A Vets Story – Raider Company

serving our country

WHEN YOU MEET SHAWN PATRICK, YOU’D NEVER EXPECT HE WAS A MEMBER OF ONE OF THE ELITE MARINE CORPS FORCES SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND (MarSoc), THE MARINE RAIDERS.

Spending 20 years of his life as a Marine, Shawn received the Bronze Star with Combat V for Valor, Purple Heart, and a Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V for Valor before retiring as a Master Sergeant in July of 2015. Between Shawn’s first four-year tour with the Marine Corp and his 16-years of service as a Raider, he worked in construction, advancing to a skilled Concrete Finisher. After his retirement from the Marine Corp, Shawn merged both of his passions and founded The Raider Company.

Shawn demonstrates pure humility, not leaning on his past successes, but using his experiences as a Marine to shape how he builds his business. He is dedicated to leading by example, investing in his workforce, and creating an excellent work environment for his employees.

It’s not what happened in the past, but what I do now that matters. And I need to be true to myself, what I’ve learned, and who I am. I’m going against the grain and changing how we do business in the construction industry.

If you hire the right people, empower them to be successful, and give them a sense of belonging, the rest will work itself out.

Watch Shawn’s story in this seven-part HBO miniseries focusing on the first 40 days of the war in Iraq as seen through the eyes of Shawn’s elite unit of U.S. Marines who spearheaded the invasion. The result is a vivid account of the soldiers and of the forces that guided them in an often-improvised initiative. The events that took place are true. SPOILER ALERT: In Episode 5, Shawn gets shot.

Stream Generation Kill on HBO, HBO Max, or YouTube.

How Shawn got his start in construction

Shawn graduated high school and immediately signed up for the Marine Corps. While waiting for boot camp to start the following November, Shawn worked on a few construction jobs in his hometown of Lincolnton, NC. Upon completion of his first four-year tour with the Marine Corps, Shawn decided he would return to his construction career. Shawn advanced his concrete construction skills quickly and moved from Finishing Technician to a skilled Concrete Finisher. After his 16 years of service, he decided to return to what he loved: concrete.

Where did the Raider company name Originate?

Shawn’s Marine Corp unit’s lineage was traced back to the Marine Raiders of WWII. This was true for both Marine Reconnaissance, as well as MarSoc, who adopted the Raider name just prior to Shawn’s retirement from the Corp. When developing a name for his newly formed company, Shawn could not help but go back to his Raiders lineage. This prompted the company name, “The Raider Company.”

So as the story is told, the Marine Raiders had to paddle boats back in the day. When someone had to leave the unit they would steal his paddle and decorate it and give it back to him. Now as a tradition, when you leave the service and are highly respected you receive a paddle from your peers. Shawn has been given four paddles over his career.

Learn what it’s like working at the Raider Company!

[CAREERS]