From Rotor Blades to Roof Lines

Update: 2025-10-13

Description

What happens when a Night Stalker trades flight ops for flat roofs—and still refuses to miss the mission? We sit down with Dylan Kirkpatrick, a former 160th SOAR crew chief, who rebuilt his sense of purpose by owning the full stack of commercial roofing: business development, estimating, and project management in the booming Dallas–Fort Worth market.

Dylan walks us through the habits forged in special operations—meticulous planning, relentless tempo, and uncompromising integrity—and how they transfer directly to high-stakes construction. He unpacks the steep learning curve of product mastery, from manufacturer systems to screw counts that make or break million-dollar proposals, and explains why a partnership mindset earns trust when roofers are first to be blamed for leaks. Along the way, we talk frankly about identity after service, survivor’s guilt, and the ongoing toll of suicide in both veteran and construction communities, grounding big goals with family support and everyday routines that keep him steady.

If you’re curious how to build a book of business from zero, get onto GC bid lists, or diversify into building owners and property management groups, Dylan shares concrete steps and targets—like crossing $1.1M in awarded revenue within months and pushing for $1.5M by year’s end. We also explore the wider DFW landscape—data centers, healthcare, K–12, and high-end interiors—and why now is a prime window for veterans and career changers to enter trades like roofing, HVAC, electrical, or GC operations with tools such as SkillBridge.

Subscribe for more real-world playbooks from veterans thriving in construction. If Dylan’s journey helped you, share this episode with a teammate, leave a review, and tell us what mission you’re chasing next.

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If you're a military veteran in the construction industry, or you're in the construction industry and support our military vets, and you'd like to be a guest on the podcast you can find me at constructionvetpodcast@gmail.com , or send me a message on LinkedIn. You can find me there at Scott Friend. Let's share the stories and motivate others!

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