This Veterans Day, Tsymmetry proudly recognizes our employee, Zach Rucker, whose 21 years of distinguished service in the U.S. Air Force continue to inspire the excellence and integrity that drive our mission today.
Zach retired in 2020 as a Master Sergeant, having spent 17 years as an aircraft mechanic before transitioning into a special duty role as a First Sergeant. His career path was influenced by a proud family legacy. His grandfather served as an aircraft mechanic in the Army Air Corps, and his sister also joined the Air Force a few years before him. He learned a lot about life in the Air Force was like from them. “I had always been hands on and liked tinkering and fixing things, so the Air Force made sense. I still regularly use the skills I learned, repairing cars and just about anything around the home.”
Today, Zach applies that same discipline and teamwork in his role as a Change and Configuration Manager at Tsymmetry supporting the Department of State. His responsibilities include maintaining and verifying information and relationships among IT products including hardware, infrastructure, cloud, and software products; Providing Configuration Management information to support other Technology Division workstreams, such as Security, Operations, and Problem and Incident Management; Collaborating with other departments to sunset End of Life products and identify suitable and approved replacements, and coordinating with the Customer Service Center to track software licenses and license requests.
When asked about the transition from military to civilian life, Zach shared:
“You have to learn how to adapt what you did in the military to your new civilian role, and how to work with people who don’t have the military mindset.”
At Tsymmetry, Zach has embraced that adaptation through ongoing professional growth, earning his ITIL Foundations certification and contributing to cross-departmental collaboration.
For Zach, Veterans Day is deeply personal:
“To me, it’s a day set aside to remind everyone about vets. Many lose purpose after separating or retiring and find the transition to civilian life difficult. I’m glad there are activities and events to keep people engaged and connected.”
We thank Zach, and all veterans, for their service, leadership, and lasting impact on both our nation and our organization.
