U.S. Secretary of Labor Martin J. Walsh recognized R3 Strategic Support Group, Inc. as a Platinum Medallion recipient of the 2021 HIRE Vets Medallion Award during a virtual award ceremony presented by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The Honoring Investments in Recruiting and Employing American Military Veterans Act (HIRE Vets Act) Medallion Program is the only federal award program that recognizes employers who successfully recruit, hire, and retain veterans.

R3 has shown a commitment to hiring veterans, ensuring that they have a long-term career and growth plan that uses the diverse skills they acquired through their military service. Recipients of the 2021 HIRE Vets Medallion Award meet rigorous employment and veteran integration assistance criteria, including veteran hiring and retention percentages; availability of veteran-specific resources; leadership programming for veterans; dedicated human resource efforts; pay compensation, and tuition assistance programs for veterans.

About R3:

R3 is an agile, Service–Disabled Veteran–Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) that provides innovative strategic solutions across a broad spectrum of government and commercial domains to rapidly identify Requirements, capture Resources, and maximize Readiness to accelerate our client’s success. Visit R3.com to learn more about our organization and some of the opportunities we enable in support of our nation’s veterans.

About the HIRE Vets Medallion Program:

The HIRE Vets Medallion Award is earned by businesses that demonstrate an unparalleled commitment to attracting, hiring, and retaining veterans. The 2022 HIRE Vets Medallion Award application period will open to employers on Jan. 31, 2022. For more information about the program and the application process, visit HIREVets.gov.

There are different awards for large employers (500-plus employees), medium employers (51-499 employees), and small employers (50 or fewer employees). Additionally, there are two award tiers: platinum and gold.

R3 was awarded a $26.9 million, four-year, 42-person EOD instructor support contract at EOD Training and Evaluation Unit ONE in San Diego.  The support entails high-risk training and instructor support across all EOD mission areas, unmanned undersea systems, homemade explosives, and virtual reality training modalities.  The training is accomplished in San Diego, Darwin Wash EOD training center at NAWS China Lake, CA, Hawaii, and Guam.

R3’s win is alongside our teammates Point One, Orca Maritime, and Peraton who provide critical capabilities to the team.  Gene Rathgeber, R3’s Program Manager, said “We are humbled to be chosen for this support amongst the other vendors. Considering this was a best-value award, we are even more pleased to be recognized in this manner.  Finally, we are appreciative of our team of quality instructors that set the stage for this selection.”

R3’s Human Resources department had the opportunity to visit our Port Hueneme team supporting Underwater Construction Team TWO at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme, CA.

Pictured left to right are R3’s Tony Flores, Kenneth Bontempo, and Timianne Dent, each of whom provides world-class diving-related support activities across the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command enterprise at UCT TWO.

Since its establishment in 1973, UCT TWO has deployed to every naval installation in the Pacific, as well as several sites in the Atlantic, the Arctic, and the Antarctic.  UCT TWO is the only Naval Construction Force unit to utilize this deployment cycle to maintain year-round availability.