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But once they're done serving their country, many head to the financial services sector.
That means bringing four-star general experience onto corporate boards, and, the mettle forged in jet fighting missions into management.
That includes David Petraeus, who headed the CIA before resigning, and, later, taking a post at private equity firm KKR. Others might be surprised to see our list include Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman.
There are a lot of other Wall Street hot-shots, too. Big name banks like JPMorgan and Bank of America have launched ambitious initiatives to bring the military's finest to the forefront of financial services. Often, they're competing with private equity firms like Blackstone and KKR for top talent.
They come from all branches of the US military: Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. They also hail from the reserves.
For this Veterans Day, Business Insider takes a look at some of the financial sector pros who first learned about hard knocks from a drill instructor. Have a look: