Sally Gorrill’s career as an engineer in the U.S. Army has taken her to such places as Panama and the Dominican Republic, where she’s built medical clinics. Now, she’s interested in applying her skills toward a new field: forestry.
Gorrill, 30, a captain who’s spent seven years in the Army, is part of a new summer internship program for soldiers through the Veterans Conservation Corps in New Hampshire’s White Mountain National Forest. She’s getting training in land-management skills as she prepares to transition out of the service.
“It’s the closest I’ve been to home in about 12 years, so it feels great to be back,” said Gorrill, of Gray, Maine, who wants to spend her future outdoors.
So far, she and two other veterans in the program have learned how to maintain trails, keep away bears and fight forest fires. She’ll also be learning about hydrology, wildlife biology, law enforcement and other facets of the U.S. Forest Service, which partnered with the Department of Defense on the project.
Organizers hope the fledgling program will provide a model that can be applied nationally to assist more soldiers interested in land management.
Forest Ranger Jim Innes said the Forest Service nationwide is experiencing a lot of attrition through retirement. He said the agency has hired military veterans, who bring strong skills to the Forest Service.
“They bring a completely different way of looking at things to the agency,” he said. “There’s a huge benefit; we learn a lot from them, they learn a lot from us.”
