Since 2021, HX5 has brought eight transitioning service members into its ranks through the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes Corporate Fellowship Program, a steady pace of two fellows annually under the direction of CEO Margarita Howard. The defense and aerospace contractor, led by a service-disabled veteran, has built its hiring philosophy around firsthand knowledge of what troops need when they leave uniformed service.
Howard’s own path included service in the Air Force, where she absorbed the operational discipline and clearance requirements that later shaped Margarita Howard leadership at HX5. “My background was influenced by military service,” she says, describing how that experience carries into the company’s culture.
Building a Pipeline for Transition
The fellowship operates as a Department of Defense SkillBridge initiative, letting active-duty members spend their final 180 days working with civilian employers. Fellows spend four days each week performing hands-on work and one day in professional development sessions, all while retaining military pay and benefits. HX5, a service-disabled veteran-owned and women-owned small business with roughly 1,000 employees, offers fellows a chance to apply military training toward government contracting work.
The company operates across more than 20 states and 70 government locations, supporting Department of Defense and NASA missions spanning research, engineering, and information technology. Much of that work depends on security clearances and comfort with government operational environments, qualities many service members already carry when they leave the military.
Howard points to a distinction that separates HX5‘s approach from broader civilian hiring. “Experience in their respective fields, while supporting these agencies’ respective programs and missions, is very different from experience gained from working in the commercial world,” she explains.
For a company of HX5’s size, hosting two fellows per year strikes a balance between meaningful commitment and manageable integration. Larger contractors can absorb dozens of fellows through dedicated recruiting teams, but Howard has kept HX5’s participation steady rather than sporadic, treating it as a long-term extension of the company’s identity rather than a seasonal hiring push. Refer to this article, for related information.
More about Margarita Howard on https://www.finsmes.com/2026/01/margarita-howard-on-how-hx5s-defense-origins-launched-its-expansion-into-nasa-contracting.html