Member Profile - Darryl Cathcart
Boots on the Ground – The only way to win!
From his first experience as a private soldier in 1991 to leaving as a Major in 2017, Darryl Cathcart learned that the only way to win a war is to put boots on the ground and take the objective. This has shown up time and again in his military and civilian careers. Where Darryl identifies a need, his inclination is to get into tangible action and start to close the gap between today’s situation and tomorrow’s resolution.
“I have an expeditionary mindset,” he says. “I’ve always been curious and looked for better ways to deliver. Most of the time that has taken me to the front line of whatever I’m looking at, and it’s there that I like to take action. Unless something positive is happening, I’m not satisfied. That means that I look for needles that I can move.” What is his current battle, what can we find him innovating on, and which needle is he moving?
“I am all about supporting Military Connected Learners (MCLs). I support them in their decision-making before and during transition. MCLs have unique needs, and getting them into the right post-secondary education is critical to their likelihood of thriving in civilian life. That means the right course at an institution with the right culture and location.” So, which Universities is he dealing with? “There are others doing sterling work in opening doors into degree-level education (see Alice Aiken’s profile from October 2022). While I work with both colleges and universities, I tend to focus on colleges as we see significant numbers of military-connected learners entering or re-entering postsecondary at this level. My greatest successes in terms of opening doors and getting MCL in the right seats is happening at colleges in regions with a large ex-military cohort seeking purpose and direction outside of uniform.”
“I like myth-busting with the college management teams and breaking down barriers to enrolling students with a uniformed background. For instance, some fear that they will put someone in the classroom who is violent, angry, or arrogant. I explain that while those people exist, they are a tiny minority. The vast majority of MCLs will be disciplined, focused and reliable. If the institution can show them an interesting and purposeful career path, then MCLs are among the best students to work with.”
Recent successes worth celebrating include signing the first Memorandum of Understanding between a group of post-secondary institutions close to CFBs (Portage, Loyalist, and Nova Scotia Community College). This will allow the transfer of credits if the student (or their family) is posted mid-course. “The uptick in interest in taking courses when people know they can finish the course is substantial. The same goes for those who are in the process of releasing. They don’t need to hold back from preparing for civilian life even if they know that they have one more posting in them.”
We all recognize that there are an infinite number of post-military career paths available, which is amplified by a postsecondary program. Irrespective of a postsecondary path, whether at the college or university level, Darryl and his business, Release Point Education, should be their first port of call.