Lee Kirby, Salute Co-Founder and retired Army Colonel, interviewed Christina Duarte, a Military Spouse and current Talent Acquisition Recruiter for Salute.
Can you briefly share your background, including your connection to military life and your path into the data center industry?
I grew up in Germany and spent the first 30 years of my life there before moving to the United States in 2019. My husband is active duty Air Force, and since then we have been stationed at Robins AFB in Georgia, Travis AFB in California, which will probably always be my favorite, and now MacDill AFB in Florida. Outside of work, we have two little boys (6 months and 2 years) and a 9 year old Bulgarian rescue dog who has also made every military move with us.
Professionally, I have worked in HR and Talent Acquisition since 2014. My path into the data center industry happened completely by accident. I was contacted through the MSEP portal about an opportunity with Salute, and that is what introduced me to an industry I knew almost nothing about at the time.
How has your experience as a military spouse shaped your professional journey and career decisions?
Being a military spouse has actually made me even more determined to pursue and maintain my own career. My husband is gone a lot, whether for deployments, TDYs, training, or other military commitments, and our family life naturally has to adjust around the needs of the military.
At the same time, having my own career has always been important to me. I always wanted to continue building something of my own. Being a military spouse has taught me to be independent, flexible, and comfortable adapting quickly when plans change, because they definitely do.
Can you share a defining moment or challenge from your military community experience that influenced how you approach your work?
One of the biggest things I have learned is to stop underselling myself. Military spouses often look at their resumes and focus on the things that might be missing because of moves, career changes, or employment gaps.
But we bring so much more than just our work experience or a degree. We learn how to adapt quickly, start over in completely new places, build new networks, manage uncertainty, and keep things moving when our spouse is away. I have learned to recognize those experiences as strengths, and that has also influenced how I look at candidates in my work as a recruiter. A resume does not always tell the whole story.
How did you first become aware of opportunities in the data center industry, and what drew you to it?
I was contacted through the MSEP portal, which connects military spouses with employers and employment opportunities. Before that, I honestly knew very little about the data center industry. Once I was contacted, I immediately started reading about the industry and found it interesting, especially because of how quickly it is growing and how many different career paths exist within it. When I learned more about Salute and saw how much the company supports veterans, military spouses, and the broader military community, that made the opportunity even more interesting to me. It felt like a place where my professional background and my connection to the military community could come together.
What enabled your transition into your current role — for example, flexibility, training, or support networks?
Flexibility was a huge factor for me. One of the biggest challenges military spouses face is finding a career that can move with them instead of having to start over after every PCS.
My current role gives me the opportunity to continue growing professionally while still having the flexibility our military lifestyle requires. When we moved from California to Florida, I was able to take my career with me. Having that stability is incredibly valuable for a military family.
How has working in this field shaped your perspective on long-term career stability and growth as part of a military family?
It has shown me that being part of a military family does not have to mean constantly putting your own career on hold. Finding the right company and the right opportunity can make a huge difference. The data center industry is growing and offers so many different career paths, many of which I did not even know existed before joining Salute. For me personally, it has given me the opportunity to continue developing my career while still being able to support my husband’s military career and move when we need to. It has made me much more optimistic about what long term career growth can look like as a military spouse.
What advice would you give to other military spouses or those balancing both service and family roles who are considering this industry?
My biggest advice would be not to undersell yourself. Military spouses bring much more to the table than what is written under education and work experience on a resume.
Every PCS, every time you have had to rebuild your network, every period when your spouse was away and you had to manage everything at home, and every time you had to adjust your plans has taught you something. Those experiences build adaptability, resilience, independence, and problem solving skills.
I would also say to use the resources available to military spouses. I found Salute because of MSEP. I did not know anything about the data center industry and was not actively looking for a career in it. Sometimes an opportunity you never planned for can turn out to be exactly the right one.