As a Marine veteran, this day is extremely special to me. First and foremost, I want to express my unending gratitude to those who have bravely served our country, protecting it no matter what the cost. We spent some time on Memorial Day to show our gratitude, but today it's time to celebrate our veterans of which I'm so proud to be a part.

First, please join me and take a moment to appreciate all of our military service members and express your gratitude by commenting/sharing  the video below. From one veteran to another, thank you for all you do for our country.

As a veteran myself I know the struggles, challenges and triumphs our country's veterans face each day. I'm proud to work for a company that recognizes this as well and provides numerous programs dedicated to the U.S. Military and our veterans. To date, Cisco has hired more than 2,000 U.S. military veterans -including myself-to become part of our Cisco team and we have been ranked in the U.S. Veterans Magazine Top 100 Companies Recruiting Veterans.

Our programs also leverage our technology and resources to support vets, whether it's using solutions like Cisco TelePresence to connect military personnel in Afghanistan with loved ones back home, with Operation Morale Call, or collaborative technologies to offering free voice messaging services for veterans in transition.

Too often, transitioning from military life to civilian life can be a challenge, and Cisco has dedicated resources to help connect military personnel with career and educational opportunities through programs like Cisco's Transition Training Academy and Warriors to Work. Cisco even offers information and communications technology training on 21 U.S. Army, Marine and Navy bases. These programs are examples of some of the ways we are working to help veterans, and I am the first to attest to the benefits they offer.

Again, thank you for your service, and Happy Veterans Day!

Learn more about Cisco's veteran programs here & in Alexis Raymond's recent blog post.