“Being able to help someone who has fought hard for this country, to help vets one way or another, to give them purpose. That’s why I do it- to help give them the best life possible.” – Chilsai Fahrenkrog, The Excalibur Group

The Excalibur Group is grateful to receive the US Department of Labor’s HIRE Vet Award for the fourth consecutive year. For over a decade, Excalibur has strived to help Service Members use their skills acquired from military service and apply them to meaningful civilian job opportunities. It is both a privilege and responsibility as a business to help hire and engage service members in meaningful work after active duty and Excalibur is elated to be recognized for their success.

After careful consideration, Excalibur has decided to dedicate the DOL Hire Vet Award to Excalibur employee Chilsai Fahrenkrog. Chilsai has been a senior recruiter for Excalibur for three years and has successfully placed and nurtured Veterans and transitioning military members to meaningful positions. As the daughter of a former military member, Chilsai’s commitment to the military community became even larger when she became a military spouse to Landry Fahrenkrog in 2011. “I was completely shocked to hear that I’m receiving this great honor,” Chilsai said. “I’m just happy to do so much good for people that I truly care about.”

Chilsai received a Bachelor of Psychological General Studies from Fort Hays States University in 2015. A few years later in 2018, Chilsai began working for The Excalibur Group and quickly found success; she went from a junior recruiter to senior recruiter in less than two years and has become an expert in prioritizing and managing multiple clients, contracts, and bid requests. She has spent her time at Excalibur carefully constructing strong networks and recruiting pipelines to ensure proper care for her job-seeking candidates and clients. Chilsai has been able to balance the complexities of her career while moving from military base to base and meeting the needs of her growing family.

Chilsai and Landry met through friends in 2011 while he was stationed at Fort Riley (KS). In 2013, a new assignment took them to Fort Bragg (NC). In 2017, Chilsai and her family moved to Fort Polk (LA), where Landry is halfway through an 8-year assignment. When she began working for Excalibur, Chilsai was able to use the multitude of connections she had made at various bases to expand her recruiting network. “I know a wide variety of people from all military branches,” Chilsai said.

“Moving around has allowed me to build my network and being able to work remotely for Excalibur has allowed me to start an actual, continuous career as opposed to finding a new job at each base.”

Chilsai considers herself a hands-off military wife, but she still finds comfort in the communities at each military base. When Landry is deployed, Chilsai and her children love to travel to Post at Fort Polk and take part in the many family activities that are often going on. “We spend as much as we can with [Landry] when he’s here, but it’s really nice to find comfort in the community when he’s gone,” Chilsai said. She and her family have never lived on Post, but that hasn’t stopped them from immersing themselves in the community and making connections at each place they have been. As their community has grown, so has Chilsai’s passion for helping to find meaningful work for veterans.

Chilsai has done an amazing job in helping transitioning soldiers find meaningful work post-service and she is more inspired than ever to continue to help veterans in any way she can. Chilsai says her favorite thing about recruiting veterans is “being able to help someone who has fought hard for this country, to help vets one way or another, to give them purpose. That’s why I do it- to help give them the best life possible.”

Chilsai, Landry, and their daughter and son currently live outside of Fort Polk in Louisiana. After Landry’s current assignment is over, they are considering staying there for good.
Join us in congratulating Chilsai on this dedication, which recognizes her meaningful work.