An Intro to the Author, An Intro to my Tone, And Why I Care about the Journey We Veterans go through…
I’m a veteran of the First Gulf War. I’m the son of a veteran, my Father served in Vietnam. I’m friends with a few veterans. I work directly with several veterans. I live around a couple of veterans.
There is one thing in common we can all say. Regardless of what branch of the service, or for how long we served, or where – we all agree – if you served in combat or other similar situations, or even if you just spent a long time in the military, it is difficult to transition back to civilian life. For many it’s a real struggle. For combat veterans, and those who have, or still continue to experience PTSD, the transition can seem impossible.
I got lucky.
I joined the United States Marine Corps a little over a year after graduating high school. I was going nowhere, and getting there very fast (The path of that road and the story around it is very long so I’ll save it for another time). As I thought about my future, I realized I needed self discipline. I chose the Marine Corps to give it to me. This was in 1989, and I served through the First Gulf War and we were even deployed inside of Los Angeles during the L.A. Riots. I got out after just 4 years, 3 months, and 10 days…but who was counting! My transition from veteran to civilian began right there.
My support structure at the time consisted of my father, a Vietnam War Vet, my friends from the unit I was in, and my first wife. Between them, I adjusted reasonably well over the years, but it wasn’t until 10 years later when I had children and much more responsibility at work that I realized I hadn’t fully become a civilian and my veteran history was still underway. It was with my second wife, my kids, and perhaps maybe a little more wisdom that the next real stage of my own transition happened. It was this stage where I think I learned the most about what it takes to truly journey from veteran to civilian.
So I was lucky, I worked hard, I had help, and I learned along the way. I realized I wanted to help others make their journey better. Sometimes it will be sharing something I’ve learned or presenting learnings and possibilities from others, and as often as possible, it will be done with a little of my humor and personal style.
Sit back, feel comfortable, and hopefully learn something that will help yourself, a loved one, a friend, or even a stranger, help them, or us, transition more smoothly between the veteran and civilian lives we have lived.
TRANSITIONS: veterans change to civilians 