Our company has many ties to the military and veterans. CynergisTek’s co-founder and CEO Mac McMillan, himself a 21 year veteran of the Marine Corps and former Director of Defense for two Defense Agencies, recently told HealthLeaders Media that veterans often bring many strengths from their time of service to the private sector workforce.

“…We look for … people that can operate independently, that are responsible, that we can trust, that we can expect to do the right thing. What we’ve witnessed with many former military folks is that they bring all those things that they learned in military with them to the private sector. The discipline, organization, the leadership, the commitment.”

He also estimates that about 40% of our employees are veterans, and states that the other 60% of us learn a lot from the strengths that the veterans bring to the table.

“That’s one of the great things about having veterans on your team—they bring that commitment to service and to selfless action to the rest of the team that the others might not have experienced before.”

Another benefit for organizations that hire veterans is their sense of loyalty instilled through years of service:

“When (I) first came to the private sector, something I was taken aback by was the lack of loyalty to organizations, or even to one another. Unlike in military where there is intense loyalty all around, I didn’t see that in the private sector. I even had people tell me that loyalty is overrated. I fundamentally disagreed with that from day one.

When workers feel committed to something, both personally and from mission perspective, they will go above and beyond.”

We wanted to hear first-hand how military service helped some of our veterans prepare for a career in healthcare privacy and security, as well as the benefits of CynergisTek’s veteran influence. Here are their responses:

Clayton Gouard | Information Security Consultant

“My experiences from the military have prepared and helped me anticipate much in my career at CynergisTek, but most of all in teaching me that most difficult situations, from kinetic operations to multi-state enterprise architecture, can be assessed and improved by applying fundamental concepts. I’ve exchanged patrol base operations and small unit tactics with secure information security architecture principles and incident response. I no longer parachute into a drop zone but rather fly on-site and engage with those who administer or manage secure healthcare information systems, looking for findings to make recommendations. The adversary is just as pernicious as before and while no one might be killed (although with biomed equipment/implants who can be certain?), steps must be taken to constantly improve our position and set up adequate protection and response against them. Airborne Infantrymen or Information Security Consultants each must do their part to show up where needed and perform their duty.”

Dustin Jones | Director, Security Services

“My career in the Marine Corps provided me with extensive training in the field of cybersecurity that directly translates to the skills needed in this industry. I was not only provided with an extensive amount of training in the cybersecurity field, but was also trained to be mission-oriented, have a high work ethic, and see an assigned task through completion. These things combined with strong leadership abilities have been key elements to my success in the industry and with CynergisTek.”

Derek Miller | Director, Client Services Southeast Region

“My Marine Corps experience has taught me the “bend but don’t break” mentality that I’ve carried over to the corporate sector. Just like the military, the civilian sector can be stressful and challenging at times. Having the confidence and mental fortitude to continue and complete a mission is peril to be successful in this industry and at CynergisTek. Espirit de corps is alive at CynergisTek, where we all want to do well for the good of the whole. I have not come across another company like CynergisTek since leaving the military that has focused so much on its people and the mission. I believe that it’s the reason why this company has experienced the level of success that it has.”

John Nye | Senior Penetration Tester

“In 2007, when I was 27 years old, I decided that a life of waiting tables was not going to be enough to support the family that I was hoping to start. 27 is a ripe old age to join the military, and having those years of independence made some of the subservience that the Army requires difficult for me. But as I grew in my chosen field of IT security, despite my enlisted status, I was recognized by the leadership as a key player to the success of our battalion’s mission. With the support of leadership and the Army’s strong security policies and mandates, I was able to keep those working in the 39th Transportation Battalion online and secure so that deliveries into the theater of war in Iraq and Afghanistan were successful. Since getting out I have used the skills and training I received, as well as my GI Bill, to grow and expand my skill-sets, leading me to my dream job as a Penetration Tester.”

CynergisTek thanks all of our veterans for their service. If you are interested in being a part of the CynergisTek team, view our open positions and apply on our careers page.