We sat down with Gavin Bish, PVM SkillBridge Follow and former corpsman for the Marine Corps and Navy, to chat about his military experience and transition to civilian life. From taking care of patients to becoming an Advanced Marksman Training Program instructor, Gavin's time in the military taught him how to work with people from diverse backgrounds, giving him the communication skillset he needs to effectively communicate with clients and colleagues. Read more below to learn about Gavin's transition to civilian like through the DOD SkillBridge Program.
I went to bootcamp in March of 2019 and then I went to my job school in April of 2019. I was a corpsman, so I was a medical asset for the Marine Corps and the Navy. We work on the EMT level in the civilian world. As a Hospital Corpsman, you assist in a wide range of departments and procedures such as dispensing vaccines, dental operations, assisting in emergency surgeries, and more. From there I worked at a hospital in an emergency room and the medical service ward taking care of patients.
I deployed twice in 2019 and 2020 to go help with the COVID relief operations in rural areas, primarily the Midwest. From there I came back and worked as a reserve liaison bringing on reservists to help with COVID efforts. This was at a time when COVID was crippling local societies, so we were having to bring in our reserve units.
After that I went over to field medical training school, or field medical training battalion as it's called. This is where I learned my medical skills for the field and overseas to work with the Marine Corp. I got orders to School of Infantry East out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina where I was a medical asset for the students going through their 12-week training pipelines for the infantry of the Marine Corps. While I was there, I was given the opportunity to become the first corpsman Advanced Marksman Training Program (AMTP) instructor. This meant I was not only able to teach Marines medicine, but their core skills as well, which was a rare thing for somebody in my field.
After being there for about a year and a half, I ended up joining leadership. I was one of four Hospital Corpsman Petty Officer 2nd Class (HM2) that ran the whole medical battalion. I primarily did things like pay, leave, all administrative paperwork, and communicated with leadership on the Marine Corps side to solidify standard operating procedures. During that time, I was able to assist in making changes to our, what we call HOTSOP, or Heat Related Injuries SOP. I helped change that for the entire East Coast, along with my doctor and two of my other fellow sailors that I worked with. I helped foster and train new sailors coming into that position until I landed this opportunity at PVM in October!
SkillBridge was an extremely important program that was sought after at my command. It was fostered there to assist sailors with transition to civilian life because we recognize that it's a difficult process for most.
I found this opportunity by searching through one of the DoD SkillBridge websites that I found. I reached out to Dana Hensley, PVM’s Head of Talent, and she reached back out almost instantly. I think we got the entire process done in about two weeks because my command was super supportive.
As far as transition to civilian life, I think in general having this opportunity, it shows me that it's much different than the military was, and it has given me the ability to learn how to be more of a civilian. And I think without it, I would be struggling on my own a little bit.
Coming into a digital services company like PVM, I initially was a bit worried—while I have a traditional education in computer science, I had never practiced it professionally before joining the military. However, PVM made the transition as smooth as possible by providing excellent training and opportunities that connected well with my military experience.
In the military, I worked with people from diverse backgrounds, which helped me develop a unique communication skill set. I learned to open up conversations and feel comfortable asking for help—a vital skill, as military tasks are often large and overwhelming. You also learn to manage time effectively and get comfortable being uncomfortable, which includes leaning on others when needed.
Additionally, my experience working with patients taught me how to actively listen and understand what someone is asking for—skills that directly translate to my role at PVM. Whether it's engaging with customers, translating their needs, or communicating those requirements to engineers and team leads, I’ve been able to apply those lessons effectively. These skills have been invaluable in my journey at PVM.
When deciding between two opportunities, what really drew me to PVM was the friendliness and open communication. The other company I was considering felt very closed off—they only responded to a few of my emails, and their training structure was vague and generic. In contrast, my interactions with PVM were engaging and supportive from the start. Dana checked in with me daily, and when she shared the training plan, it was incredibly detailed. That gave me a lot of confidence because I could see exactly what I was going to learn.
What stood out even more was the flexibility PVM offered. I had the chance to customize the training plan to align with my goals, which made me feel like PVM genuinely cared about its employees. That combined with my own research on the company proved that PVM would be a great company to be a part of.
Right now, I am working with the public health team. I’m absorbing how they do things, gaining knowledge of common practices, and providing input whenever I can while I complete my training. Sometimes it’s good to have an outside view and I’ve already helped give a different perspective in a couple of instances so far.
My personal goals are to complete as much education as I can to increase my own resume, but primarily focus on what PVM needs. That's been a big talking point between me and the team members I work with–what can I work on and learn that's going to productively produce a better resume for myself, but also allow PVM to utilize me to the fullest during my program.
I think the biggest one for me personally is the responsibilities portion. In the military we're constantly being accounted for or being asked, “what's the update?” versus when I came to PVM where I am given a task and am trusted to complete it because I was chosen for this role to do just that. At first, I was messaging Dana probably every hour, every two hours to let her know what I was working on, and she told me that I didn’t need to continue with those frequent updates.
Being given an autonomous work environment was very, very different and something I struggled with because I was still following my previously strict schedule. So, shifting my whole understanding of the expectations in this civilian work environment was a big adjustment for me.
It sounds kind of generic, but I think for people that are about to transition the best word is to relax, understand that it's not a high tempo operation where people's lives are on the line. Hopefully other opportunities, like this one with PVM, are going to be give you a more relaxed environment to learn at your own pace, to do things you're comfortable with while having support to help you accomplish it.
Looking back, I wish I had known this wasn’t just a simple internship. There’s so much more to it than just showing up to work—you’re given opportunities to grow personally and professionally. For example, when I mentioned I was interested in AWS, PVM added it to my training pipeline. That caught me off guard because, in the beginning, when they asked about my goals, I didn’t have an answer. My initial thought was, “I just want to work for you.” But they pushed me to think beyond that, which was eye-opening.
If I’d realized sooner that this wasn’t about being a number in a machine but about personal development, I would have adjusted my mindset earlier and hit the ground running much faster.
PVM was founded by Pat Mack, a retired Naval officer, to solve the problems his fellow sailors were facing on the front lines every day. As a veteran-owned business, PVM is not only committed to that same mission today, but also to providing employment to the military community. Mark’s story is one of many at PVM, and we are excited about bringing team members into PVM that have similar backgrounds. Our military fellowships program helps us prioritize hiring team members who have firsthand experience with our customers’ missions, and gives our fellows the opportunity to work with leading technologies and on work they are passionate about.
Learn more about PVM’s Military Fellowships program here.