July 25, 2018 is National Hire a Veteran Day - a day for us to remember how our nation's heroes struggle to reintegrate back into civilian life after surviving war zones. More importantly, they can be the key to achieving economic success back home for many businesses. Retired Army Captain Tyler Merritt, CEO of Nine Line Apparel, believes and hires veterans and uses the skills they learned in the military. They have become the core of his company's success. Tyler hopes companies across the country will commit themselves to tapping into a returning veterans' career potential in civilian life. His key points are:

Veterans are highly trained and qualified.

* They often find difficulty finding work outside of the military. There is a misconception that military training only applies to the military. This misconception overlooks:
o Leadership training, the desire to take initiative
o Drive to achieve success
o Quick thinking on your feet
o Instinctual disposition towards assisting team members to achieve unit success
o These are qualities that any company would be lucky to have in an employee

* We have seen this first hand at Nine Line. Of my 160 employees, the majority of them are veterans with families. By the year's end we hope to bring this number to 200. Their work ethic is unparalleled. I am confident in saying we would not be as successful as we are today without their support and dedication.

* We are committed to giving back to the veteran community. Through our Nine Line Foundation we are building a transitional housing community in Savannah for homeless veterans and bringing in career trainers to get these veterans back on their feet and earning a salary to break this cycle of homelessness. I encourage all business owners to seize the opportunity to bring not only strong leaders and strong teammates onto their staff by hiring veterans.

Founded in 2012 by an Army Captain and his wife, Nine Line Apparel is a patriotic lifestyle brand. The company is a start-up primarily owned, run, and employed by veterans. Nine Line is known for their patriotic designs on t-shirts, hoodies, and other apparel as well as a give-back organization that supports our nation’s veterans through the Nine Line Foundation and other non-profit initiatives. Nine Line Apparel was recently profiled in the New York Post: This Army veteran is proving patriotism sells. “We don’t shy away from our patriotism,” Tyler told the New York Post. “It is at the heart of how we began a business.”