ZeroMils

Service-disabled veteran-owned small business founded in March 2022 by retired Marine lieutenant colonel Kevin Schmiegel — founder of Hiring Our Heroes at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — and retired Marine colonel Paul Cucinotta. Not a direct-service provider: ZeroMils works as a social-impact consultancy and convener whose clients are the corporations and nonprofits that serve the military community, not individual veterans. Its Military Thriving model is a deliberate counter to military-friendly branding — the argument being that the vast majority of veterans and families thrive because of their service, not in spite of it, and that the sector should build cultures that retain military talent rather than narratives of pity. Coaches nonprofits on development, marketing, operations, and programs; helps employers move beyond surface-level hiring commitments; and convenes stakeholders across regional Military Thriving communities in Texas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Southern California, Virginia, Georgia, and Indiana. Best known publicly for its annual Military Thriving Change Forum at Georgetown University and its Uniting in Service volunteer events. Listed in the navigation layer as ecosystem infrastructure — a veteran does not receive a service here, but many of the organizations that serve them do.

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