Bracy Taylor

Experience

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  US Army

  Sept 1989 - Jun 1997

  Marksman Observer/Squad Leader

  Completed service with an Honorable Discharge and a career highlighted by advancement to various management positions in support of Unconventional Warfare & Military Police Operations.

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  United States Air Force

  Jul 2000 - Nov 2014

  Currently directing operations for a Federally Accredited Course and other training facility that trained Air Force, Army, and Marine Mid-level Managers and Supervisors in Combat Operations, Anti-Terrorism and Nuclear Security. Supervised up to 180 instructors and provided instruction for 5,500 students per year and successfully . . .Managed over $78 million in resources and coordinated activities for four geographically separated training areas.Conducted extensive course review and implemented major course revisions to update training/course materials with up-to-date information on security, combat tactics, anti-terrorism, and asset protection.Functioned as Project Manager for a $1.2 million Combat Leader course revision – overhauled course materials and developed a training program that conceptualized the current battlefield vision.Functioned as PROGRAM SUPERINTENDENT during the six-week absence of the incumbent.Played a key role in the training program receiving Accreditation as a Certified Academy by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.Recognized as Manager of the Year in 2008 and Training Unit Senior Manager of the Year in 2010. Show less Directed training for the Basic Officer and Combat Leaders Course and supervised a team of 13 instructors. Managed day-to-day operations that included control for $2.5 million in equipment and operations of 10 geographically separated training areas. Successfully . . .• Provided senior management with consulting and guidance in areas related to training initiatives, instructor evaluations, and effectiveness of curriculum.• Led several healthcare-related training evaluation programs and reduced medical team response time by 30%. Show less Successfully updated and managed delivery of the Command and Control Course administered to senior managers and Foreign Officers. Additionally managed delivery of the Security Forces Course for Air Force active duty, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve members.• Provided realistic scenarios that optimized training and received numerous favorable comments from attendees.• Maintained an excellent record of performance in safety for all course functions.• Played a key role in the organization receiving formal recognition as Technical Training Unit of the Year and Ground Safety Team of Distinction Award.• Enhanced existing curriculum weapons deployment used for facility security. Created personalized lesson plans to augment the existing curriculum. Show less Supervised a team of 41 security personnel who provided law enforcement protection, facility security, access control, traffic control, and flightline security. Successfully . . .• Functioned as Team Leader for several Phoenix Raven Program missions that provided security for military transport aircraft and personnel transiting high terrorist and criminal threat areas, as well as support for Special Operations Forces.  Diverse mission profiles included hostile airfields in Colombia and transport missions from Turkey to Iraq; dignitary visits to Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Germany; and support for the tsunami relief that involved the movement of 3,470 tons of cargo to Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.• Conducted formal security training during operations in Iraqi that focused on close boundary protection, tactics, and reaction to hostile fire.• Provided Close Quarter Protection to various personnel during a Presidential visit to China as well as visits by the Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense to Turkey.• Received formal recognition as Gold Medal Winner during a combat tactics challenge, as well a numerous Outstanding Ratings during annual unit performance evaluations. Show less Conducted onsite visits to various organizations to evaluate security forces performance. Prepared comprehensive reports for senior management review outlining deficiencies with recommendations for improvements in training and team member qualifications. • Selected as one of the first Transport Support Team Members to participate in Iraqi Freedom and successfully established airfield operations in Kirkuk, Iraq.• Set up and managed asset security and protection programs and effectively prevented local nationals from looting military assets. Show less

  • Superintendent

    Sept 2011 - Nov 2014

  • Unit Manager

    May 2009 - Sept 2011

  • Course Supervisor

    Sept 2006 - May 2009

  • Security Unit Manager

    Jul 2002 - Sept 2006

  • Quality Control Evaluator

    Jul 2000 - Jun 2002
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  VA

  Oct 2014 - Jun 2015

  VA Benefits Advisor at Yorktown Systems Group

  Support of implementing the Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) to Hire Heroes Act and Veterans Employment Initiative (VEI) on behalf of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).Responsible for the effective delivery of standardized courses of instruction that include but are not limited to six hour classes on Veterans Administration benefits. Additionally, I was trained and qualified to facilitate a sixteen-hour course on pursuing careers after transition. Successfully complete a two week standards-based VA Benefits Briefer Basic Training Course that includes successfully passing a written and practical application test before being considered fully qualified to perform in this position. Demonstrated the ability to use a wide range of adult learning and group facilitation techniques to include interactive/collaborative training sessions, and other appropriate group processes. Created and sustain a participatory environment while guiding Service members/dependents to achieve learning objectives and appropriate/useful outcomes. Maintained fluency on all VA benefits and programs. Provided follow-up assistance on a case by case basis to service members and family, ensuring optimal outcomes. Coordinated with the Department of Economic Opportunity personnel for information on Veterans Job Fairs. Traveled to, setup and managed operations under strict time constraints and with limited assets. Show less

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  Recruit Veterans

  Jun 2015 - Feb 2021

  PROGRAM MANAGER - Recruit Veterans- Duties: Manage all personnel across multiple contracts covering ten (10) states and twenty-two (22) locations with over 110 employees. Ensure contract standards and contract support for NASA, Boeing, City of Austin, DOD and Department of Veterans Affairs. As the Program Manager for Recruit Veterans I help recruit, place and maintain contracts filled by Veterans, Spouses and Dependents of Service Members. The vast opportunities we service are not limited to but currently consist of Engineers assigned to Orion Space Capsules, Space X Dragon II and the International Space Station, Boeing, DOD, Department of Veterans Affairs and City of Austin. Manage 78 Veterans Affairs Benefits Advisors across the Central US. Collected and reported on daily events and activities to include daily event reports, weekly and monthly status reports, weekly communications, and teleconferences with Corporate leadership. Ensure contract specifications are maintained and transition smoothly from one project to the other. Coordinate and monitor the scheduling, pricing, and technical performance of company programs. Negotiate contracts and contractual changes and coordinate preparation of proposals, plans, specifications, and financial conditions of contracts. Ensure adherence to master plans and schedules, develops solutions to program problems, and directs work of employees assigned to program from various departments. Transition new contracts: interview potential employees, hire new employees, terminate/lay-off employees as required; work labor relations and union agreements. Oversee contract terms are met and followed as expected. Partner with internal leadership team to ensure program compliance, legal guidance and personnel concerns, as well as establish survey questionnaire to determine morale and minimize turnover. Communicate status update on financial flow on projects and request additional funds to maintain continuous workflow without interruption. Show less Managed logistics requirements for three Large Installations and eight itinerant locations. Provided coverage for forty six counties stretching across the southern half of Texas. Including building space, facility access, classroom materials, office supplies, computers and office equipment. Collected and reported on day-to-day events and activities to include daily event reports, weekly and monthly status reports, weekly communications and teleconferences with leadership. Upload pre-trip requests and subsequent post-trip reports for eight personnel. Monitor operations and report performance or quality assurance issues to the operation chain. Fostered and maintained a good working relationship with base TAP Manager, VSO’s and VARO’s. Identified, scheduled and conducted outreach events to increase awareness of the VA transition program. Provided mentorship and coaching to the VA Benefits Advisors at assigned locations. In addition to mentorship, Site Leads will be responsible for conducting ongoing quality evaluations of the VA Benefits Advisors to assist with maintaining a high quality and effective VA transition program. A Site Lead is responsible for daily oversight and local-level management of personnel on installation. I was responsible for not only VA Benefits Briefings but the daily operations of the site. Assign personnel to various events to ensure 100% coverage of all Service requests for group and individual VA services. Responsible for execution of contract-related daily operations of the sites. Oversaw the delivery of all VA transition and Military life Cycle events at assigned itinerant locations, which includes one Congressionally Mandated benefits class, one Career Technical Training Track, Capstone events, Hiring events and Military Life Cycle events. Liaised with Military Managers, Command Leadership to ensure necessary equipment is in place to facilitate classes. Acted as an independent facilitator of problem solving at all assigned locations. Show less

  • Program Manager

    Feb 2020 - Feb 2021

  • Site Lead

    Jun 2015 - Feb 2020
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  United States Air Force

  Aug 2023 - now

  Course Chief

  Manage 9 Instructors and 550 Students annually.