Ron Green: ‘It’s about doing something larger than yourself’
Ron Green is a military man through and through. During his decorated 36-year career with the United States Marine Corps, he held an array of positions, including sergeant major of the Marine Corps – the pre-eminent and highest-ranking enlisted Marine with a protocol equivalency of a three-star general officer.
Part of Green’s ethos is the notion that every veteran has an obligation to help other veterans, finding ways to lift them up no matter the situation. One of those circumstances is when military members transition out of the military into the working world. It can be a difficult adjustment without the right training and mindset.
“It’s about doing something larger than yourself, realizing that life is about something bigger than just you,” Green says. “You’ve got to make it about those around you. Waking up every day, doing something to help someone else.”
When reflecting on his long career in the military, from being based on a camp in the city of Al Taqaddum that periodically experienced mortar fire to assisting Gold Star families in their darkest hours, Green doesn’t focus on his accomplishments, but rather the success of those he led.
“There’s nothing great I did, I did my job. The greatness was done by those warriors I led,” he says. “It was my duty to lead them. It was my duty to be at the forefront with that commander, and leading the way, and doing the best we could for those warriors and their families. Pride is what I gather out of all my service to my country and to my Corps. A sense of pride, a sense of humility.”
Over the years, Green pushed the military to adopt programs to help veterans get the skills they need to make a smooth shift into civilian working life. He often spoke during events with warriors as an advocate for the Microsoft Software and Systems Academy (MSSA), a virtual 17-week program that provides transitioning service members with critical career skills in today’s technology industry.
Ironically, it was while speaking about MSSA at one of these events, in 2019 at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, where his own post-military career came into focus.
“I was specifically going out there to be that ambassador (for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s ‘Hiring Our Heroes’ program), talking to Marines at Camp Lejeune about transitioning out, because I was doing it at that time,” he recalls. “I happened to call Chris (Cortez), just keeping in touch with him and he said, ‘Ron, can you just go in and talk to those Marines and boost them up?’ I said, ‘Yeah, Chris, no problem.’
“So I finished talking after 20, 25 minutes and I was stopped by two Marine veterans who worked at Southwest (Airlines). They asked, ‘What are you planning to do next?’ and I said hopefully something in technology but that I wasn’t planning to work before I completed terminal leave. They said, ‘We’ll wait for you.’”
Green retired from the Marines on Dec. 31, 2019. In early 2020, he joined Southwest as a senior manager on the IT Architecture Team within the airline’s technology department. He now manages the Architecture Office, which is comprised of the Architecture Business Office and the Architecture Insights Team.
“I never worked in technology in the Marine Corps,” Green says. “I started out in artillery in the early ’80s, then to a nuclear artillery team, a drill instructor from there and so on. I have a master’s degree in cybersecurity policy and my undergrad is cybersecurity, but I’ve never worked in technology. And that’s why I found it strange when they approached me about working at Southwest. I’m like, ‘Hey, you realize none of my degrees are in technology?’
“And they said, ‘Yes, we understand that, but we’re not trying to hire you to be hands on the keyboard. We want your leadership for our company.’ I can’t tell you a better place to land than in the workforce at Southwest Airlines.”
Green also sits on Southwest’s Warrior Hire Committee, playing a crucial role in Southwest’s Warrior Hire Program, which is designed to recruit, support and provide a community for military personnel as they transition to the civilian world. That program has hired nearly 50 MSSA graduates in a variety of tech roles at Southwest.
“The warriors who come through (MSSA), they’ve passed that vetting process,” Green says. “Once it was presented to Southwest what the vetting process was and what the program entailed, they said, ‘Yes, that’s rigorous enough. If they can pass that, then here are the levels they can come in at Southwest.’ It’s an easy fit.”
Green is excited about the possibility of Southwest adding even more MSSA graduates as the program produces more cybersecurity experts. It’s another step in his quest to help veterans – and society at large – realize how much of an impact they can have when they take off their combat boots.
“I realize the sacrifices that it takes to keep our country free and safe. No one realizes that more than those who wear and have worn the cloth of this nation,” Green says.
“But I also realize what it takes to support them and their families once they depart the military. I’m going to be an advocate for them all until the day I die. Anybody who knows me knows what I’m all about. I do believe the nation owes them a debt of gratitude for volunteering to make that selfless sacrifice. I bear witness to Microsoft’s Software and Systems Academy doing just that.”