He ultimately attained the rank of captain and was awarded a Bronze Star and the European Theater Ribbon for his military service.
Sanders then took a job with the staff of the United States House Committee on Appropriations, a position he would hold for 19 years.
Colonel Sanders retired from federal service in 1973, moving to Bethesda, Maryland, and joining the Logistics Management Institute, a non-profit consulting organization focused on conducting studies for the United States Department of Defense.
He later became head of the Washington, D. C. office of the Signal Companies, Inc., a California-based conglomerate engaged mainly in automotive and aerospace engineering and energy development (including oil and gas).
Finally, in the mid-1970s, Colonel Sanders joined the Burma Oil and Gas Co. as a vice president, a post he held until his retirement in the mid-1980s.