Commander's Brief

Business ideas, jobs for veterans, and other cool stuff for ex-military.

Author

Mark Delaney
June 20, 2025

Sponsored by

One of the messages I have repeated since starting The Veteran Professional 5 years ago is this:

The Vet Net is real, and it is powerful.

Veterans enjoy supporting other veterans. I have found this to be true time and time again.

Let me expand.

In my new job at Talent War Group, we work with small and medium-sized businesses to find veterans to be leaders at their companies.

Very often, these businesses come to us specifically because we work with veterans.

Two quick examples:

#1: We have a sales consultant role with a $100M data center energy management business. They don’t sell to the military or do anything that frankly requires them to hire someone with a military background. But their CEO is a formal Naval aviator and he wants to bring more veterans into their organization. So he decided to work with us to fill this role.

#2: This week, I spoke with a President at a 9-figure, PE-backed, roll-up in the commercial construction industry. They are growing like crazy and are looking at a potential $300-400M exit in the next few years at their current rate. They need operations and management leaders to fuel the growth. The guy I spoke with is a West Point grad and thinks veterans would be a great for for their team.

Here is a super practical tip on how to use the veteran network to your advantage.

Let’s say there is a company you want to work at. I’ll use Anduril as they are a dream gig for a lot of veterans.

Go into LinkedIn and look up “Anduril Army” (or whatever branch)

Find someone you are connected to and have a shared background and then reach out:

“Hey, I a fellow army vet and interested in working at Anduril in their drone engineering. Would you be open to sharing your experiences with me?”

I feel confident most will say “yes.”

Veteran Business of the Week

There are a lot of veterans doing CBD stuff.

Which makes sense.

Our community has all kinds of sleep and anxiety problems.

One of the few I would actually recommend is VRB Labs.

Started by two veterans, Evan and Chase, their stuff is legit. It’s high quality, thoroughly tested, and designed for top performers.

Check them out.

Resource of The Week

We all did hard stuff in the military. And after we leave, it can feel like the “hard stuff” part of our lives is done.

But we like doing hard things.

That’s where Veterans Adventure Group comes in.

They run epic adventures (mountaineering, skydiving, etc.) for veterans.

If you are feeling the itch for something big, look them up.

Business Idea of The Week

I’m going to do something unconventional and ask you all to share a problem.

Give me something where you say,

“Someone should make this!”

Or

“Why doesn’t this exist?”

I want to share them here.

Go crush it,

Mark

💼 Open Positions:

Director of Operations – Honolulu, HI (On-Site)
$150K–$200K + Bonus
Command aviation operations at a strategic Pacific post. Manage compliance, lead crews, and liaise with the FAA — reporting directly to a veteran VP of Ops.

(Mark's note: This is a really awesome role with a company that lists all the major global logistics companies on their client list. Can be a direct pivot for someone transitioning from the military who has an aviation background. Did I mention it is in Hawaii??)

Sales Representative – Northern IL or Southern WI (On-Site)
$100K+ Year 1 | $150K++ by Year 2–3
Represent a legacy brand in luxury boating. Integrity-driven sales, strong client relationships, and a team that values veterans.

(Mark's note: This is a sales floor role perfect for someone who loves boats and the lake life. The company has been family-owned for 50+ years and has a stellar reputation. They truly value veterans and have hired multiple GMs from us in the past.)

Sales Representative – Hyperscale (Remote/Flexible)
Base $100K–$120K | OTE $200K–$250K
Step into the world of hyperscale tech and green energy. Sell high-value solutions with a mission-focused team led by a former F-18 pilot.

(Mark's note: Company started US operations in 2018 and is already at $100M+ revenue. Their service is a "need to have" for anyone trying to rapidly scale up data use. So basically every tech company. This is also not a "hard sales" role but much more about partnering with a client to engineer a solution. People with engineering backgrounds, large-scale IT project management, or who know about data center power management could be good candidates.)

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