2 Years of hands on learning in a computer lab for IT Specialist at Kishwaukee Community College, 1 Year of training in the US Army for IT Specialists, 6 month Internship at Acuitus, in concert with DARPA – the nation’s premiere research organization – the US Navy and Army, the Gates Foundation and Stanford, spent ten years developing a program to quickly transform entry-level military personnel into highly competent, senior-level ITs. The program builds around a thousand hours of immersion, where each participant is expected to solve hundreds of very hard designs, configuration and troubleshooting problems quickly and on their own, but where each participant also has a dedicated, exceptional, expert IT mentor/tutor. The results in the military have been stunning – graduates quickly rise to the top of their commands. I was part of the civilian-program launch. It was a unique, powerful, transformational experience, preparing me to immediately take on some of the hardest challenges in the IT field.