Every year on November 11, we’re reminded to honor and celebrate the sacrifice and service of our military veterans. It’s a time to recognize both wartime and peace time accomplishments and pay homage to lives lost in pursuit of protecting our country.
November 11 is a special day, and one that deserves all the recognition it receives. With more than 16 million living veterans in the U.S. alone, it’s important we continue celebrating throughout the year, every year. And not only in celebration of those who have concluded their service, but also in celebration of active military members and their incredible work that continues to keep our country safe and drives innovation in sectors across many industries.
AT&T has a longstanding commitment in supporting active military personnel, their families and veterans. From hiring veterans to collaborating on innovation with various branches, we’re proud to give back to those who protect our freedom. Learn more about how we’re supporting our veterans and active duty service members, in honor of all they’ve done for us.
Supporting Prospective and Current Employees
We know that transitioning from the military to a civilian career has been a roadblock for many veterans. The discipline, expectations, culture – everything changes, fast. We’re working to hire more veterans and support them through their transition into their new civilian roles.
Hiring
- We reached our goal to hire 20,000 veterans by 2020 –ahead of schedule – and we remain focused on identifying new opportunities for veterans, including increasing our promotion of external career opportunities on more than 50 career sites that reach military veterans.
Mentorship
- We work with the SkillBridge Fellowship Program, which matches civilian opportunities to a service member’s training and experience.
- We launched the AT&T Veterans Media Fellowship, a program designed to connect veterans across the country with a 13-week program that hones their skills in the media industry, across everything from production to operations.
“My United States Air Force journey has trained me to be agile, motivated, and accountable. I am proud to be a Veteran Employee at AT&T and will continue to build lasting relationships and work towards my goals and dreams.” – Daryle Lee, United States Air Force – Airman First Class, AT&T Sales Execution Lead
Employee Resource Group
- AT&T Veterans employee group started in the 80s, when Vietnam veterans looked for more opportunities to share their stories and experiences. Today, AT&T Veterans stands strong with more than 6,500 members spanning 36 chapters across the country. They continue to be a community of volunteers working together to bring awareness to issues and opportunities with their key demographic in focus.
Connecting Military Bases and Communities
We know how important connection is, it’s part of everything we do, and for service members and their families who may be traveling or stationed far from home, that connection is critical. We’re working across the branches of the U.S. military to help connect more people where they are.
Fiber
- When Rear Admiral Jon Hickey, Director of Operational Logistics for the Coast Guard, California, reached out to AT&T in August 2021 with a plan to get families and service members living at the Coast Guard’s housing site in Novato, CA connected to fiber broadband, we knew what we had to do. We collaborated with the local command, Coast Guard Base Alameda to map out plans, and just over a year later, we were able to share that the fiber build was completed to connect the Coast Guard’s single family homes.
“Having witnessed firsthand the challenges our Coast Guard families endured as far back as 2015 and to see what [AT&T] has done to improve their quality of life now through this new capability (contemporary internet access) is just astounding.” – Rear Admiral Jon Hickey, Director of Operational Logistics
5G
- We’re delivering 5G and a broad array of Networking-as-a-Service and other modernization capabilities to support the work of more than 24,000 military personnel on U.S. Air Force bases: Buckley Space Force Base, Colorado; Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska; and Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.
- We’re delivering 5G and FirstNet service across Tyndall Air Force base, working jointly with the Air Force on its rebuild of the base in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael in 2018.
FirstNet, Built with AT&T
- Modernizing communications is a top priority for the U.S. Air Force and the Department of Defense. In late 2021, the Air Force delivered on this strategy by investing to improve network coverage and adopting FirstNet, initially across 15 bases, while it considers expanding FirstNet accessibility to others.
- Pilot programs like the one at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, allowed the Army to see the benefits of in-building signal boosters as well as FirstNet’s ease of use, resilience and the breadth of capabilities that could be available to each Army installation regardless of size or location. And in October 2020, the U.S. Army selected FirstNet to support firefighters, law enforcement and security personnel at 72 Army installations across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
Innovating for the Future
Research and development are cornerstones of the U.S. Armed Forces. Collaborating with companies like AT&T expands the depth and breadth of possibilities when it comes to innovating for the future.
- We’re working closely with the Department of Defense surrounding its 5G exploration efforts. As part of this exploration, AT&T participated in a DoD and U.S. Navy demonstration showcasing a variety of 5G-powered technology solutions that can support the enablement of a Naval “Smart Warehouse” at Naval Base Coronado, San Diego.
- Northrop Grumman and AT&T entered into a collaboration agreement to research and develop a digital battle network, powered by AT&T 5G and Northrop Grumman’s advanced mission systems, to support the DoD.
“Our collaboration with AT&T brings together some of the best capabilities in defense and commercial communications to meet the evolving requirements of JADC2,” said Ben Davies, vice president and general manager, Networked Information Solutions division, Northrop Grumman.
- AT&T was awarded a task order to modernize the Army National Guard’s enterprise network that enables Army National Guard soldiers and civilians to access the Internet, connect with other networks and databases, and support training and mission planning and execution. The network has grown into one of the DoD’s largest, single-accredited networks, spanning 11 time zones and more than 124,000 users.
Whether we’re bringing fiber to a Coast Guard base in California or innovating for the future of defense communications, we’re committed to our military service members, veterans and their families – no matter the date on the calendar.
