Long before she became CEO of HX5, Margarita Howard served in the Air Force, absorbing lessons about structure, discipline, and mission focus that she later carried into a business built around federal contracting. That service, combined with her status as a service-disabled veteran, informs how HX5 treats veteran employment today.

After leaving the military, Howard completed bachelor’s and master’s degrees while working in the defense industry, including a stretch helping implement Tricare, the Defense Department’s health insurance system for service members and their families. The experience gave her a close look at how contractors and government agencies work together, knowledge that now underpins her leadership at HX5.

A Business Built on Military Values

HX5 is a service-disabled veteran-owned and women-owned small business supporting Department of Defense and NASA missions across more than 20 states and 70 government locations. The firm’s roughly 1,000 employees work on research, engineering, and information technology projects that often require security clearances, the kind of background many veterans already possess.

Howard describes her military service as foundational to how she runs the company. “My background was influenced by military service,” she says, pointing to the accountability and attention to detail that Air Force culture instilled and that now shape HX5’s internal standards.

That cultural overlap eases the adjustment for veterans who join HX5 through the Hiring Our Heroes Corporate Fellowship Program, which the company has supported since 2021 with two fellows annually. Fellows largely learn new business processes while working alongside a leadership team that understands military culture from firsthand experience, rather than fundamentally reorienting toward new values.

Howard has emphasized that fellows benefit most from exposure to the administrative and procurement side of government contracting, an area service members often encounter for the first time once they leave active duty. For Howard, connecting that experience to HX5’s day-to-day mission work remains central to how the company positions itself as a destination for transitioning veterans, one shaped by leadership that has walked a similar path. Refer to this article for additional information.

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