Serving the Mission

By Matt McKinney

At Northrop Grumman, we don't just respect the members of our nation's military community; we rely on them. The stories below are just of few examples of how their sacrifices, skills and resilience make our company strong.

Pursuing Dual Dreams

Growing up, Zach Kum had dreams of following in his dad's footsteps and working at Northrop Grumman; he achieved his goal in 2019 when he accepted an engineering role at the company. However, a visit to his younger brother at the U.S. Naval Academy in August 2021 sparked a new ambition: to serve in the U.S. Navy. Amid competing dreams, Zach grappled with what to do next.

“The whole weekend, I just couldn’t get out of my head that I wanted to be a part of the military community,” Zach said.

A chance encounter with a U.S. Naval officer on his flight home led Zach toward a path that satisfied both dreams simultaneously — he joined the Navy Reserve in March 2022. Today, he balances his commitments to both the Navy and his Northrop Grumman team, embodying the spirit of service in multiple arenas and joining the ranks of more than 1,600 Northrop Grumman employees who serve as reservists.

“I'm thankful to come to work every day to help keep our nation safe both in and out of uniform,” Zach said.