JANUARY 28, 2025 – The U.S. Army Garrison Presidio of Monterey Employment Readiness Program helps Monterey area military dependents secure a job opportunity while they are stationed in the area.
Finding employment can be a significant challenge for military spouses and dependents due to the unique demands of military life. Frequent relocations, sometimes with little notice, can disrupt their careers and make it difficult to establish a stable work history. Military spouses often struggle to find employment that matches their skills and experience, leading to underemployment or unemployment.
The Army ERP is a comprehensive initiative designed to support military spouses, transitioning service members and veterans in their pursuit for employment.
“My role is to provide people with the opportunity to achieve their career and educational goals,” said Mark Maynard-Cabrera, PoM’s ERP program manager. “One of my main focuses is our military spouses. When it comes to employment and our labor force, our military spouses are highly underserved. Military spouses are part of the backbone of our United States forces, and the responsibilities that they face as a spouse include being able to contribute to the workforce.”
ERP aims to solve this problem by providing a range of resources and services to help individuals achieve their career goals. This includes resume-building assistance, interview preparation, mock interviews and job placement services.
“We work with Monterey County government extensively,” said Maynard-Cabrera. “We usually get job openings before they are even released to the public. I also work with Monterey Peninsula Unified School District if they are looking for teaching roles and even substitute roles, which are popular due to their level of flexibility.”
Military spouses are also eligible to apply to federal jobs non-competitively through the military spouse hiring authority. With the relatively high amount of federal agencies in the Monterey area, including PoM, the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center and the Naval Postgraduate School, this method of hiring has become increasingly popular with spouses in the area.
“Being a Department of Defense civilian employee has been a huge boost for my career,” said Kate Ragains, a PoM budget analyst and military spouse. “The unique opportunities to work in a mission-focused environment and the stability of federal employment has allowed me to develop transferable skills while staying connected with the military community.”
The military spouse hiring authority enables a hiring manager to appoint a military spouse who meets certain criteria to any position in the competitive service for which he or she is qualified. This hiring authority is available to spouses of a service member on active duty, spouses of service members who incurred a 100% disability because of the service member’s active-duty service and spouses of service members killed while on active duty.
“As a military spouse, it is challenging to maintain a career while moving frequently but working with the DoD has helped me adapt and grow with well-rounded skills, which makes me more competitive in my career,” said Ragains, who has been a DoD civilian employee since 2016. “I would recommend working at the Presidio of Monterey to other military spouses. It’s a supportive environment where you can connect with the military community and be part of a team that’s making a difference for service members and their families.
Maynard-Cabrera also uses his relationships with other PoM organizations for the benefit of his clients, including the Financial Readiness Program, which is designed to improve financial literacy among service members and their dependents, as well as the Army Education Center, which helps servicemembers and dependents continue their education.
ERP is one of the many garrison programs that exemplifies the Army Installation Management Command and PoM mission to “support the people we serve.” ERP is designed to help military spouses and families find a role in their communities and integrate through employment opportunities. Finding that role will improve morale and overall quality of life among families, while also providing an additional income for families while they are stationed in a high cost of living area like Monterey.
PoM’s Employment Readiness Program is part of the Army Community Service directorate. For more information on ERP you can visit them in person at the General Stilwell Community Center, located at 4260 Gigling Road, Seaside. You can also visit their website here: https://presidio.armymwr.com/programs/acs/employment-readiness-program.
Story by John Goulette
U.S. Army Garrison Presidio of Monterey