Tech Talk Team Room Ep. #9: Veteran Transition, Mentorship, and Life After the Military

In this episode of Tech Talk Team Room, host Steve Trevino sits down with Jack Nichols (Retired CSM and Operations Director at NTT Data Service), Rich Baisley (Technology PM at Zscaler), and Marty Distel (Tactical Communications Account Executive at Viasat) for an unscripted conversation about life after the uniform — transitioning out of the military, finding mentors, and building a career in industry. From the importance of investing in relationships with senior leaders before you ever need them, to networking at trade shows while you're still serving, to the mentor who changed the trajectory of an entire career — this episode is a candid look at what it really takes to navigate the jump from military service to civilian industry. In this episode: Why mentorship should start long before you separate How to build relationships with leaders instead of waiting until you need something from them The "two years out" rule for training toward your next role Using AI to help translate military experience into civilian-facing language Why success in this transition is a team sport, not a solo effort Chapters: 0:00 – Intro 0:20:43 – Start training now for the job you want 0:24:40 – Talk to industry before you're job-hunting 0:25:15 – The mentor who changed everything 0:51:44 – Building a support network for transitioning vets