“In my daily life, I have ended up as chairman in all the associations I’ve been involved with. They can see that you’re solution-driven, get things done and are communicative, I guess.” The ambition of the Swedish Armed Forces is that a veteran should be perceived as someone with “a proven high physical and mental capability” and someone “well trained in leading and co-operating with others”. How is this ambition perceived in reality? The aim of the project “Veterans in Swedish Society – Proud, Respected, Valuable” is to provide a broader knowledge-base focusing on the veterans as a competent resource within the civil society and working-life. By means of qualitative methods, the research project explores questions like: What experiences do the veterans themselves have switching from military service to civilian working life? In what way has their knowledge and experiences as veterans been requested on the job market? Have they felt respected because of being a veteran? Preliminary results show that veterans are perceived as professional by civilian employers, being task-oriented and having the “right attitude”. But the veterans are also struggling to face ignorance and misconceptions about what their former military experience means.