Casto honored as Veteran Small Business Champion | Star-Exponent

By: Eric Watkevich | Contributing writer
Published: March 18, 2012 Updated: March 18, 2012 - 12:00 AM

Perry Casto, recipient of the U.S. Small Business Administration?s 2012 Virginia Veteran Small Business Champion of the Year Award, will be the first to tell you that his company is anything but small.

?We?re a small business, but we have the trappings of a larger business,? he said. ?We cover a lot of areas.?

His company Allied Associates International (A2I) was created in February 2008. This was originally comprised of Casto working in his home office in Amissville, while an associate set up in the dining room. This arrangement didn?t last long.

?My wife said she wanted the dining room back,? he said.

A2I was then moved to its present location in Warrenton where it has since expanded to include locations in Colorado, Indiana, as well as a branch in the U.K.

A2I provides contracting services for the Department of Defense as well as Homeland Security in fields such as cyber- intelligence, engineering, and management.

Casto, originally from West Virginia, studied at West Point before beginning a 28-year career with the U.S Army specializing in air defense artillery and missile systems.

Shortly after retiring in 1998, he became a defense contractor in Washington D.C. where he worked in a series of small firms that he said began small but were eventually bought by larger companies.

?I wanted to start my own business and not sell it to anyone,? Casto said.

Casto has always remained close to the military. He was also a past recipient of The Lord Fairfax Small Business Development Center Award for 2010 Small Business Veteran of the Year.

This award is given to businesses who are committed to providing opportunities for veterans. Specifically, he has begun taking steps towards assisting veterans in their transition to civilian life.

?Young veterans,? Casto said, ?come out of the military not knowing much other than how to be a soldier.?

It was with this problem in mind that he set out to create a program that would work with veterans who wish to earn a college degree.

?You can?t expect the government or major businesses to give veterans a job if they aren?t prepared,? he said.

Unemployment rates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics places veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars at roughly nine percent. The January 2012 report shows that this is slightly worse than the national average of around eight percent. Unemployment rates for recent veterans are also higher than that of the overall veteran population.

With cooperation from George Mason University, Casto is in the process of creating the non- profit Institute for Veteran Education and Training (I-VET), which would work with local businesses and universities to provide solid job opportunities and training.

?Ideally, the purpose of IVET is to give young veterans an opportunity to get in the workforce and get a good job,? he said.

?I get emotional talking about this,? Casto said, referring to his time in the military. ?I?m very proud of the people I work with. We?re part of a vibrant growing culture.?

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Source: http://www2.starexponent.com/news/2012/mar/18/casto-honored-veteran-small-business-champion-ar-1775123/

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