Why Virginia Is Perfect for Veterans
With a strong economy and veteran support systems, Virginia is ideal for former service members and those transitioning to civilian life. Here, they can find career resources, veteran business networks, tax benefits and universities translating experience into degrees. Ahead, meet two veterans who have found rewarding careers and lives in Virginia.
Joel Griffin
Joel Griffin, a Marine Corps veteran of eight years, is CEO and founder of Riphean Group in Fredericksburg, Virginia, which invests in veteran-owned businesses tackling national security challenges and hospitality ventures.
“I joined the Marine Corps in 1992 and was on active duty until 1997. I was then in the Reserve until 2000,” Griffin says. “The reason I joined the military was twofold. There was a long history of service in my family, and I grew up in a lower-income family, so I saw the military as a chance to serve and use the GI Bill to pursue college.”
Griffin trained at Parris Island in South Carolina and Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, then served with the Honor Guard in Washington, D.C.
“I subsequently became a member of the Silent Drill Platoon, which travels the nation and promotes the Marine Corps,” he says.
He later transferred to an intelligence unit at Quantico while attending Penn State full time.
After graduating, Griffin secured a job with Lockheed Martin at the Pentagon.
“I was working in the Pentagon during 9/11, and immediately thereafter, my experience led me to expand beyond physical security into cybersecurity,” he says. “I subsequently became involved with what later became the Department of Homeland Security.”
Griffin co-founded a security business in 2011, sold it in 2018 and launched Riphean Group in 2020.
“The Riphean Group is really a way for me to continue to invest, with a heavy focus on supporting the veteran community and giving back to the Fredericksburg, Virginia, region,” he says.
Riphean supports startups in drones, AI and cybersecurity, and operates restaurants like Rebellion Bourbon Bar & Kitchen and The Port Oysteria & Brewery.
“I’m currently the chairman of the Veterans Services Foundation, which provides financial support to the Department of Veterans Services,” he says. “My nonprofit, Gwyneth’s Gift Foundation, has trained over 25,000 people in CPR and trains more than 80,000 high school students every year.”
For Griffin, Virginia is both practical and personal.
“There’s a dynamic network of veteran entrepreneurs and a robust Department of Veterans Services,” he says. “For me, the fellowship and camaraderie of working with other veterans combined with the ability to give back through my businesses and nonprofits are the reasons I’ve chosen to stay in Virginia.”
Janet Days
Janet Days, a Navy veteran of 37 years who commanded a guided missile destroyer and later Naval Station Norfolk, is director of economic development for Suffolk, Virginia, where she lives with her husband.
“My first stint with the military started in the Army Reserve when I was in college,” she says. “I enlisted in 1987 and later enlisted in the Navy in 1992 as a full-time active member. In 1996, I was selected for a commissioning program through Navy ROTC and attended Old Dominion University. I graduated in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science degree and was commissioned as a surface warfare officer.”
Her career included multiple ships, deployments and graduate study at Naval Postgraduate School.
“In 2010, I was selected to be a commanding officer of a warship, and I later had the opportunity to be the captain of the USS McFaul, a guided missile destroyer homeported out of Norfolk,” she says. “My last tour in the Navy was as the commanding officer of Naval Station Norfolk, the largest Navy base in the world. I retired in December 2024.”
Days wasn’t sure what to do after retirement. “My initial desire was to not go back to work right away,” she says. A conversation with Suffolk’s deputy city manager changed her mind. “It just sounded so intriguing,” Days says. “I wanted to be somewhere where I felt like I could have some impact at the micro level and the community level.”
She took the role in early 2024. Her job involves bringing revenue and jobs to Suffolk, which she enjoys.
Regarding what makes the state great for former service members, Days points to Virginia’s resources for veterans.
“There’s the Virginia Values Veterans program, which works with employers on the recruitment and retention of veterans. I’ve used the Hampton Veterans Affairs hospital for health care, which has been very helpful,” she says. “One of the biggest benefits is the tax exemption on military retirement pay. That gives financial relief and is a huge factor in the decision retirees make.”
Days and her husband decided to stay in Virginia for both opportunity and community.
“We had no desire to go back to one of the larger cities,” she says. “We have friends, organizations, good medical care and a safe place to live. It was a no-brainer.”
She also enjoys the lifestyle, from biking at Lone Star Lakes Park to attending the Suffolk Peanut Fest.
“I knew I made the right decision after I started working for the City of Suffolk,” she says. “Finding a role that gave me purpose outside of the military sealed it for me.”
This article is sponsored by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.