The transition from military service to civilian employment is rarely seamless. Skills transfer unevenly, workplace cultures differ, and the structure that defined daily life in uniform is suddenly absent. HX5 CEO Margarita Howard has experienced that shift firsthand, and it informs how her defense contracting company approaches the veterans it recruits.

Fellowship Program Provides a Structured Entry Point

Since 2021, HX5 has participated in the Hiring Our Heroes Corporate Fellowship Program, accepting two fellows per year for a total of eight. The program operates as a Department of Defense SkillBridge initiative under the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Active-duty service members within 180 days of separation spend 12 weeks at a host company, splitting their time between hands-on project work four days a week and professional development sessions on the fifth. Military pay and benefits continue throughout.

The program’s national outcomes are strong. More than 500 fellows have graduated since the initiative launched in 2015, with 80% receiving job offers and average starting salaries reaching $70,000. Participants have joined companies including Microsoft, Amazon, and major defense contractors like Booz Allen Hamilton and Lockheed Martin. HX5’s smaller scale sets it apart from those players, but its annual participation rate holds up in proportion to its roughly 1,000-employee workforce.

The fellowship introduces participants to more than just a job. Government contracting has its own logic: procurement cycles, contract administration, compliance requirements, and regulatory frameworks that have little parallel in military operations. The 12-week program gives fellows grounding in those realities before they commit to contracting careers.

A Workplace Culture Familiar to Veterans

HX5 operates across more than 20 states and over 70 government locations, supporting Department of Defense and NASA missions in research and development, engineering, and mission operations. The work often requires security clearances and direct familiarity with government operational norms attributes that veterans typically possess.

Margarita Howard’s background includes Air Force service, post-service education through both bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and work implementing the Tricare military health care program. She founded HX5 in 2004. Her experience on both sides of the government-contractor relationship gives her an informed view of what veterans bring to this kind of work and where gaps in civilian knowledge typically fall.

Howard has spoken directly about the pull of meaningful work. “The work we do is very exciting. Some of it is not being done anywhere else in the world,” she has said. For veterans who entered military service motivated by purpose, that framing tends to resonate. Margarita Howard has built HX5 around the idea that those veterans, given the right pathway, are among the best candidates for the work it does. Refer to this article for more information.

Learn more about HX5 on https://dataconomy.com/2026/02/23/infrastructure-as-competitive-advantage-margarita-howards-early-investment-philosophy-at-hx5/