{"id":469838,"date":"2025-06-05T14:13:44","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T14:13:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=469838"},"modified":"2025-06-05T15:13:35","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T15:13:35","slug":"soldiers-intern-at-usag-italys-fitness-center-to-prepare-for-post-army-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=469838","title":{"rendered":"Soldiers intern at USAG Italy\u2019s fitness center to prepare for post-Army life"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Staff Sgt. Christopher Burton oversees Soldiers conducting combatives training at the USAG Italy fitness center, May 16, 2025.
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VICENZA, Italy \u2013 Spc. Ayla Bonner, a soldier at U.S. Army Garrison Italy, is taking advantage of a unique opportunity \u2013 a few months to practice skills that will help her transition to civilian life.<\/p>\n

Bonner, who serves with the 207th Military Intelligence Brigade, is nearing the end of her time in the service. Under the Career Skills<\/p>\n

Program, interns at the Sports, Fitness and Aquatics program, overseen by USAG Italy\u2019s Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare & Recreation.<\/p>\n

For Soldiers approaching the end of their service, the CSP offers a flexible path toward life beyond the uniform. Run by the Transition Assistance Program office, CSP allows eligible Soldiers to spend up to four months interning with approved civilian employers with the goal of gaining real world experience and developing career ready skills while still on active duty.<\/p>\n

Bonner\u2019s internship is a two-pronged approach, working as a social media assistant while earning certification as a personal trainer. For her, the draw of the program was its freedom to explore civilian career options.<\/p>\n

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\n Staff Sgt. Christopher Burton oversees Soldiers conducting combatives training at the USAG Italy fitness center, May 16, 2025.
\n (Photo Credit: Gabriel Cole)<\/span>
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\n VIEW ORIGINAL<\/a>
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\u201cI think it\u2019s the best program the Army has to offer for young Soldiers who are deciding to get out,\u201d Bonner said. \u201cIt gives you the opportunity to go anywhere and intern for anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

The program is a proven bridge between service and civilian success, according to Greg Storch, CSP coordinator for USAG Italy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe program was designed to help transitioning Soldiers move into their ideal career situation,\u201d Storch said. \u201cWhether you want to learn a skill, gain experience, or actually lead into a job offer, CSP has a lot of options.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staff Sgt. Christopher Burton\u2019s path led him straight to the mats. After recently serving with U.S. Army Recruiting Command, Burton began his CSP internship in February, focusing on martial arts and Combatives training. He started a jiu-jitsu club and works with the fitness center to expand Combatives instruction for local units.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Army has a program so you can begin your transition and do something that you want to set forth for yourself,\u201d Burton said, adding that it\u2019s \u201cfour months to continue and prepare yourself for a transition.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Josh Grant explains how important the Career Skills Program is the USAG Italy Fitness Center May 16, 2025.
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\n VIEW ORIGINAL<\/a>
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Josh Grant, a former paratrooper, manages the sports and fitness in Vicenza. He\u2019s seen firsthand how CSP can work when Soldiers are motivated.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the resources. We have the facilities. We can give you time,\u201d he said, describing how Burton and others have fully embedded into the gym\u2019s operations. \u201cWe were able to give him as much time as he needed to embed himself into the training he wanted to do, so he could take it into the civilian world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Soldiers interested in CSP can contact the USAG Italy TAP office<\/a> to learn more about available opportunities, application steps, and eligibility requirements.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Staff Sgt. Christopher Burton oversees Soldiers conducting combatives training at the USAG Italy fitness center, May 16, 2025. (Photo Credit: Gabriel Cole) VIEW ORIGINAL VICENZA, Italy \u2013 Spc. Ayla Bonner, a soldier at U.S. Army Garrison Italy, is taking advantage of a unique opportunity \u2013 a few months to practice skills that will help her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":469840,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-469838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=469838"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469838\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":469844,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469838\/revisions\/469844"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/469840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=469838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=469838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=469838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}