Leaving the military often means adjusting to a workplace with very different expectations. At HX5, CEO Margarita Howard aims to make that adjustment smaller. A Ritz Herald profile describes how her Air Force background helps the company keep cultural elements that veteran employees are likely to recognize.
Shared Values, New Setting
Military service instills habits around accountability, attention to detail, and operational security. Those habits suit government contracting, where documentation, clearance maintenance, and performance standards carry serious consequences. HX5 emphasizes integrity, mission focus, and security compliance, values that echo military organizations while operating as a civilian business.
The profile notes that this continuity can ease the move into civilian work. Veterans who join HX5 mostly need to learn business processes. They do not have to rebuild their sense of what good work looks like.
“My background was influenced by military service,” Margarita Howard said. She is a service-disabled veteran, and her company holds certification as both a service-disabled veteran-owned and women-owned small business. For veterans, those designations can signal that leadership understands their experience.
Filling the Gaps
Some differences between military and civilian workplaces remain. The Hiring Our Heroes Corporate Fellowship Program, which HX5 has joined every year since 2021, addresses them directly. Fellows spend one day a week on professional development, with sessions that may cover project management, corporate communication styles, and influencing colleagues without formal authority. Those skills apply across industries but receive less emphasis in military training.
The other four days, fellows work on real projects at their host company. HX5 has welcomed eight of them so far, two per year. The company supports Department of Defense and NASA programs at more than 70 government locations, and many roles require security clearances.
Howard’s own path included a defense industry role on the team that implemented Tricare, the military’s health insurance program. That experience showed her how contractors and agencies collaborate. Under Margarita Howard, HX5 pairs that practical knowledge with a culture designed to feel familiar from a fellow’s first day. Visit this page for additional information.
Find more information about Howard on https://ritzherald.com/ceo-margarita-howards-background-shapes-hx5-approach-to-veteran-employment/