HOOAH! These US military veterans now have big roles on Wall Street

The American military has been breeding the US' top leaders since the day the Declaration of Independence was signed. 

But once they're done serving their country, many head to the financial services sector. 

That means bringing four-star general experience onto corporate boards, and, the mettle forged in jet fighting missions into management. 

That includes David Petraeus, who headed the CIA before resigning, and, later, taking a post at private equity firm KKR. Others might be surprised to see our list include Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman. 

There are a lot of other Wall Street hot-shots, too. Big name banks like JPMorgan and Bank of America have launched ambitious initiatives to bring the military's finest to the forefront of financial services. Often, they're competing with private equity firms like Blackstone and KKR for top talent. 

They come from all branches of the US military: Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. They also hail from the reserves. 

For this Veterans Day, Business Insider takes a look at some of the financial sector pros who first learned about hard knocks from a drill instructor. Have a look:

Kelsey Martin was a fighter pilot before joining Goldman Sachs

Kelsey Martin spent more than a decade with the US military, first studying economics at the US Naval Academy and then as a fighter pilot and as an electronic warfare instructor. After his time in the Navy, he headed to the Booth Business School at the University of Chicago for his MBA. A short stint at Morgan Stanley was followed by a 10-year run at Goldman Sachs, where he's currently employed, according to his LinkedIn profile. 

Steve Schwarzman did a stint in the reserves before launching his finance career

After a short stint at investment bank Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette, a young Steve Schwarzman would briefly take a turn in the US Army Reserves before returning to the world of finance. Following his time in the reserves, Schwarzman would head to Harvard Business School, and then into Lehman Brothers, where his career in finance would take off. Today, he's the 38th richest man in the US, according to Forbes. 

Wesley Clark ran for president, then, ran to private equity

Former General Wesley Clark left the US Army at the rank of General after more than three decades of service in 2000. He would then go on to run for President of the United States — as a Democrat — in 2004 and remained active in politics afterwards. Clark made his move to PE in 2013, joining Steve Schwarzman's Blackstone Group.