Arctic Wolf is committed to fostering a positive community for veterans, servicemembers, their families, and allies. Cybersecurity is a field for anyone who is eager to learn and work as part of a team, and that’s why we’re proud to partner with SkillBridge, a U.S Department of Defense (DoD) program for transitioning service members that offers employment training, internship, and apprenticeship opportunities.
Today, we’re sharing the perspective of Kris Phillips, a security operations manager and U.S Air Force Veteran who joined Arctic Wolf through the SkillBridge program.
What is SkillBridge and how does the program work?
SkillBridge is a DoD program that allows transitioning services members opportunities to work at civilian organizations up to the last six months of their time in service in hopes of landing a career. It assists the service member in the acclimation back into civilian life.
How did you get involved with it and what has your experience been?
I got involved with SkillBridge as I was separating from the U.S Air Force last year. I was the first SkillBridge employee for Arctic Wolf and it was an amazing experience of learning, growing, and understanding where my experience as a cybersecurity officer fits in civilian organizations. I can’t imagine the transition out of the military without that six months to get oriented.
What gap is the SkillBridge program filling in the cyber talent gap?
SkillBridge is definitely helping with the talent gap. Organizations are getting highly trained professionals that are passionate about helping others, disciplined, and know how to work as a team. These individuals come in with industry-leading certifications and real-world experience that make them easy to integrate into high-pressure positions that are challenging to hire for through traditional means.
Photo of Kris Phillips
Why has SkillBridge been successful at Arctic Wolf?
The culture at Arctic Wolf makes SkillBridge such an enormous success. The organization is extremely veteran-centered and is full of vets. Especially here in San Antonio, which is also known as Military City, USA where we have seven military bases. So, we have a steady pipeline of SkillBridge applications here. Arctic Wolf goes out of their way to make sure that SkillBridge employees have all the resources they need to be successful and creates flexibility to allow the service member to attend additional out-processing appointments and obligations they might have.
How would you like to see SkillBridge utilized and grow in the future, especially at Arctic Wolf?
My vision for SkillBridge at Arctic Wolf is to see it utilized in all departments at all levels of the organization: from HR to finance to IT to the C-Suite. You’d be surprised at the amount of expertise that can come from transitioning service members and the amount of value they add to an organization.
Learn more about SkillBridge and how their organization provides results for business leaders and transitioning military members.
