Long before joining Oncor, Michael Whitten knew he would join the military. Both of his parents had been lieutenant colonels in the Air Force, and he wanted to follow in their footsteps. He also wanted to start his career as an officer, so he joined the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) in high school and again in college (SROTC). He was commissioned as an Army second lieutenant just after graduation in June 2005 and planned to stay for 20 years due to the growth potential he saw there. Whitten’s motivations for serving went beyond family history.
“I wanted to be part of something bigger than myself,” said Whitten. “I saw great camaraderie in the Army with service to the nation at the core of it, and I wasn’t going to let someone else take a role my family history and education destined me to fill.” As an Army logistics officer, Whitten deployed to Iraq for 14 months and to Afghanistan for eight. He then had the honor of serving in the Republic of Korea. He saw what it took from his team to maintain a democracy and preserve the right for people to choose their own path. What he didn’t know at the time is how much this work prepared him for his future role at Oncor.
Teamwork Under Pressure
Whitten worked behind the scenes, supporting the soldiers, ensuring vendors were paid, and validating and funding contracts in Afghanistan so the necessary supplies would be available to support personnel on the ground. In supply and logistics, they had to ensure they fulfilled contracts, obligated funds appropriately, and had repair parts available as needed.
Whitten’s most significant takeaway from his Army service was teamwork and the constant feeling that he was part of a larger mission – contributing what he could in his role with the training he had.
“No individual was the key contributor, but all of us together helped make it work. Each brick in the wall doesn’t individually hold it up, but all of us together start to see and manifest our contribution and how we impact others,” said Whitten.
On the 100th anniversary of his division (2nd Infantry Division Forward), he and 5,000 others formed a human replica of the division’s patch — a living mosaic. For about three hours, individuals in red, white, and black shirts jostled shoulder to shoulder to build the pattern. No single person made up the mosaic and it took all of them in their places to create it.
Finding Oncor’s SkillBridge Program
Whitten’s goal was to reach 20 years in the military. But as he neared that milestone, the demands of a military life were beginning to take a physical toll, and his family was ready to settle. It was an anxious, uncertain time. Where would they live? What did he want to do? Since he knew his retirement date was approaching, Whitten moved his family to Texas 18 months early to be near his wife’s family.
Whitten spotted an Oncor LinkedIn ad for the Department of Defense’s (now Department of War) SkillBridge program and found the hope he was looking for. “Every service member’s transition is filled with elements of anxiety, hope, and fear of the unknown,” said Whitten. “The joy of finding a new path helps override that feeling. That’s why programs like this are so beneficial, and why I will always advocate for them.”
In March of 2025, he entered his SkillBridge internship at Oncor for the last 79 days of his Army career. For their part, the Army still covered his salary and benefits, but he was able to try out Oncor as his next step. It gave him a plan and a direction.
“I cannot speak highly enough about the program. My goal was to prove that SkillBridge could be a win-win, and if I did not have a job at the end, I would still have immense pride that I helped open the door to Oncor and the military in creating an enduring partnership,” said Whitten. A lot of folks leaving the military get lost in the process. With Oncor, they took the rag to the mirror and removed the fog so I could see something ahead of me.”
Oncor hired Whitten at the end of his internship, the company’s first SkillBridge intern and hire. Today, he looks forward to his 10-year SkillBridge anniversary photo and hearing, ‘Here’s the Oncor SkillBridge alumni cohort from 2025-2035.’
He is now a Supervisor of Transmission & Distribution at the Oncor HUB facility in Midlothian. He also works at the Liggett Material Center in Irving, helping with ongoing reorganization efforts. Staying close to his military roots, Whitten participates in veteran-related activities within Oncor.
Whitten has two children, nine and 11, and his wife is a middle school teacher. He was away from his family for 18 months, and his wife shouldered the burden, so he’s grateful to be a part of daily family life and activities. “Everyone my wife works with says that Oncor is the greatest organization in DFW to work for and I couldn’t agree more.”
This <a target=”_blank” href=”https://fortworthreport.org/2026/01/11/oncor-a-son-called-to-serve-starts-a-new-chapter/”>article</a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https://fortworthreport.org”>Fort Worth Report</a> and is republished here under a <a target=”_blank” href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.<img src=”https://i0.wp.com/fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/cropped-favicon.png?resize=150%2C150&quality=80&ssl=1″ style=”width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;”>
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