Modesto Perez and Joe Wyte of Target’s distribution center in Huntsville, Ala., had both heard the old bit of military wisdom that says nobody stays in their first post-military job for long—and they’re both extremely proud to have disproved it.

Modesto (pictured above, left on a Weapons of Mass Destruction site survey in Iraq in 2003), senior group leader of Engineering & Facilities, joined Target in 2003 as soon as he retired from 21 years in the Army; Joe (pictured above, right as he prepares for a patrol in Tikrit, Iraq in 2006), senior group leader of Logistics, started in 2007 after a 20-year Army career.

Both say that Target was a great place to land not only because our team spirit felt familiar, but also because our culture and our ways of helping leaders develop were appealing. “The Army makes you a great problem-solver,” says Joe, who retired as a lieutenant colonel and served in Somalia and Iraq. “Target builds on that with the leadership expectation that you communicate effectively in part by being an attentive, empathetic listener. That combination takes leadership to a whole new level.”

Modesto, a sergeant first class who also served in Iraq, says that while the settings of his two careers are vastly different, “the foundation is the same: leading people so that they can give the best of themselves.”

Service members and veterans are key members of the Target team at all of our locations. We’re welcoming more of them by taking part in the 100,000 Jobs Mission, a group of companies pledging to collectively hire 100,000 veterans and service members by 2020. Learn more about how Target supports the military and veterans.
 

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