On a sunny May morning, Alcatraz Island in San Francisco was, as usual, full of tourists exploring the concrete structures and learning the colorful history of the former prison. But for seven of them, the tour would not end until August. They were active-duty U.S. military members who would over the next 12 weeks learn about, and potentially pursue, construction careers.

Cody Hartman, a senior airman in the U.S. Air Force, did just that. According to the Concrete Preservation Institute (CPI) Foundation, which heads the program, he accepted an offer at the end of this month from Hensel Phelps as a field engineer.

“Three of our other summer session participants have had initial interviews with Turner Construction and are anticipating scheduling follow-up calls in the near future,” says Michael Farris, CPI Foundation vice president and chief relationship officer. “Another of our summer session participants has been accepted in an electrical union.”

According to CPI, some 200-250,000 service members leave the military each year, many of whom are searching for a career in the civilian world; CPI works with active duty personnel early in their service-to-civilian transition. 

Hartman learned about CPI through the U.S. Dept. of Defense’s SkillBridge program, he said during an interview on the first day of the program. “It really struck my eye — working on Alcatraz doing concrete preservation work,” he said. “It's something that's very unique and a great opportunity to do something a little bit different than brand-new construction. A main emphasis of the program is the networking capabilities. So they train you up, and that networking aspect is to get you a career afterwards.”

The CPI Foundation is a non-profit partnering with the department and the U.S. National Park Service, training active-duty military service members by having them help repair landmark structures in Alcatraz Island and the Pearl Harbor National Memorial in Hawaii, and connecting them with construction companies nationwide. 

Tanya Komas, foundation CEO, was a professor at Chico State University in California teaching construction industry management. She recalls that in 2010, when the industry was still reeling from the Great Recession, “nobody was hiring” construction interns. But a connection with the park service enabled her to bring her students to Alcatraz Island, with 13 acres of aging concrete structures.

“By 2013, we were running this program on Alcatraz Island,” she says. “I decided to establish it full-time for veterans.” In 2015, the defense department asked her to help it fulfill a Congressional charge:  To do a better job with military transitions back into civilian careers.

In 2016, the program expanded to the Pearl Harbor memorial. The park service system has $12 billion in needed repairs to its infrastructure, according tothe foundation.

Numerous old concrete structures on Alcatraz Island provide a construction training ground for CPI Foundation trainees. Photo by Aileen Cho/ENR

Hensel Phelps got involved with the program after meeting trainees at Pearl Harbor in 2019, says Robert DeSpain, general superintendent for Southern California. “I found it to be an energizing organization that offers a lot for veterans that are coming into the last months of active duty,” he says, adding that the contractor has hired several.

The trainees in the program retain their military pay and GI Bill benefits while receiving free housing, transportation and equipment. “There's not a lot of programs that are completely free,” said Isaac Williams, a U.S. Marine lance corporal, adding that “the team is real small, so it's more focused.”

Jacob Rodriguez, who specialized in geospatial intelligence in the U.S. Army, said during the first day that he wants to get an electrician job. “They’re really setting me up for success with helping out with the equipment payments and going for the interviews, even helping with our resumes.”

Zachary SanJose, a Marine infantryman, echoed that sentiment: “One thing I think that is pretty cool about this company is the networking capabilities, understanding that we come from no prior experience, like real construction work or the whole world. For them to open the door, guide us and get us to places that we never knew was possible because of the networking capabilities is a pretty cool thing.”

Corey Asato, who specialized in communications for the U.S. Navy, noted that while the program emphasizes concrete, it shows trainees the broader construction opportunities.  “As far as the concrete and construction industry, there have more of a full-spectrum approach to it. So we're seeing how we can translate our military skills” to construction careers.

Jay Gawronski, an Army sergeant 1^st class, added: “One of the things that definitely interested me in the program was that you don't have to be the guy actually doing the manual labor. There's foremen, there's superintendents, all kinds of positions, whether you want to be in web design for a construction company or accounting or selling products … whatever you want to do, there's definitely a position for you.”

Charles Porter, an infantry rifleman in the Marines who threw grenades, appreciated the historic aspect of preservation. “Personally, I feel that there's a lot of benefit to what you can do as a construction worker, especially repairing old historic sites. There's a story behind them, and the job is to preserve the story.”