Veteran Story: Derek Hilderand

Derek Hilderand is an U.S. Air Force veteran. He was previously stationed in Anchorage, Alaska. His military experience brought him to the National Park Service in 2009 as a Contracting Officer at his hometown park, New River Gorge National Park and Preserve where he serves as the Administrative Officer. He is currently detailed at the National Mall and Memorial Parks as the Chief of Administration. The photo on the left shows Derek in 2005 at Operation Iraqi Freedom. On the right is Derek with his family members during a detail at Yosemite National Park in 2018.

“While in the Air Force, I was stationed in Anchorage, Alaska. Military experience brought me to the NPS in 2009 as Contracting Officer at my hometown park, now where I'm now the Administrative Officer at the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. Currently detailed helping the National Mall and Memorial Park as the Chief of Administration. NPS pictures are with my family tagged along in the summer of 2018 while on detail to YOSE at the reopening of the Mariposa Grove.”

“Military professional training directly prepared me for transition to federal civilian workforce. Similar to the military where you meet people from all over the country, I enjoy the NPS enables employees to support parks all over the country as well. Early experience gained by supporting military base operations correlates to park administrative operations support in many ways.

I joke that military experience which took me to Alaska and Iraq is the only reason I was able to be in the job I have today in my hometown park, New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.”