As part of the Charlie Battery 1st of the 103rd Field Artillery. Jared Salinaro’s job was a gunner of a 155-millimeter Howitzer. “Each round is 100 pounds of steel,” he said. “It can travel up to ten miles, but is so accurate that if you wanted to drop it on top of a quarter, you had the ability to do it. It was pretty awesome to fire.”

Today, as operations manager for United Rentals’ Smithfield Branch 106, in Rhode Island, he’s more concerned with getting equipment where it needs to be.

“I ensure that the day-to-day work inside my branch runs smoothly and that trucking material and equipment get delivered to the right place at the right time,” he explained.

Salinaro served in the Army National Guard for 8 years. “I was activated during Desert Storm, but didn’t ship out, and was also activated during September 11th,” he said. “We went to the National Guard armories and held post there in case anything happened.”

After his stint in the military he pursued a career in law enforcement before joining United Rentals. “I’ve been here for nearly a year and a half and recruited another vet who was also a police officer to come work for the company.”

His recruitment pitch was simple: “I told him that coming from a military and police background, United Rentals was the closest thing that you could get to a family environment and an enjoyable workplace that I can remember.”

Salinaro noted that United Rentals is also a company that truly appreciates its veterans. “I was sitting at work, maybe my second or third week, and I got a big letter from management, thanking me for being a veteran,” he recalled. “It was the first time in my life that someone recognized me as a veteran. The people here are just genuine, good people who enjoy their jobs.”

Writer-editor Deborah Skolnik frequently covers business topics. Her articles have appeared in major publications including The New York Times, The New York Daily News, CNN.com and Forbes.com.