Local Army vet boosts career at 'boot camp'

By RUSTY DENNEN

It was "boot camp," but not like the one that began Gary Zeitz's Army career.

There were long, exhausting days with plenty of stress. But instead of drill instructors and barracks, there were college professors and classrooms.

Zeitz, a retired lieutenant colonel who lives in Fredericksburg, recently returned from the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans, an eight-day business training course at Purdue University's Krannert School in Indiana.

The course was aimed at training veterans in entre-preneurial principles and business management. The business school picked up the tab, thanks to donations from benefactors.

"It was basically an MBA program in eight or nine days," Zeitz said. "We went [to class] from 7:30 in the morning to 10 at night."

Zeitz, 50, who works as an information systems consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton in McLean, read about the opportunity in a military magazine and applied.

He was one of 14 students selected.

The boot camp concept started at Syracuse University's Whitman School of Management in 2007 for veterans disabled in Iraq and Afghanistan. It has since spread to the University of California, Texas A&M, Florida State, and Purdue.

Zeitz likened the experience to "drinking from a fire hose," because students had to ingest a huge amount of information quickly.

"And all I learned I can use in my present job--business management, marketing, target markets, personnel, human resources, hiring and financial insight," he said.

Students were asked to come in with an idea for a specific business or product, but Zeitz decided on an option that would allow him to explore a wide range of topics common to all entrepreneurs.

"Over the years, I've had a lot of ideas for businesses--from restaurants to snail farming to pretzels, but I wanted to pick something just for educational value," he said.

So Zeitz went with a beauty salon.

He laughed, "I thought that would give me a tangible business that dealt with customer service, products, the whole gamut of a business, versus doing just a product."

Some in the class, Zeitz says, also were interested more in broad concepts to help in current jobs or businesses. Others had specific topics in mind.

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Gary Zeitz grew up in Cherry Hill, N.J. He's a graduate of Lynchburg College, where he received a bachelor's degree in business administration. He received a master's degree from Florida Institute of Technology.

He joined the Army in 1985, eventually commanding a tank unit at Fort Knox, Ky. He attended Ranger school and got into information systems after being accepted into the Army Acquisition Corps. He was assigned to the office of the Chief of the Army Reserve at the Pentagon, commanded the General Staff College and worked in information systems, contracting, human resources before becoming secretary of the general staff for the office of the Chief, Army Reserve.

He retired last year.

Zeitz is married with three children and lives in Fredericksburg.

Date published: 9/19/2009

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