“Now You’re Part of My Family”: Jaclyn Mosley on the Navy, IMS, and Finding Her People Again
Jaclyn Mosley spent more than two decades in the Navy. Today she is a Manager of Contract Services at IMS Legal Strategies.
When Jaclyn Mosley retired from the Navy after 21 years, nine months, and 14 days, the work wasn’t what she worried about leaving behind. “I don’t miss the hustle of military life,” she said. “But I do miss the people.” Seven years ago, she found them again at IMS Legal Strategies.
Jaclyn grew up in a small town in Georgia and enlisted a couple of months after high school, mainly to pay for college. Four years in, she still hadn’t taken a single class. “I just got busy, enjoying the travel, the people,” she said. She started as a Postal Clerk on Navy ships and bases, became a Logistics Specialist, and spent six years in Japan, her favorite duty station. She met her husband in the Navy too. Asked whether she would do it all again, she didn’t hesitate. “Yes. Hands down. I’m from a little small town in Georgia, and the military gave me opportunities and showed me things that I would never imagine.”
When she retired, a temp agency sent her to IMS in Pensacola. Her interviewer made her an offer she still remembers: “Just give me ninety days. If you don’t like it, I’ll write you a personal letter myself to find something else.” She never needed the letter. That first week, people kept stopping by to introduce themselves, including James Crane, the CEO, who asked about her family. Seven years later, he still knows her daughter’s name and asks how she’s doing. “I didn’t feel like I was a number,” she said. By Friday she was telling her husband she was hooked. “I don’t know how I found this amazing job here in Pensacola.” She has stayed at IMS ever since.
One senior leader she worked with every day never mentioned his own service. She only found out when she noticed a photo in his office and asked. He had been a Marine, and he had earned a Purple Heart. From then on, he was the person she went to when civilian work didn’t make sense yet. “He knew my military background and what I could have been struggling with,” she said, “so he would coach me through it.”
His advice was usually the same. “He would tell me, slow down. Take a moment. It’s going to be okay. You don’t have to climb Mount Fuji in one day.” It stuck. “Compared to Navy Jackie, I’m a lot calmer,” she said. “Everything is not a fire. It’s going to work out.”
The Navy taught Jaclyn that it’s okay to ask for help. On a ship, you went to your shipmate, or your shipmate saw you struggling and came to you. She found the same thing at IMS. “This company allows you to be vulnerable and ask for help,” she said. “You have the space and grace to be authentically yourself.”
She has been to coworkers’ weddings and baby showers. Someone’s mom sends in cookies, and the next thing you know, you’re thanking the mom, meeting the grandbaby, and shopping for a gift. When people have your back like that, the hard days get easier. It was the same in the Navy - “We were shipmates, or now at IMS colleagues,” she said, “but now you’re part of my family. That’s how I view the team now.”
Not every veteran lands somewhere like that. Jaclyn still has two close friends from boot camp, almost thirty years later, and some of the people she served with are still moving from job to job. “They just haven’t found what I call their community yet.”
She has. Many of her colleagues at IMS have served, and that group keeps growing. “Being with a company that has fellow vets in it, and knowing who they are, has been key,” she said. When she started, Veterans Day was a regular workday at IMS. She told leadership that a company with that many veterans, in the Cradle of Naval Aviation, should mark it. They asked to hear more and made it a company holiday soon after.
“At IMS, our Core Values come to life in how we serve others. We are grateful to our veterans for their service, sacrifice and leadership and are proud of the example set by Jackie and other veterans across IMS,” said James Crane, CEO of IMS Legal Strategies.
Jaclyn, thank you for your service.
This is the second of three Carried Forward stories from across Uplift and our portfolio companies. Read Penny Schultz's story from Engage fi, and look for Jessica Garrett's story on November 11.
About IMS Legal Strategies
IMS Legal Strategies provides expert witnesses, analytical support and trial strategy services for complex civil litigation. Learn more at www.imslegal.com.