I didn’t set out to be in a defense tech start-up. I didn’t even set out to join the military, fly helicopters, or work in Congress. Twenty-five years ago I did what I thought everyone was supposed to do — graduate college, get an entry-level white-collar job, get married, and slowly climb the corporate ladder. I did that for six months before 9/11 changed everything. Two weeks after 9/11 my wife and I were married, and by December I put on a Coast Guard uniform for the first time exercising a frightening decision to go against the grain of expectations. And it was a decision that would make my life better, more meaningful, and more impactful.

What followed were two decades of work I’ll always be proud of. I drove rescue boats into surf zones at the mouth of the Columbia River, flew MH-60 helicopters over the waters of the Eastern Seaboard and in the far stretches of Alaska. Throughout those years I deployed to Hurricane Katrina, flew missions in the Gulf following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, patroled the quickly changing Arctic, and conducted counter-drug operations in the Caribbean. Along the way earned a Master’s in Public Policy from Princeton and an MA in Political Science from American Public University. Arriving at Coast Guard Headquarters, I found myself overseeing the Coast Guard’s shipbuilding budget — responsible for the next generation of cutters keeping America’s coasts secure.

My last active duty assignment shaped me more than the rest was my detail to Capitol Hill. Although I was still on active duty, I wasn’t a Coast Guard liaison or OLA officer. Instead, I worked directly for the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee Homeland Security Subcommittee and had direct oversight of the entire budget of the Service along with the rest of DHS. I was sitting in rooms with senior Congressional members and staff helping shape a nearly $80 billion department budget. I learned that the gap between those who build things and those who fund them is enormous — and that bridging it is both an art and a responsibility.

When I retired, I wasn’t sure what came next. That transition — from a world where your identity is stitched to your rank and your unit, to one where you’re just… you — is harder than anyone tells you. In my last year on the committee went back to school again and earned an MBA from NYU Stern, and joined a small startup called REGENT. Being part of this growth has been amazing — I’m having the time of my life.

Over the past few years, REGENT has more than doubled in size. My team has captured $20M in contracts, helped build a $1.4B program of record, and supported over $150M in venture capital investment. I’ve written regulatory frameworks, brokered international partnerships, and spent a lot of time in rooms where the stakes are real.

I started this site because I keep having critical conversations conversations — with veterans figuring out what’s next, with entrepreneurs trying to crack the defense market, with policymakers wondering why good technology doesn’t always find its way to the people who need it, and for all of us trying to figure it out. Writing felt like a more efficient way to share what I’ve learned. I’m not always right — and in truth writing this is more for me to understand it all myself — and then hopefully help other people along the journey. Thanks for checking it out.

-Tom