Veterans Day: Transitioning from the military

Nov. 11 is Armistice Day, more commonly known as Veterans Day. The day is set to celebrate and honor America’s veterans for their willingness to serve. We Energies has a history of commitment to our veterans in a variety of ways, such as Fisher House Wisconsin and Stars and Stripes Honor Flight.

Cody Hughes pictured with his wife

We Energies has a long tradition of recruiting transitioning military to fill its employee ranks. Cody Hughes, operations supervisor at West Allis Operations Center, is one of the many veterans to make that transition.

Hughes started his military career in the Navy ROTC at Purdue University. He had a strong internal drive to serve his country. A tradition of serving the country and community runs in his family. His father is a firefighter and his grandfather was in the Army Reserves.

Hughes joined the Navy and served two tours overseas in the Persian Gulf and the Horn of Africa. He did many jobs during his six years in the Navy, but the job that helped him the most with his transition to We Energies was as an engineering officer on a destroyer.

“Part of the engineering background helped with my transition into We Energies, but mostly the Navy teaches you to be a leader and gives you a diverse skill set,” said Hughes.

At a job fair for transitioning from the military, Hughes met with a number of different employers; We Energies particularly caught his eye. He was hired to work in bulk material handling. Hughes moved up the ranks to supervisor in major projects.

Hughes added, “We Energies has a strong commitment to military. In certain work areas, working here was a natural progression for me and for other people like me.”

We salute Cody Hughes and the many other veterans in the We Energies family on this Veterans Day.