Veterans Day: Service & Connection
PrintHighlighting 4 Veterans Helping Power Your Co-Op
Cody Bradshaw, United States Coast Guard
Drawn to the opportunities to work aboard boats or fly in helicopters, Northern Lights Journeyman Lineman Cody Bradshaw served in the Coast Guard from 2007 to 2010.
After graduating from high school, he attended and wrestled at the Naval Academy Preparatory School before enlisting.
Military service was part of his family’s story. Both of his grandfathers served, including 1 who retired from a career in the Army. His father also joined the Coast Guard Reserve when Cody enlisted.
Cody’s service took him to Kodiak, Alaska, Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and Astoria, Oregon. He held several roles, including serving as a fireman aboard the Coast Guard cutter Alex Haley before becoming an aviation maintenance technician third class. In that role, he worked as an airframe mechanic and flight crew member, maintaining and flying in HH-60 helicopters.
While the work offered valuable technical experience, Cody especially appreciated living and working alongside people from across the country. Some of those relationships became lifelong friendships. 1 friend he connected with at boot camp later served as a member of his wedding party, and Cody stood in at the friend’s wedding, too.
The lessons he learned in the U.S. Coast Guard remain part of his work today.
Joining at age 19 introduced Cody to a different type of work and responsibility. Military duties didn’t always follow a predictable schedule, and he learned to adapt.
“In the Coast Guard, I really started learning how to work long hours and odd hours,” Cody says. “Your body has to train for it. It’s something I use now as a lineman.”
Just as lasting was the understanding that every member of a crew has a responsibility to the others.
“Everyone has their job, and people rely on you to do it,” he says.
His Coast Guard experience also strengthened his commitment to community involvement. At the places where he was stationed, service members regularly participated in activities supporting local schools and communities. Cody continues volunteering as a youth football and wrestling coach.
For Cody, Veterans Day means time with family. It is also a reminder of veterans whose lives have become very difficult after leaving the military. Whatever their circumstance, he encourages others to recognize their service and offer help when they can.
Cody continues to put the lessons of service into practice, contributing to the community he calls home.
Jim Woodward, United States Navy
For Northern Lights Director Jim Woodward, military service provided lasting lessons in teamwork, responsibility, and meeting challenges, along with friendships that remain meaningful today.
Jim served aboard the USS Alabama, a nuclear-powered submarine, where he gained experience in underwater electric power production and distribution. He also served at land-based nuclear power training facilities, first as a student at Idaho’s S5G plant and later as an instructor at the S8G plant in upstate New York.
In addition to 8 years of active-duty service, Jim served 13 years in the U.S. Navy Reserve. His assignments included theater anti-submarine warfare and command of a submarine maintenance detachment and Naval Security Force Unit. He also served with a mobile inshore undersea warfare detachment, including a year of active-duty service following 9/11.
While the places and vessels where he served bring back fond memories, Jim says the people he worked with mean the most to him.
“Military service brings out the best in people,” Jim says. “We learn our true capabilities when meeting the demands of unusual circumstances.”
Today, Jim continues serving his community as a member of the Northern Lights board, bringing his technical background and leadership experience to his work on behalf of cooperative members.
Jill Vandegrift, United States Air Force
Service to her country and her community has been a lifelong commitment for Northern Lights Director Jill Vandegrift.
Jill served in the U.S. Air Force from 1996 to 2016 as an airborne cryptologic linguist, intelligence officer, and military liaison officer to Morocco. Her career took her around the world in support of critical missions, building experience in communication technology, homeland security, and emergency management.
Military service is a proud family tradition. Jill’s husband, Rick, and her father, brother, father-in-law, and grandfather all served. Today, her daughter and son-in-law continue that legacy.
“Serving in the Air Force was 1 of the greatest privileges of my life,” Jill says. “It shaped who I am.”
She remembers the pride of standing for the values and freedoms of the United States and the honor of serving alongside extraordinary patriots she continues to hold in the highest respect.
That sense of purpose remains central to her work on the Northern Lights board. Representing her district and helping guide her member-owned electric cooperative brings an opportunity to continue serving others.
“Veterans Day is a time to honor the extraordinary men and women I served alongside, the generations of my family who have worn the uniform and those who continue to serve today,” she says. “Service doesn’t end when we take off the uniform. It continues in how we care for one another and serve our communities.”
Trevor Kelly, United States Air Force
For Northern Lights Electrical Engineer Trevor Kelly, 1 of the most rewarding parts of his work is helping people solve problems. It’s a thread that connects his service in the U.S. Air Force and his role at the cooperative today.
Trevor graduated from Bonners Ferry High School in 2008 and worked in the oil fields before deciding he wanted a different future. Military service was a familiar path in his family. His grandfathers, father, uncles, and both brothers served in the Army. When Trevor enlisted in 2010, he chose the Air Force.
He trained as a radio frequency transmission systems technician. His work involved radio and satellite communications, helping keep people connected wherever their assignments took them.
After basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, and technical school in Biloxi, Mississippi, Trevor served at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City and Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, Arizona. His assignments also took him to Kabul International Airport and Camp Integrity in Kabul, Afghanistan, during a deployment from October 2014 to May 2015.
In Afghanistan, Trevor worked in a multinational communications shop supporting a general. As the only American in the shop, he worked alongside personnel from other countries and served as a radio operator when accompanying the general outside the camp.
The camaraderie and opportunities to experience different places became some of the most meaningful parts of his six years in the Air Force. Those experiences also changed his perspective.
Before joining, Trevor had little interest in leaving familiar surroundings. Meeting people from different backgrounds helped him become more open-minded and empathetic, while giving him greater appreciation for home. He encourages others to venture beyond their hometown, even if they ultimately choose to return.
After leaving the Air Force in 2016, Trevor attended the University of Alaska Fairbanks, with his education fully funded through the GI Bill. There, a connection with a retired senior master sergeant helped him secure his first job after college, working as a systems engineer supporting F-16 aircraft at a military base in Ogden, Utah.
Trevor joined Northern Lights in April 2025. His work focuses on metering and system health—helping the cooperative measure electricity accurately, identify developing problems, and maintain reliable service for the grid and Lake Creek Dam.
He brings lessons from his military upbringing and service to that work: accountability, a strong work ethic, teamwork, and the ability to make the most of available resources.
