Can Veterans Code? -- Robert Arroyo

Posted on August 14 2025
After almost 10 years of service with the United States Army, I ( Robert L. Arroyo Candelaria ) have never thought to leave the service from an airborne injury. Going through a long recovery and months of physical therapy you would think that I could go back to how things were. Many Soldiers do not think about the impact our body sustain, we just live a day at a time and wish to make it to 20 years or more to finally retire and spend time with our families. Transitioning out of the Army was not one of my plans, nor learning Python.My military occupational specialty in the Army was a 92A Automated Logistics. At first, I had no idea what it was or what I was going to do. I had to learn many different types of software and programming in regards to supply chain logistics and maintenance since not many units had the same software at the time. After a few years the Army decided to convert to the Global Combat Support System-Army which is part of the SAP/ERP software family.I have always been interested in learning new programming and The Coders Who Travel Foundation was able to provide me with the opportunity to learn Python. I had no expectations at the time but I was excited to learn something new and challenging. Coming from a military logistics background doing coding was a step out of my comfort zone especially since it has nothing to do with what my job in the Army was. Normally we do work with programs and we use codes but not in this exact same way as it was done in the Python class.Taking this class was one of the best decisions that I have ever made for my professional growth. At present I work for a consulting company. My job position is supply consulting; and you would think “What does coding have to do with a supply consulting job?” Well as a supply consultant I will be needing coding knowledge and experience to be able to prepare projects using graphics, tables, and even creating presentations among other things.I appreciate The Coders Who Travel Foundation for offering this cohort/bootcamp opportunity and expanding my knowledge about Python programming. I will put the word out for future Veterans to take advantage of opportunities like this that can open doors to jobs after the military service.REVIEWTransitioning from the military can be a challenging and unexpected process. After getting used to following orders and always do what we are told; who do we follow finishing our military service?That is one of many questions that we have as Veterans. Coders Who Travel is a great opportunity for Veterans to add python introduction experience as they are transitioning out of the military service.Not having to depend on or wait for command approval is a great change for Veterans. I never thought I could learn the basics of coding in just a few weeks. Connecting twice a week for about a little over an hour has been challenging but also refreshing.The classes from five different instructors and learning how there are many ways to coding has taught me to never give up on a problem. Having flexible hours and additional classroom time to discuss and practice our coding shows how much Coders Who Travel care about Veterans.I am very grateful and hope that programs like this are available for future Veterans.