We are a company founded by two good friends who served their country in different branches of the military, but are both guided by principles instilled within them, in large part, by their military experiences.

We have three team members who are veterans of this nation’s armed forces and we take this opportunity to recognize and thank them for their service. We would also like to express our collective gratitude to all of our customers, partners, and fellow Americans who traded years of their lives for an opportunity to serve their country and countrymen while wearing a uniform.

These are our veterans’ profiles:

Paul Siefer, Co-Founder of Signaling System Solutions

Active Duty Air Force 1992–1995

Portland Air National Guard 1995-1998

Paul entered the Air Force intent on pursuing a career in law enforcement. Traveling all over the world with the Air Force (Saudi Arabia, Iceland, Honduras, Germany), Paul excelled in his chosen assignment, was awarded numerous awards for outstanding service, and enjoyed increasingly high profile assignments, including Presidential Aircraft Support. Toward the end of his tour, he was recruited to join the full time Air Force One protection detail, but decided to return home to the Pacific Northwest and embrace a civilian life with his future wife, Shannon.

When asked about Veterans’ Day, Paul had this to say:

“I am proud to have served my country. I am happy to have fought for the rights of people…and that they are afforded the opportunity to speak freely. I spent a lot of time in other countries and each time upon my return to the U.S., as my feet touched the floor of the JFK Airport, I can recall being greeted by friendly smiles on strangers’ faces which made me feel as if I had known them for an eternity. These people made me feel welcome in a way they will never know and even though I was still 3,000 miles from my house, I felt that I was home.”

When asked about a proud moment as a veteran, Paul offered a recent experience: “I attended my daughter’s Veterans’ Day choir concert this week. The choir teacher asked all veterans and active-duty military to stand up and be recognized and thanked for their service. As I stood up, I looked around the gym at a crowd of about 1,500 people and noticed I was one of only ten people standing, I was the 1%. I looked to the risers at my daughter who was surrounded by her friends embracing and hugging her as she stared and smiled at me.”

Decorations, Medals, Badges, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

• Joint Service Achievement Medal
• Air Force Achievement Medal
• Air Force Good Conduct Medal
• National Defense Service Medal
• SW Asia Service Medal with Bronze Service Stars
• Air Force Overseas Ribbon
• Operation Desert Shield/Storm

Frank Beebe, Co-Founder of Signaling System Solutions

U.S. Navy Submarine Service, 1981 – 1985

Frank spent the first two years of his Navy career assigned to a WWII, Tang-class, diesel submarine named the USS Gudgeon, primarily supporting training exercises with the Navy fleet. During the summer of 1983, the Gudgeon suffered three fires and one flooding incident, so the government decided to remove it from US service, ultimately leasing it to the Turkish Navy, who renamed it the TCG Hızırreis.

After the Gudgeon was decommissioned, Frank was reassigned to the USS Gurnard, a Sturgeon-class, fast attack, nuclear submarine. This submarine afforded Frank twice the elbow room he experienced on the Gudgeon, and a far superior feeling of personal safety. It was the early 1980s, which meant it was still during the cold war era and Frank’s assignments primarily included patrolling the waters of the Pacific. Frank’s description of the experience involves tracking Soviet ships and keeping watchful eyes on them.

It was during this time that Frank learned a trade as an IC Electrician – responsible for alarm, navigational, communications, and many other high and low voltage systems aboard the ship. Always striving for the best of himself, Frank entered the Navy at the age of 18 as an E-1 and achieved E-5 status by the time he was honorably discharged just four years later.

Frank commented that as a young father, he struggled with the time away from his family as a submariner, but attributes the time he devoted to the Navy as some of the most important formative years of his life. While in the Navy, he learned the values of personal responsibility, teamwork, independent thinking, and a can-do attitude. After being honorably discharged in late April 1985, Frank was a business owner within six months and continues to work hard building his business and demonstrating his strong work ethic to his employees and industry counterparts.

Brandon Beebe, CFO

U.S. Navy, 2002 – 2006

Brandon followed his father’s footsteps as a Navy Seaman, although he opted to stay above the surface of the water. Early in Brandon’s military service, he demonstrated qualities that placed him in formal leadership roles and an attention to detail that served him well as a supply chain specialist. He served in that role both aboard the USS Carney, an Arleigh Burke-class Destroyer, and as a Port Liaison in the Mediterranean based in Sicily. With a keen eye for process and a strong sense of right and wrong, Brandon built a reputation as a trustworthy and incorruptible representative within a job renowned for being rife with temptation.

Some of Brandon’s highlights in the Navy were the opportunities to travel extensively in Europe and South America, with one stand-out life experience of traversing the Panama Canal aboard the USS Carney.

Although he has been out of the military for a decade after being honorably discharged in December of 2006, Brandon continues to be a resource his Navy coworkers and friends rely upon for professional and personal advice. This is a testament to the lasting impact Brandon has on people as an individual who leads by example and can be trusted to provide honest, valuable insights.

Brandon, like his father, was shaped by his time in the military, embraced the highest values of military service, and we are lucky to have him applying those learned skills and innate talents to a degree in accounting and his chosen career path as CFO for Signaling System Solutions.

In Closing

As a team comprised both of people who chose to serve with the armed forces and some who did not, we are united in our gratitude to those who devote a portion of their lives, whether short or long, to protecting our nation within one of the branches of our fine military. With one harmonious voice, we at Signaling System Solutions say, “Thank you.”