When I first stood behind a 155mm howitzer, I never imagined I’d one day stand behind a keyboard writing Python code.
I served as a 13B Cannon Crew Member in the U.S. Army’s 2/3 Armored Cavalry Regiment. My job? Precision destruction. I was trained to fire accurately, adapt quickly, and function under intense pressure. At the time, I didn’t realize those very same traits would lead me into the world of cybersecurity and machine learning.
But here we are.
The Shift That No One Prepares You For
Transitioning from the military to civilian life is disorienting. There’s no manual. No formation. No mission briefing. You lose the structure you lived and breathed every day. I missed the clarity of mission objectives, the camaraderie, and even the noise.
I needed a new mission.
So I turned to tech—not because it was trendy, but because it reminded me of the military in all the right ways: fast-paced, tactical, and constantly evolving.
From Destruction to Defense
I started by learning the basics—Linux, networks, command-line tools. It felt like I was back at the gun range, learning a new weapon system. I dove into ethical hacking, learned how to write scripts, and fell in love with problem-solving at scale.
Today, I work in machine learning and cybersecurity. I still scan for vulnerabilities—but this time in systems, not battlefields.
Final Thoughts: Veterans, You Already Have What It Takes
If you’re a veteran wondering how to break into tech, hear this: you already have the mindset.
Discipline. Grit. Calm under pressure. Mission-focused execution.
The battlefield might look different—but the mission hasn’t changed.
Follow along daily at jameshenderson.online to dive deeper into this journey where valor meets vision, and tech walks beside loyalty.