Honoring our Veterans Around the World

Around the world, November 11^th is time to honor those who have served their countries through military service. To some it’s Veterans Day, to others it’s Remembrance Day. This year we want to spotlight a few of the Veterans that make the Waters difference.

Our Veterans Employee Circle, as part of the Diversity and Inclusion program, aims to enhance diversity by providing opportunities for Veterans and making Waters an attractive “second service” for Veterans and those considering separating from military service. Since being formally established in 2019, the Waters Veterans Employee Circle has continued the organizations efforts to recruit Veterans and engaged with Veterans across the organization. But Veterans were gathering at Waters long before to share their common history of military service. “The meetings are often filled with laughter and you can tell how much every Veteran enjoys being in a room with ‘comrades’ that have shared life experiences,” says Adam Beard, the Co-Chair of the Veterans Employee Circle.

Let us introduce two Veterans who share their paths from service to civilian work to Waters.

Richard Chapman, Chief Engineer UNIFI Informatics SE at Waters

Q: How long have you been at Waters?

A: I have been at Waters for 22 years. I started working as a student for Robin Carruthers at Waters in software and he offered me a job, it was unusual for an ex-soldier to be a student and start as a software engineer at the age of 32. I’ve worked as a software developer, Architect, Director of Instrument Control for Mass Spec and research software engineer, co-authoring on several patents and papers.

Q: Can you tell me your role at Waters and a little about what you do each day?

A: I head up Strategic Engineering and the Chief Engineers for the Software Development group – product delivery focused engineering support – introduction of new tools, technologies and practices into software engineering. I’m a Chartered Engineer, Chartered IT Professional and a Fellow of the British Computing Society.

Q: Can you tell us about your service?

A: I served 9 years leaving as a section commander rank within a light Infantry Battalion of the British Armed Forces. Active deployments included urban, counter terrorist, jungle and desert campaigns including Operation Banner and Desert Storm. Day to day activities included leading a small highly trained and focused weapons support team, training for combat, morale and welfare.

Q: What was the transition from service to the civilian job market like?

A: Transition from service to civilian life was very hard – very little structure and any sense of purpose seemed to be lost – there is no GI bill in the UK – I had 3 concurrent jobs whilst at University, were it not for the support of my wife I would not have finished the degree.

John Surfus, Manager of Design Quality Assurance at Waters

Q: Can you tell us about your service?

A: I was a Marine Corps Corporal slated to be a Sargent when I left 4 years of active duty. Daily life for me was filled with training and running my squad, on duty activities, field expeditions, and lots of off duty fun.

Q: How do you feel like Waters and our culture supports Veterans?

A: Waters has a culture of excellence and stability where everyone has a voice, these mesh very well with Veterans. I think that connecting the Veterans experiences through the Employee Circle can have a great benefit to all.

Q: Were you involved in the Veterans employee group before it was adopted into a formal Employee Circle? If so, what was the force behind the group gathering?

A: Yes, I was part of the group prior to the Circle being formed, a few of us were chatting and we found out we have a common history of military service. Eventually our discussions led to us wanting to support Waters Veterans with activities and events.

Q: What was the transition from service to the civilian job market like?

A: The transition out of the Marines was not easy, the way of life took me some time to readjust to. I spent those times getting my degree and working part time.

Q: Can you tell me your role at Waters and a little about what you do each day?

A: My role is the manager of the design quality function for the Milford site, I manage a team of 5 design quality engineers supporting product development. We support project activities in LC systems, Software and Chemistry business centers. Daily activities for me include supporting my team and ensuring they have what they need to be successful and as the core team DQE lead for projects that I am supporting such as our ACQUITY Premier System.