From combat to careers: New AI partnership helps veterans find purpose

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US Army Sergeant Kierre Tate (R) inquires about employment prospects at the first Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Job Fair for Veterans in Los Angeles. (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

After years of serving their country, many veterans return home to face a new kind of battle — finding meaningful work — but a new AI-driven partnership between RedBalloon and MilitaryHire aims to change that.

According to FOX Business, RedBalloon, a known job board, has acquired MilitaryHire to expand its technology in support of the 200,000 service members transitioning to civilian life each year — along with 700,000 Guard and Reserve members — helping connect them with meaningful, values-driven employment opportunities.

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Dig deeper:

The new recruiting platform, called "Fill in the Gaps," uses artificial intelligence alongside interactive tools that allow veterans and employers to identify skill gaps, align shared values, and ensure the right cultural fit — addressing a key concern among veterans that automated hiring systems often overlook qualified talent.

Early trial results have shown "phenomenal" success, the CEOs said. Among 1,500 applicants, the platform found only 7% of résumés to be a perfect match, while most were missing key skills or phrasing relevant to job descriptions. "Fill in the Gaps" then offers tailored suggestions and revisions, giving candidates a valuable second chance to stand out.

What they're saying:

"We see hiring as a distinctly human activity, and we wanna make hiring human again. And when it comes to the veteran community, these are people who really need that," RedBalloon CEO Andrew Crapuchettes told Fox News Digital.

"Following two decades of wartime after 9/11, the biggest misconception, I still think, is that we perceive the veteran experience to be very similar across all veterans. We think of veterans as that wartime soldier — whether you are an airman, Marine or guardian — and that just couldn't be further from the truth for most of us," MilitaryHire CEO Craig Robbins said.

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The other side:

"It has definitely been a little unusual in learning how to navigate the way that employers look at value in their potential employees and their candidates," Brian McGarry, an Army colonel who retired less than two weeks ago and just secured a new job, told Fox News Digital. "A lot of employers are looking for, what can this individual help me with in the next three to six months? Not in two to three years. So that's been a bit of a mindset shift."

"Anytime I talk to a hiring manager and present somebody from the military, I try to, number one, educate, but also advocate," Army Maj. Kelly Spisak, who also works in recruiting and talent management, said. "I've been in tech at Google and Meta and Twitch … And what I've really recognized is there's a large gap between the education around what the military does and how the roles translate over."

"I always have to take this back to the Air Force core values of integrity first, service before self and excellence in all we do. And so those core values have really shaped who I am, both personally and professionally. So I've always looked for opportunities that represented those values," said Air Force veteran Tasha Beckford, who recently landed her dream job in aerospace engineering, "that I can contribute to a mission that's bigger than myself."

Big picture view:

Recognizing that countless veterans face similar challenges, RedBalloon and MilitaryHire aim to use their new technology to bring humanity and purpose back to hiring — helping job seekers and employers connect on values, not just algorithms.

The Source: The information in this story comes from interviews conducted by Fox News Digital and FOX Business. This story was reported from Los Angeles.

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