Lt. Col. Bryan Tolar had a calling to serve, but it came at an unusual age. At 26, he decided to join the military. He had no family connection to the military and no experience with ROTC. He just felt that serving others was something he needed to do. 

He signed up after graduating from college, starting a family and working for a few years. He also signed up for Army infantry, another unusual decision. 

“I felt like it was something more that I wanted to do, that I could do,” he says. “I felt a need to give back to the community, to do something for my state.” 

With 27 years (and counting) in the S.C. Army National Guard, Tolar continues his service at BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina. At BlueCross, he hopes to connect more veterans or military personnel to the company.

Tolar works as a security administrator, which draws on his experience in the infantry. Tolar has been called to active deployments four times — three times overseas: to Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan. During one service period, he went to Washington, D.C., to help protect the National Capitol Region. He spent seven years on active duty working with the South Carolina Emergency Management Division, writing security plans for deployed soldiers during emergencies in the state. 

He brings all those skills to his work at BlueCross. Mostly though, he brings his desire to serve others and to help other military personnel feel at home at the company. 

That is why he became involved with the Military Business Resource Group. The group welcomes veterans and those with military interests to serve as strategic partners. It serves as an internal resource, supporting the company’s business, and diversity and inclusion objectives as they relate to the military community.

The group hopes to increase veteran recruitment and retention, assist veterans with transitioning to civilian employment, support community outreach efforts, and offer social outlets for veterans. The group is about two years old, with more than 80 members on record. Approximately 6 percent of BlueCross’ workforce are veterans. 

“I see it as a way to help BlueCross,” he says. “I see parallel lines of interest between the BlueCross vision, values and mission that are exactly what the resource group wants to do. It is a perfect policy-strategy match.” 

There is a large group of talented individuals leaving military service each month from Fort Jackson and neighboring military installations. A major focus of the resource group is to help BlueCross take advantage of that talent pipeline. 

“We can be the conduit and funnel that talent to us,” he says. “That’s a win-win-win. It is good for the community; it is good for BlueCross; and it is good for the veteran."

For additional information on the Military Business Resource Group, contact DiversityMatters@bcbssc.com.

Nov. 11, 2019

Bryan Tolar has served in the military for more than 27 years. Today, he also brings his skills to BlueCross where works as a security administrator.