New service officer excited to help Taylor County veterans

Sheila Wundrow is hitting the ground running as the county’s new veterans service officer.

Wundrow was officially approved for the position last month and in her first few weeks in the position has worked to learn more about local veterans and their needs.

Wundrow is a native of Stanley and currently lives with her family in the Thorp area. She is a veteran of the U.S. Navy with a career that spanned more than 20 years. In the military she retired with a E-6 (Petty Officer) rating and throughout her military career worked in supply both at bases and aboard ship.

Wundrow said that when she joined the Navy out of high school she did it with a desire to serve her country.

“I didn’t plan to make it a career,” she said, noting that over time she realized it was something she was meant for and that it was for the best.

Supply work is an important factor in the military, especially for naval operations. “You order everything you need to sustain life,” she said. “You can’t walk off the ship and go to Walmart.”

She said this included knowing what was needed for the crew of the ship and how resupply would take place. She explained that she was on four different kinds of ships in her career with one of them having a crew of 300 people.

“You only have storage for 300 people,” she said, noting they had to be careful to not order more than they had room for. She said they also had to be careful about staying within their budget which was based on the number of people.

The challenges grow with larger ships such as the aircraft carrier she worked on which had 5,000 people on board. She said it was necessary to know when they are able to get supply ships to meet them. She said while they get mail on board, it doesn’t arrive every day. She said it was important to have everything the crew needs, giving the example that running out of toilet paper would be a major problem. Wundrow described joining the military as being eye-opening. She said when she joined the Navy, Stanley only had 1,500 people in it. Her first duty station was in Japan where she didn’t know the language and this was before cellphones were common so hearing from home was waiting for letters.

“You had to wait for letters or Care packages to come,” she said.

She said that in those situations you had to learn quickly to be on your own. She said that she had a bit of a culture shock while in line to check out of a ship and was talking with a person also in line who she had never seen before. They ended up realizing they had served on the same ship for years without meeting. “To know you could be on the same ship with someone you never met is crazy,” she said.

After leaving the Navy, Wundrow came back to central Wisconsin and went to Eau Claire where she earned a bachelor’s degree in social work. She graduated in December 2021 and went on to do her internship at Coulee Connections, an alternative school, working in Menomonie. She also worked as a substitute teacher following her internship and up until she took the position as Taylor County Veterans Service Officer.

She said service is at the core of why she wanted to take on the challenges of the position.

“I get to continue to serve my country without putting on a uniform,” she said.

She explained that she gets to advocate for veterans who may not know what is available or who had doors shut on them in the past.

She explained that with her social work background she has built and maintains a network of connections to be able to get veterans who come into her office the help they need whether it is through the veterans programs or through programs in human services, the Aging and Disability Resource Center or other areas.

Wundrow is excited about the challenges and opportunities of new positions. “There is a lot to learn in this job,” she said, noting that she would not be learning it all overnight. She said it would come one day at a time and one client at a time.

One area that Wundrow vowed not to slack on is her commitment to the veterans. “I will give this community 110% every day. The veterans are my main priority,” she said.

To this end, Wundrow said she is looking forward to working jointly with all the departments to better serve veterans. Her goals for the coming year include restarting a local veterans outreach day and doing more outreach activities.