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On Eryn Mulford’s first morning as the service manager of EquipmentShare’s Core Solutions branch in Kalispell, Montana, her boss stopped her for a quick word. Mulford was taking a major step up from intern to service manager, and General Manager Josh Del Valle wanted to provide a little direction.
He pointed out three pieces of equipment that should be prioritized for service. Mulford told him she had already assigned service techs to those machines.
“She needs very little direction in terms of what we need to get done,” Del Valle said. “I was like, ‘OK, I’ll leave you be. You’ve clearly got this.’”
Around the world and back
Mulford is an example of a veteran whose military experience and SkillBridge internship prepared her well for a successful civilian career at EquipmentShare.
Growing up in rural Montana, Mulford developed her mechanical skills working around the house with her father. Eager to see the world, she joined the Air Force after high school. She spent the next 20 years as a crew chief, working on F-16 and F-15 fighter jets and advancing to the rank of E7 master sergeant.
Mulford got her wish to see the world, including South Korea and Japan. She honed her mechanical skills and developed leadership qualities. She met her husband — a fellow Air Force crew chief — and had two children.
The Air Force turned out to be everything she wanted. As her military career wound down and she started thinking about what was next, she was ready to get back home to Montana and plant roots.
SkillBridge to the future
EquipmentShare sees great value in recruiting, retaining and advancing the careers of veterans. The military develops qualities like discipline, teamwork and leadership that prepare veterans for success in the fast-paced environment of the construction industry.
That’s why EquipmentShare partners with SkillBridge to provide internships to military members in the last six months of their service. The program gives interns a chance to learn and prove themselves, which often leads to full-time job offers. EquipmentShare has more than 430 locations nationwide, so interns can pick the right destination to start a new chapter of their lives.
Mulford started her internship in June 2026.
“Since I had been doing a lot more management style jobs the last couple of years in the Air Force, I was excited to work with my hands again,” she said. “It’s the satisfaction of knowing that you put in the work of finding something wrong and making it right.”
Intern to manager in six months
As a SkillBridge intern, Mulford contributed to the branch’s success while she learned more about heavy equipment maintenance and EquipmentShare branch operations.
“I didn’t just sit back and wait for people to tell me what to do. I was pretty proactive about finding people to shadow,” she said. “I learned in the military to figure out where you’re needed without having to ask. One of the first things I would do is go out when the truck drivers pulled up and help them take the binders and chains off and spot them as they unloaded the equipment.”
EquipmentShare’s rapid growth means opportunities abound for talented team members to advance their careers. As Mulford’s internship progressed, Del Valle began to think her work ethic and leadership qualities would make her a great fit for his branch’s open service manager position, leading a team with three service techs.
She accepted. And in October, she hit the ground running.
“She was eager to learn and take her skills she learned in the military and apply them to her new role,” Del Valle said. “When we started chatting about the potential for her to be a service manager, she didn’t hesitate to hop into that leadership role even before her tenure as a service manager started. Setting expectations and holding people accountable is the hardest thing for some people. Her expectations of her team are very clear. Her leadership skills, I’ve already seen them.”
— Learn more about starting your civilian career as a SkillBridge intern at EquipmentShare and how we prioritize hiring veterans.
