service and Trust.”
