Christopher Patton always knew he wanted to help people. That desire is part of what led him to join the Coast Guard a year after 9/11 — and what continues to motivate his work at GTRI today.  

“I just wanted to do what I could,” said Patton, who also considered careers in firefighting and emergency medical services. 

As a boatswain's mate, he spent 20 years in the Coast Guard, supporting search-and-rescue and law-enforcement missions before taking on increasing responsibilities in operations and logistics. His career took him across the country, including assignments in Florida, Virginia, California, and Alaska.  

A Georgia native, Patton always planned to return home after retiring from military service. Through the Hiring Our Heroes internship program, he connected with GTRI while preparing to transition to civilian life. He joined GTRI full-time after retiring from the Coast Guard in 2023.  

Today, Patton supports government programs through procurement, logistics, and project coordination, helping move complex equipment to military sites. 

“It's not always easy to integrate the shipping of extremely large and sometimes classified equipment to military installations,” he said. “There's a lot of complexity in it. There are a lot of challenges that need to be solved.”  

Patton said many of the skills he uses at GTRI were developed during his military career. 

“My GTRI job of coordinating projects and logistics was my collateral duty in the Coast Guard,” he said. “So you never know what's going to help you transition into a civilian job.”  

His military background has also made it easy to connect with colleagues and sponsors. While there are relatively few Coast Guard veterans at GTRI, Patton says service members share a common bond regardless of branch. 

“Everybody you meet who is also a veteran is just excited to work together,” he said, “because now we're all definitely on the same team.”