These advocates work tirelessly to help veterans succeed in the civilian workplace. Get to know who they are, what they do, and how they advocate for the veteran community.
Anthony Gilbert is the Program Manager of Military and Veteran Recruitment at Raytheon Missiles and Defense. He was a Sergeant First Class (E-7) in the Army, 1996-2016.
Champion’s Reaction:
“I am honored to be receiving this award. This means the world to me. As a lifelong soldier of the United States Army, transitioning out of the military was one of the hardest things I had to do in my life. I went from an 18-year-old kid right out of high school to 38 years old starting over in life. I had several mentors and coaches along the way. I just want to pay it forward and help as many veterans, transitioning service members and spouses find meaningful employment as I can.”
Champion’s Job Responsibilities:
I am the program manager of military and veteran recruitment at Raytheon Missiles and Defense. I am responsible for the overall veteran recruitment strategy for the company
Why Gilbert was nominated for the Veteran Champions of the Year in Corporate America Award:
I have been in the defense industry for almost five years. I was the lead of the military relations program at Lockheed Martin and was recruited by Raytheon to create a military relations program for Missiles and Defense. I was awarded the Rally Recruitment Marketing Award in 2020 for best use of technology for a military recruitment program. I have personally placed over 1,000 veterans in jobs in five years. My team has placed over 5,000 veterans in five years. My team was responsible for over 37% of all veteran hires at Lockheed Martin. Since I have been with Raytheon, I have created a military recruitment program from scratch. I have developed our SkillBridge and Fellowship programs. I have trained all our recruiting staff on military recruiting. I have put a strategy in place for 2022 that includes attending over 50 veteran job fairs and numerous networking events. We have already pipelined over 1,500 veterans in four months, and we promote them out to hiring managers and recruiters across the business. My team of three is fully dedicated to placing veterans. We were designated as a Military Friendly Company for 2022 with me only being in position for four months. I have a passion for helping veterans, transitioning service members and military spouse’s find meaningful employment. I spend countless hours reviewing resumes and aligning veterans with roles inside my company. I provide mentor sessions weekly to veterans. At the end of the day my job is to help ease the stress of transition from the military. I transitioned out of the Army after 20 years in 2016 and I know firsthand the struggles that come along with it. If I can help a veteran find a job by providing them resources, I have done my job, even if the job is not with my company. I provide transition advice on LinkedIn on a regular basis and have almost 30k followers. I love what I do and would do it for free.
