veterans

4 min read

After Cisconian Jim Shepard is deployed overseas with the US Military, his teammates wanted to stay connected - Cisco Spark is just one of the ways they did this!

3 min read

Through his volunteer work with the Fisher House Foundation, Pete Sawyer is ensuring veterans' families stay connected while their loved ones receive necessary medical treatment.

2 min read

Arodi Grullon Fernandez spent 12 years in the U.S. military, traveling around the world as a member of the Marine Corps. He’s deployed twice to Afghanistan, once to Iraq, and served countless hours on military bases around the United States. Still, his time as a maintenance chief and platoon sergeant didn’t fully prepare Arodi for […]

3 min read

Veterans like Stan Roberts have served our country in a myriad of ways. As a United States Marine, Stan served three tours in Iraq. He received many combat-related awards before he lost his leg and was medically retired. After 11 years with the military, Stan had to reset his plans of entering law enforcement, where […]

3 min read

From a musical perspective, Spark Meetings has enabled the Operation Encore team to collaborate on songs and rehearse via video conferencing. Now, with the song edits finished, attention needs to shift to finalizing the CD artwork and coordinating logistics for the upcoming CD release event in November.

3 min read

Operation Encore, a group of active-duty and retired U.S. service members who share their experiences through music. These talented artists span the military branches and are now completing their second album. To help the members connect and collaborate, I introduced them to Cisco Spark.

1 min read

On August 2, 2016, Cisco launched the Veteran Talent Incubation Program (VTIP) at its Research Triangle Park (RTP) campus in North Carolina.  Twelve veterans from area military bases are participating in the program, which spawned from a discussion between Erika Plant and TAC Managers (Chris Phillips, Charles Armstrong and Chris Myers) when they volunteered at […]

3 min read

When we think of collaboration, we often picture a corporate setting. But, what about others like graphic designers and musical groups that need to collaborate from a distance? The veteran music project, Operation Encore was introduced to Cisco Spark via one brief demo. That was all it took. With the “user friendly” app, they now share and store files, communicate real-time through group messaging, and start meetings all from one location, or Spark “room”. This is the first blog of three in a series.

1 min read

Led by Cisco’s Veterans Enablement and Troop Support ERO, four sites — San Jose, Ohio, Herndon and Research Triangle Park — held Cisco’s annual Memorial Care Package Drive in honor of Major John D. Gerrie, United States Air Force (USAF). Major Gerrie lost his life January 16, 2016 supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. His spouse, Amy, is […]