Supporting veterans

Aaron Lehn: I grew up in a town with 500 people. I had 12 kids in my graduating class, and growing up, you wanted to do something more outside of the Midwest. And I knew that there was more to the world and that I wanted to be part of a team that had a strong reputation. And I wanted to be part of a team that would work under extreme conditions for a common purpose, something bigger than ourselves. And the Marine Corps was that for me.

Douglas Watson: I think the challenges you faced in the military mean you have an agile mind to allow yourself to make decisions sometimes with limited information, and ultimately, to weigh out the risks that you are potentially going to face and work out ways of mitigating those.

Terrance Anderson Junior: They really press discipline, they really force me to really develop and think outside of the box and be a strategic thinker; and holistically from that experience, I couldn’t ask for anything else.

Aaron Lehn: So my job in the military was to guide commanders across the battlefield, so I served in the field called Geospatial Intelligence, which is working with satellite imagery, mapping products, human intelligence, to help visualize the battlefield for not only the senior commanders but also the squad leaders and people who would be going into various combat environments.

Christine Cardona: I was a computer operator, so I started out with sensitive materials data transmissions, and then I started working with computer systems and networks.

Douglas Watson: So I served for 17 years as a regular infantry officer. I had the privilege of leading soldiers on operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, and the United Kingdom.

Matt Silva: So I was a fuel artillery officer. My job was to be with maneuver unit and calling direct fire like satellite guided rockets or air strikes, that kind of thing.

Terrence Anderson Junior: The Marine Corps really prepares you to think strategically, really understand what you’re dealing with from a problem-solving perspective or a strategic, operational and tactical perspective.

Christine Cardona: The skills and the traits that we get in the military such as a passion to learn, loyalty, trust, all of those things make it very easy to work at BlackRock.

Terrence Anderson Junior: So the Veteran Network or Vet network is a network in which we choose to empower veterans internally and externally through the firm.

Aaron Lehn: So we work a lot with transitioning veterans, veterans that have made a commitment, they want to work in finance and try to help them make that transition whether or at other places.

Christine Cardona: It means a lot that BlackRock supports veterans because it’s important to have a community around you that has that same level of support and understanding of what a veteran goes through, and then lends that support that they need.

Matt Silva: And it also helps managers or people at BlackRock that don’t know vets get to know vets. I think it is nice to see a company that really appreciated that you weren’t—that you didn’t feel like you read by yourself and what you did is cool. I was proud of it, and it’s like BlackRock is proud of it too; they want you here.

Terrence Anderson Junior: my name is Terrence Anderson Junior and I was a captain in the United States Marine Corps.

Matt Silva: My name Matt Silva. I served in the Army for five years.

Douglas Watson: My name is Doug Watson, and I was a member of the Royal Scotland, part of the British Army.

Christine Cardona: I’m Christine Cardona. I was in the United States Airforce.

Aaron Lehn: My name is Aaron Lehn and I served four years in the United States Marine Corps.