Maj. Roxy Thompson, officer-in-charge of Defense Media Activity’s Army Productions, conducts a formal reenlistment of Sgt. 1st Class Nick Nofziger at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., on Feb. 19, 2024. (Christian Thom/Disneyland Resort)

Sgt. 1st Class Nicholas Nofziger’s love of all things Disney is so strong, his forearm permanently bears the image of Belle in her yellow dress and the Beast in a blue tuxedo jacket as they dance together and fall in love in the 1991 animated movie “Beauty and the Beast.”

He’s also a dedicated soldier and “tenacious” about advancing his career in Army public affairs, which led him to apply for the Army’s Training with Industry program, a highly competitive opportunity for active-duty soldiers to spend a year working in a civilian company and then bring back lessons learned to their peers in the service. In that classic happily-ever-after way that Disney stories go, Nofziger earned a spot in the program as the first soldier to work in the communications office of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif.

“It was, first, a really exciting and incredible opportunity to be a part of the program. To add Disney was just the cherry on top,” Nofziger said in an interview last month.

Just 138 soldiers participated last year in the program, and 146 are currently approved to hang up their uniforms and work alongside civilians in fields similar to their Army jobs, according to Army Human Resources Command.

When Nofziger applied last year, Disney only accepted Army musicians to come learn with their live entertainment division at Disneyland. But the theme park’s communications office saw the success of musicians over the past nine years and decided they wanted in as well.

Since August Nofziger has been learning the ins and outs of the Disneyland communications office, while also getting to wear his favorite Disney-themed outfits to work.

Sgt. 1st Class Nick Nofziger participates in the Veterans Day Flag Retreat Ceremony in November 2023 at Disneyland. (Disneyland Resort)

Sgt. Nick Nofziger’s Disney tattoo. (Photo courtesy of Nick Nofziger)

“How they do their communications is way more heart focused. It’s more focused on the people and the magic and the joy and the good that this company does,” Nofziger said. “How do we get guests excited to come and spend what could be their life savings for a four- or five-day trip to the happiest place on earth? We want them to feel great about doing that. … I think it will really transfer when I get back to the Army, because we’re looking at how do we get parents excited about their kids joining the Army.”

Since the 1970s, the Army has been sending its soldiers to learn from industry leaders such as Exxon Corp., UPS, Armed Forces Bank, Google, Advent Health and Caterpillar, according to the service. In fiscal year 2023, which ended in September, 78 companies hosted Army officers, and 26 hosted enlisted soldiers, according to Human Resources Command. The officers came from 25 Army occupational specialties, and the soldiers from 15.

“The 10 soldiers that we’ve had stationed with us for their year of service … have made a tremendous difference in what we do,” said Matt Conover, vice president of live entertainment at Disneyland. “I know from talking to the commandant of the [Army] School of Music, and other leaders across the service, that their time here has brought back so much to their field and to their individual units as they go back.”

One soldier project that can still be seen at Disneyland every day is a tiny float in the “Magic Happens” parade featuring Hei Hei, the rooster from the animated movie “Moana.” Hutch Hutchinson was assigned to design that float alongside designers and technical experts as part of the Training with Industry program, Conover said. She has since left the Army and works as part of the theme park’s entertainment operations team and as stage manager for the Disneyland Band.

“She took on that whole project, helped design it, produce it, implement it and deliver it. That enabled her to understand all the dynamics of what goes into producing something. Even though the element was small, it was part of this very large thing,” he said.

Suzi Brown, vice president of Disneyland Resort communications, said seeing the entertainment division’s success sent her to the Army to see if her office could get a soldier as well through the program.

“It’s exceeded my expectations,” she said of the time Nofziger has spent at the resort. Her team has been working with other Disney offices in Florida that have other specialties with overlap into Army career fields.

“There’s no reason not to do it. It’s a win-win,” Brown said.

Capt. James “Jimmy” DiCarolo on a fuel storage tank as part of his year with Crowley Maritime in Anchorage, Alaska, in 2021-2022 as part of the Army’s Training with Industry program. (Photo courtesy of Capt. James “Jimmy” DiCarlo)

Once the soldiers return to the Army, they are typically put into a job position where they can share what they’ve learned over the previous months, said Capt. James “Jimmy” DiCarlo, an Army logistics officer who worked in 2021-2022 with Crowley Maritime, a company that moved petroleum around the globe.

He thought he knew a lot about fuel after a stint with an aviation unit at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, at the beginning of his officer career but quickly realized there’s so much more to it. On a busy day in the Army, DiCarlo said he saw up to 25,000 gallons of fuel move. At Crowley that happened every half hour.

Since finishing his year with Crowley in Anchorage, Alaska, DiCarlo has worked at the military’s schoolhouse for all courses on moving fuel and water at Fort Gregg-Adams, Va., as the deputy director of the petroleum and water department.

“When I got to Crowley, it was my first time in a project coordinator position, and it gave me the exposure to see strategic petroleum acquisitions, distribution, safety procedures and management decision making processes that they utilize globally,” he said.

He saw how the industry uses artificial intelligence to track weather patterns, how to manage fuel in extremely cold temperatures and how to design vessels and fuel storage points — all of which he now shares with fellow logisticians in the Army to improve the military’s approach to these challenges. He spent two weeks at sea with Crowley riding an oil tanker as it picked up about 700,000 barrels of crude oil from the Alaskan pipeline and distributed it to refineries along the western coast of the United States.

“This is a really good program for career and professional development because you’re going to interface with civilian leaders, from a [chief financial officer] to senior vice president,” DiCarlo said.

Back at Disneyland, Nofziger still has roughly four more months to soak in some Disney magic before returning to the Army — something he said he’s eager to do. After a promotion ceremony last month in front of Sleeping Beauty’s castle, he’ll be back in uniform with an extra stripe and fresh eyes as the noncommissioned officer-in-charge of Army productions at Defense Media Activity in Fort Meade, Md. He’s already begun sending a couple of proposals to his leadership.

“It’s one of those absence-makes-the-heart-grow-fonder situations. The day I joined the Army and set foot on the drill pad and basic combat training I knew this was what I was meant to do. I love the Army, and I love serving my country, and I love seeing it evolve,” he said. “I very much look forward to taking that piece of Disney with me into being a senior noncommissioned officer now and seeing where that takes me.”