It’s nice to be in a trade where people genuinely care about you and your safety and wellbeing. I guess that’s brotherhood. That’s why we’re here. That’s why we came together.
Julian Hernandez with his dog, Tank
When Julian Hernandez left the U.S. Army in 2021, he faced the same uncertainty many service members experience when they transition from military to civilian life. Helmets to Hardhats, a program dedicated to helping veterans enter the building trades, eased Hernandez into a new life in the Boilermakers union.
“A lot of people struggle with getting out because they’re unsure what they want to do or if they’re going to make it,” Hernandez said, noting it’s hard to give up a steady salary for the unknown.
He served three and a half years as a Specialist E4, stationed at Fort Bragg as a military police officer. Though his unit remained on base, the training cycles throughout his service were rigorous to prepare for potential deployment.
As his service was nearing its end, he wasn’t sure which direction to take until a friend mentioned his father was a welder working in the skilled trades. Hernandez thought that it sounded inviting, so he used his GI Bill to enroll in welding school. It was there he met an instructor, a retired Boilermaker, who introduced him to the union.
That connection proved pivotal. In early 2023, with the support of Helmets to Hardhats, Hernandez joined Boilermakers Local 454 (Chattanooga, Tennessee). He also met his wife in welding school. She also indentured into the union and is currently working as a Boilermaker.
“H2H helped me get to the top of the indenture list,” Hernandez explained. “Thanks to the program, I was able to bypass months of waiting and get started in the union right away.”
Moving up the timetable is a service Helmets to Hardhats provides for military veterans.
From there, Hernandez hit the ground running. He completed his apprenticeship in just two and a half years, instead of the standard four. By doubling up on third- and fourth-year classes, he graduated early and is already setting his sights on learning enough to take on field leadership roles.
“I think that the people who you work under can make you or break you if you’re on a jobsite,” he said. “I want to inspire confidence in the people under me.”
The transition from military life to civilian work was not without challenges. “Finances were tough. You go from a steady income and benefits to stepping into the unknown. And you miss the community you built in the service,” Hernandez said. “But the Boilermakers have given me everything I have in my life to this point: good pay, skills, travel opportunities and the ability to take time off—it’s all there.”
Hernandez also found camaraderie in the Boilermakers that rivals, and in some ways surpasses, the brotherhood he experienced in uniform.
“It’s more camaraderie than the military in some ways,” he said. “We take up for people who are sick or in distress. It’s nice to be in a trade where people genuinely care about you and your safety and wellbeing. I guess that’s brotherhood. That’s why we’re here. That’s why we came together.”
For other veterans considering the trades, Hernandez has simple advice: “Don’t let fear get to you. It’s scary to throw away your livelihood for a chance to find something else. But people join the military because they want to do something that means something and working as a Boilermaker is the same. We keep the power on for millions of people. That’s meaningful work.”
