On Tuesday, October 20, North Carolina's Governor Pat McCrory swore in retired U.S. Marine major general Cornell Wilson as the state's first cabinet-level secretary of the new Department of Military and Veteran Affairs. Cisco's Stan Roberts, a Research Triangle Park-based customer support engineer and former Marine wounded in Afghanistan, was invited by General Wilson to represent Cisco and the North Carolina veterans community.

Like more than 27,000 military service members in North Carolina who left the armed forces in 2015, Stan struggled to translate his military experience to the civilian workforce. Veterans have a strong work ethic, can make quick decisions under pressure, and understand the value of teamwork, but those skills don't always resonate with hiring managers.

Stan is introduced by Governor McCrory, thanking him for his service and Cisco's veterans work in North Carolina through the North Carolina for Military Employment (NC4ME ) program, which was launched in March 2015.

As part of the NC4ME program, North Carolina and Cisco are empowering veterans with the tools and skills to thrive in a connected world long after they've finished their military service. Earlier this year, we launched the NC Military Pipeline, a sophisticated online platform that maps military occupation codes to civilian career paths and job openings. This tool is helping veterans find jobs that match their skills, and the Cisco Networking Academy is helping them discover new passions that can lead to certifications and fulfilling careers in the IT industry.

Earlier this month, Stan spoke at an NC4ME leadership summit in Wilmington, NC. Stan's remarks about his service and the need to help veterans was so impactful that he has been invited to speak again at the upcoming NC4ME leadership summit in Charlotte on November 6.

On behalf of Cisco's Veterans Program team, thank you Stan for your service and for being a Cisco ambassador to the veterans of North Carolina.

Semper fi.

Find out how you can hire veterans like Stan today.