Skillbridge Blog

Making the Jump into Tech via SkillBridge

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Did you know Active Duty Servicemembers can start training for their civilian career prior to leaving the military? Michael Grandori and Seth Thomas attended Code Platoon and started paid tech positions before their military separation. How were they able to get a head start? They used the little-known Department of Defense SkillBridge program.

Headshot of Michael GrandoriMichael, a former Infantry Sergeant, joined Code Platoon in 2020. After graduation, he apprenticed with Motorola Solutions and accepted a full-time position six months later.

“I probably became a pariah in my unit because I pushed SkillBridge so much,” Michael said. “SkillBridge got me where I am today. I left the military, and a month later, I had a tech job. Without SkillBridge, I would probably still be struggling to get my foot in the door.”

Seth graduated from Papa Platoon in January 2022 and started an apprenticeship with 8th Light. He is an Active Duty Army Officer until April 2022.

“I owe everything to SkillBridge,” Seth said. “Leaving the safety net of the military was daunting. But with SkillBridge, I got the skills I needed when I needed them.”

SkillBridge helps transitioning Servicemembers get a head start on their post-military careers. Servicemembers, with command approval, can participate in SkillBridge during their last 180 days of active duty via a DoD-approved program like Code Platoon. 

Active Duty Servicemembers should plan ahead if they want to participate in a SkillBridge program, as timing is crucial.

“Because of Covid, I was stuck on a ship in the South China Sea,” Michael said. “Luckily, the stars aligned. I got the applications done in about two and a half months and returned to the United States before my program started.”

“I started looking for programs about a year and a half before my last day,” Seth said. “I also started Intro to Coding around the same time since Code Platoon requires some self-study to pass the application.”

After getting accepted to Code Platoon and SkillBridge, Michael and Seth went through Code Platoon’s Immersive Full-Stack Software Engineering Bootcamp. They both attended remotely due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Code Platoon did a great job revamping their program to accommodate virtual students and create a sense of community,” Seth said. “The instructors stressed that you should rely on each other and your team for success. We all wanted to succeed together. I got the support network I had in the military, outside of the military. 

“Coding Bootcamps seem daunting at first, like facing a cliff. But once you start climbing, you realize you can do it.”

“Code Platoon is an exceptionally well-rounded program,” Michael said. “There are other bootcamps that teach the fundamentals, but Code Platoon has it all. You learn how to communicate with people, write applications, keep track of features, and then make the leap to your first job.”

Once Michael and Seth graduated from Code Platoon, they were matched with Chicago-based technology companies through our apprenticeship program. 

Headshot of Seth Thomas“Code Platoon’s focus on getting us a job at the end of the program is phenomenal,” Seth said. “You start with career prep, and by the end, you have the chance to interview with companies spanning the financial sector to consulting. Code Platoon chooses its partners carefully and sets students up for success.

“Right now, at 8th Light, I am going through a program to become a polyglot in technical languages. Code Platoon gave me the skills to feel comfortable learning new technologies quickly and effectively.”

Michael completed his Full-stack Developer Apprenticeship at Motorola Solutions and continued with the company until March 2022. He recently started a new Software Engineer position at F5.

“With Motorola, I worked on embedded systems that interact with the physical world. Now at F5, I work on a living, breathing project that lives on companies’ cloud infrastructures,” Michael said. “Getting to solve real-world problems every day is why I became a software engineer.”

When asked about goals for the future, Michael and Seth responded similarly.

“When I was in the military, I was a team leader, section leader, and squad leader at one point,” Michael said. “I would like to see myself in a leadership position again. I want to mentor junior developers because I remember what it was like starting out two years ago.”

“Everything I did in the Army was management and program-based,” Seth said. “I never thought those skills could transfer to a technical role. Thanks to the SkillBridge program and Code Platoon, I learn new things and advance myself in a collaborative environment. I wake up with a smile on my face every day.”

If you are interested in applying to Code Platoon with SkillBridge, apply to Code Platoon today. To help with the SkillBridge command approval process, we provide an introductory letter and command approval template.

If you have any questions about Code Platoon or SkillBridge, our recruitment team is here to help.

Kayla Elkin is the Marketing Content Specialist at Code Platoon. In this role, she utilizes her marketing, writing, and editing skills developed by previous positions in higher education and educational technology. Kayla has degrees in English and Sociology from Clemson University and completed the Study in India Program (SIP) at the University of Hyderabad. She lives with her partner in northern Chicago.

Womens History Month

Women’s History Month: Gene Grabeel and the Venona Project

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Sometimes multiple areas of interest collide into one topic, making my research easy and fun. Such is the case here with Gene Grabeel and Women’s History Month.

Given world events at this moment and the fact that a great deal of my education has to do with 20th Century European history, I’ve spent significant time revisiting Cold War developments. So, imagine my surprise when I discovered that it’s Women’s History Month and that there is a connection between this month and the Cold War.

A little-discussed operation until recently, the Venona Project began before WWII’s end and picked up full-steam as the Iron Curtain descended across Europe. Many military leaders saw the writing on the wall, so to speak, regarding US-Soviet relations and began taking steps to address their distrust of Joseph Stalin with intel-gathering projects like Venona.

One of those leaders was Colonel Carter W. Clarke. Clarke ordered mathematician and cryptanalyst Gene Grabeel to create the Venona Project. This project was kept classified until 1995, after which time many secrets about the Soviet’s influence in the West came to light. Grabeel was a fundamental part of the Venona Projects and the information it discovered. 

Following college, Grabeel worked as a home economics teacher for teenage girls, which she found rather less than satisfying. In December of 1942, despite the incredibly vague job description, she took a job with the Signal Intelligence Service. Her initial duty was to decode Soviet ciphertext, and in less than two months, she founded the Venona Project under Colonel Clarke. 

This was the start of Grabeel’s 36-year career with the Signal Intelligence Service, and the incredible legacy she created. Grabeel and her cryptanalyst team deciphered codes that lead to the discovery of Soviet spies in the Manhattan Project, top government officials who were passing information, and great insight into the Soviet Union’s general intent and operations. 

Through a “brute force” approach using IBM punch card machines and good ol’ fashioned mathematical-influenced analysis, Grabeel and her colleagues made a significant discovery:

…the former home ec teacher and her colleagues divined that Arlington Hall had messages passing along five different Soviet communications systems. One, the most voluminous, had to do with trade—often about materials being sent from the U.S. to Russia through the Lend-Lease program. Another carried regular diplomatic communications. In time, the code breakers discerned that the other three were spy systems: GRU, or military intelligence; naval intelligence; and the NKVD, the forerunner of the KGB.

The real breakthrough came shortly after when Grabeel and others discovered that some Soviet spies involved in espionage operations had repeatedly used their encryption keys. While not quite equivalent to leaving your password to a secure facility up for a national television audience to see, it was a definite blunder in spycraft. It allowed the American intelligence analysts to make a significant crack in the code.

The importance of this discovery cannot be overstated. Had it been a one-time code-break that resulted in something like the Rosenbergs being caught, that would be significant in itself. 

The Venona Project continued on in almost complete secrecy for more than three decades and led to many leaps forward in understanding Soviet operations. 

Because of their work, we learned more about how the Soviets advanced their nuclear program. More than could have ever been learned via spying. The dedication of Grabeel and co-workers Angeline Nanni, Mary Jo Dunning, and others who worked on the project allowed for breakthroughs that have impacted everything from modern computers to ongoing geopolitical situations. 

In 1995, Grabeel was recognized by the CIA as an “American Hero.” After passing away in 2015, she was memorialized by a highway marker in Virginia. While that seems vastly inadequate recognition for her contributions to the world of computing and espionage, it’s in a way quite fitting for someone who was described as quiet and unassuming. 

So, this Women’s History Month, we pay homage to the hard work of Gene Grabeel and her associates. Their contributions to both the coding and international security worlds are worthy of high praise.

Diversity Blog

Diversity and Inclusion Workshop Prepares Veterans for the Tech Workplace

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The tech field values hiring and supporting diverse teams now more than ever. Top tech companies are increasing their inclusion efforts and hiring people from more varied backgrounds. Research shows that diverse software engineering teams more creatively problem solve and develop products that better serve their customers.

Because of this trend, diversity and inclusion training is an important part of Code Platoon’s Full-stack Software Engineering Bootcamp. Emma de Silva, a Code Platoon graduate and software engineer with DRW, talks about her own Code Platoon diversity and inclusion training experience.

“The tech industry is highly sensitive to and accepts all types of differences,” Emma notes. “We are educating our students to be equally sensitive and accepting.” 

Emma leads a two-part diversity and inclusion workshop for each Code Platoon cohort. She approaches diversity and inclusion training openly and candidly. 

“The best way to learn more about other people is to talk to them,” Emma says. “Become friends, learn about their life, and above all, have empathy. Put forth the effort to look at things from a different perspective.”

Emma’s workshop teaches students the vocabulary surrounding diversity. Emma also guides students through discussions and exercises to get them thinking about their own identities. These conversations show the students how their personal backgrounds fit into their future workplaces. 

Students are invited to share past experiences of insensitivity they saw during their military service and how they felt in those instances. Emma also describes workplace inequity scenarios and challenges students to create solutions. Building on these scenarios, students consider ways to maintain and increase inclusion in their own lives and in the software engineering industry.

“People have been fired and lost job offers due to insensitive comments or actions,” Emma explains.

That said, diversity and inclusion training helps students with more than just getting and keeping jobs. Research finds that teams with diverse members are smarter, more creative, and able to solve more problems. A 2019 McKinsey & Company study also shows that employees in diverse workplaces tend to be more engaged, rate their work culture more highly, and are happier and feel more confident in their abilities. 

Emma even has personal experience from her own Code Platoon journey.

“Code Platoon provided a great environment to unlearn a lot of the anxieties and negative things I felt about myself,” she says. “I finished Code Platoon with a level of confidence in my identity that I didn’t have going into the program.

“It’s a big reason why I love doing these workshops. I believe it makes a difference. And I know firsthand how other people respecting your identity and accepting you can make such a huge difference in your life.”

Diversity and inclusion are important in the tech workplace. As such, they are part of Code Platoon’s Beyond Tech curriculum, which helps students transitioning from military service to civilian positions. Learn more about our Beyond Tech curriculum.

Kayla Elkin is the Marketing Content Specialist at Code Platoon. In this role, she utilizes her marketing, writing, and editing skills developed by previous positions in higher education and educational technology. Kayla has degrees in English and Sociology from Clemson University and completed the Study in India Program (SIP) at the University of Hyderabad. She lives with her partner in northern Chicago.

Career Services Roadmap

A Roadmap for Career Success

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Code Platoon doesn’t just teach Veterans and military spouses how to become full-stack software engineers. We also help prepare them for a career in software development. We call it our Career Services Roadmap.

The Career Services Roadmap is an individualized plan for Code Platoon students that takes them from the classroom to their new careers. The Roadmap is a commitment between the student and Code Platoon to work together as they successfully transition from the military community into the tech world. 

The Roadmap Starts During Bootcamp

Code Platoon’s Career Services Roadmap begins while students are still in Bootcamp. Our Beyond Tech curriculum is an informative and engaging eight-part lecture series where students learn unspoken rules and expectations for their new career paths.

Beyond Tech topics include overcoming “imposter syndrome,” the importance and advantages of diversity in the workplace, financial literacy, and how to best navigate the job hunt.

In addition to Beyond Tech, Code Platoon works with students to draft and edit their resumes and create brand statements and LinkedIn profiles. Students are provided with resume coaches and mentors to help them tell their stories to prospective employers.

The Roadmap Continues After Graduation

Once the student graduates, the Career Services Roadmap leverages their newly acquired skills to secure career opportunities. Graduates must commit to continuing to participate in the Career Services Roadmap. That commitment includes weekly check-ins with our career services team throughout the job search. Graduates also participate in ongoing homework and interview prep sessions.

In return, graduates partner with dedicated career services team members throughout their job searches.  Career services team members help students navigate their job searches to become competitive by developing individualized plans based on their career goals and background. The plan includes personalized job target lists and application trackers.

Participants also have access to career services classes on networking, salary negotiation, interview follow-up, and other topics. This access continues even after the graduate secures their first job.

Graduates also have access to exclusive employer “intro” sessions. These sessions with our employment partners highlight available career opportunities and introduce the hiring team filling those roles. These sessions are exclusively for Code Platoon graduates.

The Roadmap Works

How do you know that our Career Services Roadmap and contract work? Look at our outcomes.

Eighty percent of our graduates found jobs in software development within six months of graduating. The median starting salary of those graduates was $72,000 and, after 24 months, the median salary grew to $96,000.

Rich Luby has more than fourteen years of experience in disability and inclusion training, initiative development, and workforce development for healthcare organizations, educational institutions, and Fortune 500 companies. Rich recently leveraged these experiences to build out career development programming for national startups in tech education. He leads with an empathetic nature and attains results through collaborative approaches.

Black History Month

Black History Month: Three Standouts in Military History

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From the beginning of our history, Black men and women have made tremendous contributions to our society, particularly the U.S. military’s success. As we celebrate Black History Month, Code Platoon wanted to recognize standouts from that community who rose above and beyond the call of duty, making their contribution all the more significant, given that they succeeded despite the disparities of their situation. So, we have chosen three individuals who embody that spirit of rising to meet a challenge and overcoming their surroundings.

Robert Smalls

Born into slavery on a plantation in South Carolina, Smalls eventually married another enslaved person and, after having children, wanted to “buy” his family from the enslavers. Not having Robert Smallsenough money, Smalls joined the Confederate Navy and developed enough trust with his commanders that he was allowed to pilot a ship which he then craftily sailed away in – with eight other enslaved people – to freedom in the North.

Following the Civil War, the Department of the Navy gave him enough money to buy the home he belonged to before the war, where he then lived for the rest of his life. But he wasn’t done carving out a path, as he went on to serve in the South Carolina State Assembly and also the U.S. House of Representatives for five terms, helping shape the country for years to come. 

To put it bluntly, he never quit fighting, which is the true mark of a hero.

 

Clara Leach Adams-Ender

Author of the book My Rise to the Stars: How a Sharecropper’s Daughter Became an Army General, Clara Adams-Ender had nine siblings, graduated high school at 16 years old, and joined the U.S. Army in 1961 to pay for her nursing school education. Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant,  Adams-Ender began her service in the U.S. Army Nursing Corps.

Adams-EnderBy 1964, Clara became an instructor at Fort Sam Houston, where she taught until 1967, which means that many medics who went to Vietnam received education from her. In 1967, she earned her master’s degree in medical-surgical nursing, moving on to teach and work at Walter Reed Medical Center.

By 1978, she was the Assistant Chief of the Department of Nursing at the 97th General Hospital in Frankfurt, Germany. She became Chief there and  was promoted to colonel by the time she left in 1981. She attended the U.S. Army War College, became the first African-American Nursing Corps student to graduate from there, moved on to recruiting more nurses for the Army, and advocated for higher wages for nurses in general.

In 1991 she became the Commanding General of Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and Deputy Commanding General of the United States Military District of Washington, two positions she held until her retirement in 1993. 

You may notice that there is no crazy story of charging an enemy foxhole or heroism under gunfire in the narrative here, and that is partly why I chose to include her story. We often overlook the people behind the scenes who enable the success of others. In many of those categories, General Adams-Ender did exactly that but also accomplished all of this as the “first” to do so. 

She rose to the top from humble beginnings, always advocating for and instructing those who came behind her for them to become better. That’s worthy of celebrating any day.

Charles L. Thomas

Charles was a mechanical engineering student at Wayne State University and worked for Ford Motor Company when drafted by the U.S. Army in 1942. After Basic Training, he was assigned to the Infantry, but he was soon selected to attend Officer Candidate School and was assigned to the 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion after being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant.

Charles ThomasIn October of 1944, Lt. Thomas arrived on Normandy Beach, and by November, they had connected with Patton’s Third Army, seeing their first combat by the end of that month. However, it was the middle of December when his unit found itself in a position that led Thomas to take actions that would eventually earn him the Medal of Honor.

In an effort to capture the village of Climbach, Thomas’ scout car was hit by enemy fire, and he was wounded. During his attempt to get his men out of the vehicle, he was shot in the chest, but rather than calling it a day, he coordinated a react-to-contact effort that would make every Ranger Instructor proud, directing where anti-tank guns should be placed, briefed other leaders on the situation as they arrived, and returned fire to provide cover for outflanking maneuvers. 

His unit received four Silver Stars and nine Bronze Stars, with (now) Captain Thomas receiving a Distinguished Service Cross. He came home a humble hero, stating, “I know I was sent out to locate and draw the enemy fire, but I didn’t mean to draw that much.” 

Thomas stayed in the Army until 1947 and then went to work as a missile technician before eventually landing the sweet, sweet role of – wait for it – a computer programmer! That’s right – this man had the career of a legend before passing away from cancer in 1980. 

Unfortunately, it was not until 1997 that his Distinguished Service Cross was upgraded to the Medal of Honor after many recognized the reality that Black soldiers had been passed over for this prestigious award for no other reason than the color of their skin. Thomas’ name was one of those who came up in a study to determine this, after which time he was posthumously awarded this highest of medals, and deservedly so.

Greg Drobny is a former Airborne Infantryman, PSYOP Team Chief, political consultant, professional mil blogger, and is Code Platoon’s Student Outreach and Recruitment Manager. He holds a BA and MA in history, as well as a Masters of Science in organizational psychology. He is married with four children who keep him more than slightly busy and is passionate about helping Veterans find their paths in life and develop the skills needed to pursue their goals.

Papa Platoon Final Projects

Papa Platoon Final Projects

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We’re showcasing the final group projects from the recently graduated Papa Platoon. During each Code Platoon Full-stack Software Engineering Bootcamp, our students form teams to create a capstone project that showcases the coding, development, and teamwork skills learned in the program.

First up is codeForward  – a micro-networking application for Bootcamp graduates and professionals to network and grow their careers.

Check out codeForward, presented by a team of Papa Platoon graduates, including an Army spouse, an Army Veteran, and two Marine Corps Veterans.

 

The next project, Secure Aid, is designed to help with the enormous humanitarian need in Afghanistan. Secure Aid aims to connect Afghans in need with aid organizations securely. A team of two Air Force Veterans, a Navy Veteran, and an Army Veteran created Secure Aid.

Wandrr is for travelers who want to dig deeper into the history of the places they visit. The app allows users to reveal the hidden history of sites and identify historic gems with a simple map interface that includes links to articles and user-generated content about the locations.

A team of two Army spouses, a Navy spouse, and a Navy Veteran showcase their coding, engineering, and teamwork skills in their capstone project, Wandrr.

The next group project from Papa Platoon is The Daily Planter. The app team includes Army, Navy, and Air Force Veterans.

The Daily Planter is an app that makes gardening easier. The Daily Planter allows home gardeners to calendar their plantings, track soil test results, and identify pests. It also provides weather information to alert gardeners to frost warnings and other events that may impact their garden.

Chore Store is for families with school-age children to help manage children’s household chores and allowance. Chore Store features a family-friendly interface that appeals to both children and parents.

The Chore Store team includes two Army Veterans, a Navy Veteran, an Air Force Veteran, and an Army spouse.

The final project in our showcase – Food Byte – was developed by five Veterans and highlighted their coding, development, and teamwork skills. 

Food Byte is a web app that allows users to search for the “best steak taco” or other food items in the area. The app provides users with the top ten highest-rated foods, regardless of the restaurant. Users can also post reviews and earn rewards on the app.

Check out Food Byte presented by our Papa Platoon graduates.

 

E&W Bootcamp Blog

5 Reasons Code Platoon’s E&W Bootcamp Might Work For you

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Do you want to switch careers into tech, but not sure if you can quit your job and learn to code at a full-time bootcamp? A part-time coding bootcamps might be a great option for you.

Code Platoon’s part-time, Evening and Weekend Bootcamp is 28 weeks in length with classes meeting remotely three nights per week and all day on Saturday. The Evening and Weekend program offers the option of flexible scheduling, which makes it an excellent choice for Veterans and military spouses that are disciplined learners with busy schedules.

Here are five reasons that the Code Platoon Evening and Weekend Program might be right for you.

1.  You don’t have to quit your job

One of the greatest prohibitors to attending a full-time, immersive bootcamp is having to give up your job to attend. For many people, this simply isn’t a viable option – whether they’re taking care of their families or can’t afford to give up a steady income for an extended period of time. Choosing a part-time program allows you to uphold your responsibilities while learning to code.

2. You can attend from anywhere in the world

Code Platoon’s Evening and Weekend program is offered 100% remotely, giving you the freedom to join the program from the comfort of your own home or military base. The program features the same curriculum as our immersive Full-time program — expert instruction, Beyond Tech career preparation, pair programming, and group projects.

3.  There’s a structured learning environment

Many people who attempt to teach themselves coding give up or taper off after just a few weeks. If you learn best in a structured learning environment, but there are no classes near you, an online coding Bootcamp is a great solution. You’ll be able to participate in a live, virtual classroom led by our instructors. The program also includes virtual pair programming and projects wth other course participants.

4.  A program designed for the military community

Code Platoon specializes in training Veterans and military spouses; we don’t train anyone else. You’ll be learning in an environment where you can be comfortable, surrounded by people with shared military experiences and personal objectives. Based on eligibility, Evening and Weekend students may qualify to use VET TEC, VRRAP or VR&E benefits to fund their attendance. Code Platoon also offers a wide range of scholarships to attend the program.

5. Provides new career opportunities

Coding skills are valuable in today’s business environment, and a programming bootcamp can help you get the training you need. The Evening and Weekend program can be an excellent choice for those interested in a new career in software engineering or to add coding experience to their current career.

Code Platoon is consistently ranked among the Best Bootcamps in the country by Switchup.org and Course Report. Take the first step to a new career in tech – apply for the Evening and Weekend Program. The next Evening & Weekend Platoon is scheduled for October 3, 2022 – April 14, 2023. The application deadline is June 26, 2022.

Jim Hennessey is Code Platoon’s Director of Marketing. Jim brings a strong background in non-profit marketing and start-up enterprises to the mission of Code Platoon. Jim is a graduate of Clemson University and currently lives in Chicago. Follow Jim on LinkedIn.

A Path to Skillbridge

A Path to SkillBridge Opportunities

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Imagine there is a great opportunity for Servicemembers, but they have to know about it themselves because no one in the military tells them about it until they are ready to end their service. Such is the case with SkillBridge. Transitioning  service members in their last 180 days of service and approval from the first O-4 field grade commander in their chain of command are eligible to participate in a DoD SkillBridge-authorized program.

Skillbridge infographic

Skillbridge programs are designed to prepare Servicemembers to transition into the civilian world by providing employable training and the skills necessary for meaningful employment. The DoD Skillbridge program is not a funding mechanism.

But SkillBridge is a tricky animal for a few reasons. Here are a few tips to prepare you for the Skillbridge process.

The first challenge of the Skillbridge process is timing. As many have discovered, the problem is that by the time most military personnel learn about the opportunity, it is too late to participate. Many Skillbridge opportunities, like Code Platoon, require several months in advance to prepare. If they only find out about SkillBridge in their last 180 days, they will not have the time they need to successfully find and apply to a program.

So, here are the three most important steps for approaching SkillBridge. 

Step one – Learn about SkillBridge 

There are many different types of Skillbridge programs in different industries. Contact your base’s education center and find out about opportunities that best match your skill set. Then, start conversations with your chain of command and find out everything you can about the approval process (and, ideally, tell everyone you know about it).

Step two – Find a Program

Once you’ve learned the process from your education center, you must find a program that matches where you want to take your career after your military service. Once you’ve decided to embark on this path, then it’s time to narrow down what you want to do with it.

For those who wish to enter into the tech field, learning to write code should be high on the list of considerations for direction. Code Platoon is the only school of its type that exclusively serves the military and Veteran community, so it’s a natural fit for those choosing that path. 

Step three – Apply and Approval

Applying to any program takes time and mental energy. The Code Platoon application process is no exception.

To be accepted to Code Platoon, students must complete a series of coding challenges that demonstrate their willingness to, at least to a small degree, teach themselves enough to get started. Self-starters are who succeed not just in our program, but also in the coding world in general.

We recommend that the average student with some coding experience allow for a few weeks of preparation in order to do well on the application challenges. If you are a total beginner to coding, we suggest completing our free, self-paced Intro to Coding course before starting the challenges. This could add a few weeks to the process, but will definitely help in completing the challenges. 

Don’t forget to allow for command approval as part of your application process. Code Platoon can accept you, but your chain of command must approve your participation. Code Platoon does provide an Introductory Letter from Code Platoon and a template for command approval to help in the process.

Code Platoon runs three full-time cohorts per year, which means start-dates are typically in the January, May, and October time-frames. With cohorts lasting 15 weeks, the need for one of those date-ranges needing to fit in with a Servicemember’s last 180 days in service, the length of the application process and the preparation needed, realistically one needs to plan at least 9 months in advance to attend Code Platoon.

The software development world is growing rapidly. For those who can write code — people who learn the fundamentals of relevant coding languages like Javascript, Python, C++, and others — the opportunities in that world are extensive. 

Using SkillBridge to take advantage of a program like Code Platoon is an amazing chance to launch your career in this field with hands-on, viable, and employable skills before you even leave the military. You are set up for success while still being an active duty Soldier, Sailor, Airmen, or Marine. 

Reach out to your base education center and also to us for more details, as SkillBridge is not something you want to miss out on.

Greg Drobny is a former Airborne Infantryman, PSYOP Team Chief, political consultant, professional mil blogger, and is Code Platoon’s Student Outreach and Recruitment Manager. He holds a BA and MA in history, as well as a Masters of Science in organizational psychology. He is married with four children who keep him more than slightly busy and is passionate about helping Veterans find their paths in life and develop the skills needed to pursue their goals.

Code Talkers

Code Platoon Salutes Navajo Code Talkers

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November is Native American Heritage Month. This month presents an opportunity to educate the public about the proud history of Indigenous people in America and celebrate the rich and diverse tribal cultures that continue to thrive throughout Indian Country. Code Platoon recognizes the significant contribution that Native Americans have made to our military.

Many in the software development world will tell you that understanding code from a language perspective is more helpful than approaching it as a scientific problem. 

For this reason, to learn the history of computer coding ]we need to  learn about the history of cryptography—encoding messages for the purpose of secret transmission, usually in times of war.  In that realm, we are woefully uninformed if we do not dig into one of the greatest cryptographic stories in the history of warfare: the Navajo Code Talkers of WWII, and the impact they had in beating the Axis powers. 

 Anyone who has taken part in military operations knows the value of secure transmissions. The ability to reliably communicate something to your fellow warfighters without the enemy knowing about it is a key element in the trifecta of successful combat maneuvering (i.e., shoot, move, and communicate).

 With the advent of technologically sophisticated cryptographic machinery like Enigma and SIGABA, and the knowledge that the Germans and Japanese were probably working on something similar, the race was on to figure out the most reliable means for the passing of information in a theater of war. Both the US and Great Britain saw the advantages of breaking the enemy’s codes, so preventing that from happening was a priority.

The US Marines, operating in the Pacific theater, had a different idea: rather than relying on technological innovation, they found a solution in an ancient culture, deeply rooted in America. In recruiting 29 men from the Navajo Nation, Marines had access to what became an unbroken code, one that would help them win major battles like the one on Iwo Jima.

 The Code Talkers  took key military phrases and tactics and assigned Navajo terms to them, thus creating a simple code for those who were fluent in the language. This had two advantages: first, Navajo was an unwritten language, so there was no source which the Japanese could consult in order to decipher this code; second, while encrypted messages could often take 30 minutes or more on a cryptography machine, Navajo Code Talkers could speak volumes to one another in mere seconds. 

 To claim that this had a positive impact on military operations for the US Marines would of course be a vast understatement. The use of an indecipherable language was the  communications equivalent of tying one of the enemy’s arms behind their backs. 

But the importance of the code talkers goes well beyond just understanding military tactics and how vital is the role of communications in those operations. For starters, it offers us the opportunity to celebrate the contributions of diverse people groups coming together to solve complicated problems for the purpose of serving the greater good. The United States and the Navajo people have not always enjoyed the most positive relationship, but these men still served in a time of need.

Secondly, this is a lesson in problem solving that those in the tech world would do well to remember. We often operate under the assumption that some new piece of tech or cutting edge process will be the answer to a complex problem. Sometimes, however, as was the case with the Navajo Code Talkers, the solution already exists in something more ancient.

Coding is a form of language, and the history of programming is incomplete without understanding its reliance on code, code writing, and the deciphering of that code by both machines and humans. So, we at Code Platoon would like to salute those who contributed to this incredible history in the most heroic of ways—when they had every reason not to.

 Greg Drobny is a former Airborne Infantryman, PSYOP Team Chief, political consultant, professional mil blogger, and is Code Platoon’s Student Outreach and Recruitment Manager. He holds a BA and MA in history, as well as a Masters of Science in organizational psychology. He is married with four children who keep him more than slightly busy and is passionate about helping Veterans find their paths in life and develop the skills needed to pursue their goals.

Serving Again Blog

Serving Again: Veterans in the Workforce

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The longest war in American History ended this year. Take that in for a second. Think about how the weight of that fact alone should make Veterans’ Day hit a little bit differently this year for all Americans, but even more so for those like myself who served our country during wartime.

Watching the turmoil unfold this year in a freshly independent and abandoned Afghanistan echoes what I saw and felt at the end of my own time in the Iraq war. It’s times like these where it’s hard to ignore similar thoughts to what I’ve had in the past. Thoughts like “did the 15 months I spent working there mean anything if this is how these conflicts seem to end every time.”  Or other questions like “is it worth the trillions of dollars and thousands of lives spent on these efforts if we’re not leaving it unarguably better than we found it.”

Obviously, the consequences of these wars affect Veterans quite deeply. Being called to serve in times of conflict is what we spend most of our time in the military training or preparing for, where the stakes will never be higher. Every decision carries so much weight when a person’s daily workplace is a literal war zone, and the nature of the work is truly a matter of life or death.

For many Veterans, answering the call to serve in these wars will carry the strongest ‘sense of meaning from work’ we’ll feel in the span of our career or life. It matters when your country needs you and calls you to serve a higher purpose. Military service isn’t all life and death. However, most military jobs still involve responsibility for millions of dollars worth of equipment or organizing a group towards completing some larger, more important goal.

This is why I’m happy to see companies commit to and hire Veterans, helping to ‘remobilize’ America’s best, enabling a new sense of purpose in many Veterans that they may not have felt since they served. I don’t believe opportunities like that can carry a price tag.

For me, what started as just a way to pay for college, joining the Army National Guard at 17 years old, ended up being the motivation, self-discipline, and accountability I knew I was missing in my life. It took me places professionally and around the world that I likely never would have been able to get to on my own.

Although all National Guardsmen and women signed up with an agreement to be deployed overseas if necessary, after 9-11, the U.S. government changed the way they started applying the use of Reservists, or part-time Army units (usually serving one weekend per month and two weeks every Summer). Suddenly, the mission wasn’t just limited to filling sandbags to fight floods at home; but instead, we were being sent to fight an unclear enemy, miles from home, and at times, without the exact training and equipment necessary. These jobs don’t have an instruction manual, so we had to figure out a lot on the fly while trying not to get shot. We were fired on often, with mortar shells, small arms fire, a lot of rocket-propelled grenades, and it was difficult for me to see the casualties on both sides.

The hardest days of my life were during my military service, but it was also the most formative. No regrets. However, after I was deployed overseas once, for 15 months straight active duty, and having multiple brushes with death, I was pretty intent on never being in a position to get sent back for a ‘round two’. So, when my duty time was up, I was more than ready to start the next chapter of my life.

For Veterans first starting out, by comparison to military service, there is an overwhelming lack of structure in the civilian world that we have to orient ourselves to. In many ways, moving to ‘civilian work’ as a newly-minted war Veteran felt somehow as foreign as first landing in Iraq had felt. After a trial-and-error chain of jobs, it would be a difficult road before I would find similar meaning from work again.

I often see my Veteran experience bubbling to the surface, informing so much of what I do, especially in three main areas: dealing with stressful situations, meeting the demands of new training requirements, and leading initiatives or people. Though we don’t always share details of our Veteran identity at work, it’s through our work that we’re sharing the value on which that identity is built. Leadership is the piece there that I think is the most significant.

It goes without saying that strong leadership is paramount for an organization to grow and thrive, critically necessary to its success. True leaders have a sense that they are working for the people they lead and demonstrate that daily. One of the main things I took for granted while in uniform was that authentic leadership, by design, was woven so deeply inside the military culture. By comparison, within the civilian workforce, it’s a difficult thing to find remarkable examples of.

The American military is basically a leadership incubator, where the processes that fuel it have been tested and improved for almost 250 years. Who else has been in business that long? After they experience the world’s gold standard for leaders, Veterans’ standards and expectations for professional development and quality leadership become very hard to meet. Imagine how intensely micromanaged could feel to a Veteran, especially after the level of responsibility most have been trusted with during their time in service. As Veterans integrate with your business or team, it’s essential to understand that previously, they have built this intense literacy for leadership. They will now seek it out. Most bring their innate sense of leadership to their work, well beyond their time in uniform.

As a thought exercise, consider the potential if your company tore a page out of the military’s playbook and how teams could benefit from ‘meeting Veterans where they’re coming from’ when it comes to leadership. For example, and I know some trades do this, but what if corporate leaders all developed their subordinates to be able to fill in at a moment’s notice for their superiors’ duties, as is standard in the military? Imagine the level of trust, continuity, retention, and readiness teams could have as a result. Instead of things slowing down or pausing for a while when someone moves on, imagine how we could innovate, the momentum we’d have, and the results we could produce by applying the approach to leadership that Veterans bring. When a Veteran leaves the military and joins the workforce, don’t undervalue that ‘leadership awareness’ mindset that comes with them.

Another defining constant of the military or Veteran experience that we bring to the workplace is a focus on the importance of training. From the day we join the military to the day we leave, we constantly prepare to be the best for when it matters the most. Classes, exercises, simulations, checklists, assessment tests, review boards, measuring and improving to meet or exceed the standards. Without that, we risk just waiting to fail, and with life and liberty on the line, hope is not a method, and failure is not an option.

The Army had such an amazing structure behind its training model, and I leverage it when imparting any new skill to someone on the job. Since boot camp, the simple recipe of ‘Tasks, Conditions, and Standards’ has been drilled into at least Army Veterans. It’s a framework that enforces accountability, which can be hard to do, the larger an organization gets. However, this 3 part structure was applied to and worked for, everything from learning to fire a rifle to dressing battlefield wounds.

To break this down, ‘tasks’ are the individual actions you demonstrate, as the learner, to show you have ‘learned the thing.’ Meanwhile, the ‘conditions’ are simply the environmental factors or rules at play when completing the tasks, and best of all, ‘standards’ define what success means or are the extent to which tasks should be completed. Maybe it’s overkill for some of the more simple civilian training needs we have, but it’s worth explaining because many Veterans’ military service is spent 95% on training, and not a week goes by where I don’t need to learn from or train up someone on something new. It’s a simple guard rail that can add value to something we do every day.

One last major area where I believe Veterans’ experiences add more value in the civilian workforce is overcoming adversity and staying resilient to change. In part, it comes from situations where significant responsibility was a factor or from being tested with intense situations. Basically, in situations where there’s a lot on the line, and one is pushed to perform under pressure, there’s a lot of growth to come out of that and can be applied to deadlines, operational responses, or in areas of a business where there’s little to no room for failure.

For example, living and working for a year inside a war zone, with no ‘front line’ and an enemy that can come out of nowhere at any time, there’s a certain sense of resilience or perseverance you develop. For me, part of that is accepting the conditions of a situation where you don’t have control, which helps enable you to still function, maintain your sanity, and deliver results.

Even as I write this now, I had to stop and consider how weird the words “enemy fire” would sound to my corporate colleagues, and to what extent would I have to explain that? Would they be able to put together that means being shot at or bombed while you’re ‘working,’ just from the context alone? In Iraq, not a week would go by without someone trying to, or- almost killing us. That constant threat really just illustrates the distance between the battlefield and the post-military career field. Simply put, all that could possibly go wrong in a military workday really prepares Veterans to not ‘sweat the small stuff’ afterwards in our civilian careers.

Overall, I think every work culture both desires and benefits from having model citizens as members, and I can’t think of any other experience where I’ve been among the best of the best when it comes to the values I’ve laid out here, which are instilled by a Veterans’ military service. I’d say without hesitation that Veterans make the workplace a better place, and just like their service sometimes, the contribution goes unnoticed, and we’re fine with that. Veteran culture is a humble one because we were truly ‘just doing our jobs’ in uniform.

So, thanks for your respect for Servicemembers and their service, and to companies and managers, the value should be obvious of hiring Veterans whenever possible. Seek to understand and leverage your current Veteran-colleagues’ strengths to enhance your teams and organizations. And please remember that whatever capacity Veterans serve in after they’ve served, their sense of duty and commitment will always add value on levels that a paycheck alone simply can’t inspire.

Justin Savage is an Army National Guard Veteran and a 2020 graduate of Code Platoon’s Kilo Platoon. Justin is a Full-stack Software Engineer at JP Morgan Chase.

The post SERVING AGAIN: VETERANS IN THE WORKPLACE originally appeared on Veterans Day, November 11, 2021, on LinkedIn. Code Platoon thanks Justin Savage for permission to repost this blog.