Retired Army Officer Is County Veteran Service Officer
September 29, 2021 at 2:45 a.m.
Retired Army Officer Is County Veteran Service Officer
By David [email protected]
The County Commissioners unanimously approved Darryl McDowell for the position during their meeting Tuesday. He begins his duties Oct. 5, taking over from Rich Maron, who resigned effective Sept. 23 after about 13 years as the service officer and moved to Florida.
In introducing McDowell, Bob Conley, southern district commissioner, said they held interviews for the position and “if you were going to put together a list of 50 things that you would like an employee to have, this guy’s got 51 of them.”
After the Commissioners meeting, McDowell, 61, said he decided to apply for the job because, “It’s the matter of giving back. It’s a matter of continuing the opportunity to serve the individuals that have contributed to my success and others by honoring them in coming up with the benefits that they have earned, but are not sure how to apply for them, to assist them in getting that which they are entitled to.”
McDowell said both of his parents were in the service.
He was a combat engineer himself, having served a combination of enlisted and officer for 30 years. From 1983 to 1985, he was enlisted, and then served as an officer from 1988 until his retirement in November 2015.
As for his career before Tuesday, McDowell said, “Well, that’s an interesting piece. The whole gist of this, the education that I had, I didn’t realize it being a youngster, my father was medically retired from the military, and so the struggles he had in trying to get his benefits and being 100% disabled – which is clear on a lot of things – he still had challenges. And then as I moved on and I retired, I’m still running in some of those same little challenges. So, when you look at it from a big picture standpoint is, if there’s anything that I can do to kind of close the loop to shorten the time that it takes to process that paperwork – meaning, you’ve got to have good organization, you’ve got to have the paperwork, you’ve got to have the valid facts – if there’s anything I can do to shorten that, it just takes a lot of stress off the veteran and that’s what I want to accomplish.”
McDowell did not grow up in the Kosciusko County area. His wife, Kathy, has relatives here.
“When we went into this active duty journey, there was a clause in there, if you may, she picks the place where we retire. So she chose to be up here to retire. It’s not a matter of me looking for a job. I’ll find one where I’m needed. And, again, this is the only kind of thing I was looking for, either VA, emergency management realm. I am blessed to be able to do this. I’m glad to be able to have the opportunity.”
He has an associate’s degree in surveying technology and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering technology. He is working on his master’s degree in project and operational management.
He has two children. His daughter has moved to another state, and his son has been working in Georgia for some time.
McDowell said he plans to continue the Veteran of the Month recognitions at the Commissioners’ meetings because it is a good opportunity to “recognize the individuals within our county.” He will have to be trained for the service officer job for three to four weeks by Veterans Affairs before he can go “solo” in the position.
“I’m just glad to have the opportunity to serve and then I will grow as I deal with each situation, trying to figure out what the best way to obtain the benefits they’re looking for, provided that we have all the facts, and we can look together to kind of eliminate some of the anxiety and stress of going in alone to try to get” benefits, he said.
The County Commissioners unanimously approved Darryl McDowell for the position during their meeting Tuesday. He begins his duties Oct. 5, taking over from Rich Maron, who resigned effective Sept. 23 after about 13 years as the service officer and moved to Florida.
In introducing McDowell, Bob Conley, southern district commissioner, said they held interviews for the position and “if you were going to put together a list of 50 things that you would like an employee to have, this guy’s got 51 of them.”
After the Commissioners meeting, McDowell, 61, said he decided to apply for the job because, “It’s the matter of giving back. It’s a matter of continuing the opportunity to serve the individuals that have contributed to my success and others by honoring them in coming up with the benefits that they have earned, but are not sure how to apply for them, to assist them in getting that which they are entitled to.”
McDowell said both of his parents were in the service.
He was a combat engineer himself, having served a combination of enlisted and officer for 30 years. From 1983 to 1985, he was enlisted, and then served as an officer from 1988 until his retirement in November 2015.
As for his career before Tuesday, McDowell said, “Well, that’s an interesting piece. The whole gist of this, the education that I had, I didn’t realize it being a youngster, my father was medically retired from the military, and so the struggles he had in trying to get his benefits and being 100% disabled – which is clear on a lot of things – he still had challenges. And then as I moved on and I retired, I’m still running in some of those same little challenges. So, when you look at it from a big picture standpoint is, if there’s anything that I can do to kind of close the loop to shorten the time that it takes to process that paperwork – meaning, you’ve got to have good organization, you’ve got to have the paperwork, you’ve got to have the valid facts – if there’s anything I can do to shorten that, it just takes a lot of stress off the veteran and that’s what I want to accomplish.”
McDowell did not grow up in the Kosciusko County area. His wife, Kathy, has relatives here.
“When we went into this active duty journey, there was a clause in there, if you may, she picks the place where we retire. So she chose to be up here to retire. It’s not a matter of me looking for a job. I’ll find one where I’m needed. And, again, this is the only kind of thing I was looking for, either VA, emergency management realm. I am blessed to be able to do this. I’m glad to be able to have the opportunity.”
He has an associate’s degree in surveying technology and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering technology. He is working on his master’s degree in project and operational management.
He has two children. His daughter has moved to another state, and his son has been working in Georgia for some time.
McDowell said he plans to continue the Veteran of the Month recognitions at the Commissioners’ meetings because it is a good opportunity to “recognize the individuals within our county.” He will have to be trained for the service officer job for three to four weeks by Veterans Affairs before he can go “solo” in the position.
“I’m just glad to have the opportunity to serve and then I will grow as I deal with each situation, trying to figure out what the best way to obtain the benefits they’re looking for, provided that we have all the facts, and we can look together to kind of eliminate some of the anxiety and stress of going in alone to try to get” benefits, he said.
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