Tracking Experience

November 11, 2022 | Careers

After working hand in hand with the CIA, Patty Blackwell makes no secret about the positive impact her military experiences have on her civilian career.

“My military background played a huge factor in molding me into the person I am today — no doubt,” says Blackwell, who served 24 years as a U.S. Navy master-at-arms, petty officer first class. “My time in the Navy taught me you can handle any crisis, under any circumstances, with a never-quit mentality. This helped me develop a strong work ethic that I still apply to my everyday life.”

Like many veterans, Blackwell has sea stories galore, including some memorable ones from her time in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. There, she worked alongside the CIA extracting and building databases for evidence in the top-secret Camp 7 (where the worst 14 terrorists are detained until trials, including the masterminds behind the 9/11 attacks and the bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen).  

Today, Blackwell works as a corporate purchasing analyst at OTO Development. Her tasks include tracking budgets for new hotel builds and extensive renovation projects. Not quite as sensational as tracking evidence against terrorists, perhaps, but she loves her job and her team.

Blackwell says the strongest trait she brings from the military to OTO is teamwork.  “I feel it is imperative to embrace our differences and channel our strengths as a collective group to achieve a common goal,” she adds.

After a quarter-century serving in the Navy, Blackwell appreciates finding herself at a company that makes decisions and executes strategies according to unshakable Guiding Principles.

“The Navy’s Core Values are Honor, Courage, and Commitment, which align perfectly with the Guiding Principles we use here at OTO,” Blackwell says. “I still hold myself to those Navy standards and I have added the Guiding Principles as an even better marker as to the person, employee, and teammate I strive to be.”

CAPTION:  PATTY BLACKWELL, U.S. Navy master-at-arms, petty officer first class (1988-2014)

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