Operation IMPACT Makes News Across Divisions > Operation IMPACT Hire Richard Martin: Destined to Work for Northrop Grumman

Operation IMPACT Hire Richard Martin: Destined to Work for Northrop Grumman
March 2007

Forward Operating Base Danger, Tikrit, Iraq

The third "improvised explosive device" that Richard Martin experienced during his 12 months in Iraq was the one that sent him home. During physical rehabilitation at Fort Lewis, Washington, he met Duane Hardesty, Champion for Northrop Grumman’s Operation IMPACT. And for the third time in his life, Richard was encouraged to apply for a job with Northrop Grumman. Today he is a systems engineer for the ICBM Prime Integration Contract (IPIC) program in Clearfield, Utah.

But let’s back up a little. College ROTC enabled Richard to enter the U.S. Army as commissioned officer in 1988. After fighting in the Gulf War, as a 1st Lieutenant in an M1A1 tank company, Richard returned to Idaho, joined the National Guard and began working for Hewlett Packard. He was reactivated to the regular Army after 9-11 and sent to Bosnia for seven months. Returning to the states, he recalls thinking about a civilian career. Barbara Saxon, Richard’s mom and a proud Northrop Grumman retiree, told her son, “You really should apply at Northrop Grumman, you’d be perfect.” Barbara worked for the B-2 program in Pico Rivera, California, retiring in 1994.

In November 2004, reactivated yet again, Richard joined Operation Iraqi Freedom as part of the 116th Brigade Combat Team supporting information operations/electronic warfare. Heavy dust storms grounded his helicopter one day outside a small air base in Tikrit. Crew and passengers used the downtime to grab a quick meal behind a cement barrier. Before long, heavy mortar and artillery fire caused everyone to became fast friends as they hugged the dirt. Two of the helicopter passengers were actually Northrop Grumman employees in Iraq to help Army units with computer networks and intelligence analysis. Richard can’t recall their names and lost their business cards, but he remembers they said Northrop Grumman was a great company to work for, and they encouraged him to apply when he finished active duty.

Major Richard A. Martin

He will never forget his war zone experiences and the exceptional men and women with whom he served. During months of rehab he never imagined he would have an opportunity to continue his support of the war against terrorism. After meeting with Craig Allen and Roger Conklin, Operation IMPACT Champions for IPIC, and visiting the Clearfield, Utah area with his wife and family, Richard became a Northrop Grumman employee on December 11, 2006.

His heart is truly full of appreciation to the company, the IMPACT reps, Duane Hardesty, Debbie Ortega, Craig and Roger, and his IPIC colleagues beginning with his supervisor, Lance Okimoto. He believes he was meant to be in this place at this time.

Richard completed his AA in Business at Ricks College, and his BS in International Relations from Brigham Young University, Between wars, his Hewlett Packard tenure enabled him to finish an MBA from the University of Phoenix. He is currently a major in the National Guard. Thank you Richard, and welcome to Northrop Grumman.

Operation IMPACT is a corporate-wide Northrop Grumman initiative to provide transition support to military service members who have been severely injured in the global war on terrorism by identifying potential career opportunities.