From military service to the USPTO and back

Squire and Whitaker worked together on Entrepreneurship Essentials Roadshows where the military community learns about resources to assist them in starting their own business and the importance of protecting their intellectual property (IP). (This transcript has been edited for brevity.)

Whitaker to Major Squire: Thank you for your service to our country and here at the USPTO. Tell us about yourself and why you joined the military.

Squire: I’m an active-duty major and just celebrated my 13-year Air Force anniversary. My background is in airfield operations. I’m the fourth generation of military service. Thanks to my parents’ service, I knew about scholarship opportunities. I was awarded one to pay for a good chunk of my education, and I joined the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. [Squire has a bachelor of arts in psychology and linguistics from New York University. Her master of science is from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.]

My original service commitment was four years. You ask yourself, why stay in something that often requires sacrifices? It boils down to the people you surround yourself with – and a constant drive to serve the public. Christy, as your husband just retired from the Army, I’m sure you also both went through this at every milestone.

Whitaker: You’re returning to the Pentagon?

Squire: I was an aide-de-camp. I’m headed back as a staff officer at the Air Force Plans and Programs office, doing long-range resource allocation.

Whitaker: Why did you choose to do your fellowship at the USPTO?

Squire: I was intrigued by the agency's mission and the chance to work at its highest level. You go to a new-to-you agency and get some freedom to define the fellowship and help build it out for future members.

Whitaker: Had you heard about the USPTO previously?

Squire: No. You know what patents are, you know what trademarks are. I didn’t know deeply about intellectual property. I quickly saw the world completely differently: IP, ideas, and innovation are everywhere. I toured the Global Intellectual Property Academy, and the patent for the chair you’re sitting in is on the wall. 

The USPTO’s mission is to get these ideas into impactful public use. Visiting military bases helped me connect with folks who were like, ‘Why the USPTO? Why are you here?’ We need to continue reaching this community. 

Whitaker: What are some other fellowship highlights?

Squire: As perhaps the first defense fellow here, I found where the Air Force’s priorities align with the USPTO’s. I helped design my own fellowship even as we increased military outreach. 

I can’t see the world quite the same after this experience. If I heard about intellectual property, it might have been in ways you see in the headlines. I peeled back that understanding by learning from USPTO colleagues.

I attended last year’s National Inventors Hall of Fame induction with world-changing inventors. NIHF shows how the USPTO inspires future generations to improve on innovations or invent the next big thing. I looked at my husband and thought this is wildly inspiring.  

I connected with innovators and entrepreneurs and watched them start and grow businesses. Connecting participants to each other and to resources was the biggest highlight. 

Whitaker: How will your USPTO experience help you at the Pentagon?

Squire: There are relevant lessons in the importance of IP rights, technology transfer, and dual-use technologies for the military and civilians. Having helped create USPTO programs will carry me further.

At some point I’ll hang up the uniform and figure out what’s next. Now I know how to find the right people and resources.

Whitaker: What’s similar and different between working as a civilian for the last year and military service?

Squire: There are big differences – by design. The military is more hierarchical. It took a little bit of learning to work in a flatter organization. There’s a lot more autonomy here.

I was surprised to see many similarities. The people I worked with got stuff done. That’s something the military instills: Get after this, find a way towards something possible. Other differences are obvious: I chose what to wear every day.

Whitaker: What other USPTO programs did you help stand up?

Squire: The USPTO started its military initiatives before I arrived. Thanks to Director Vidal for prioritizing it. Thanks to folks like you, Christy, and to Janine Scianna for building it from scratch. 

I got to expand our programs:

• We built more touchpoints with DOD to support their innovation needs.
• We worked with the First Lady’s Joining Forces initiative.
• We joined an interagency committee advancing an executive order for military spouses.

I would flag an idea internally, and the Office of Human Resources got it over the finish line. In June, it published an administrative leave policy for military spouses relocating due to military orders. They can apply for five days of administrative leave so they don’t use annual leave. Because of all we do to support veterans and military spouses, we provided a slew of best practices for the White House’s toolkit on hiring military spouses.

And the USPTO just became a partner employer in the Military Spouse Employment Partnership. This Department of Defense program connects military spouses with nonprofit, corporate, and government employers that are committed to hiring and promoting these valuable employees.

Whitaker: What’s your advice for those interested in joining the USPTO?

Squire: You can apply through USAJobs, the Hiring our Heroes military spouse fellowship, and DOD SkillBridge.

Being a part of innovation at its earliest stages and getting updates about what’s happening in technology is significant. If you get a chance to be a part of that, do it.