Military in Desperate Need of a Transition to Transitioning

You may have noticed a large volume of military transitioning news come across your feed. Perhaps it was the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs regarding changing compensation for wealthier veterans. Maybe you noticed a series of battle-driven stories and innovated fighting equipment. The spotlight I see heavily illuminating is how the United States Department of Defense isn't doing enough for out Transitioning Military . My polls over the last 3 years have concluded that this indeed true. I have written a few articles about this very subject in the past, and now the Military Times have sounded the alarm in one of their latest articles.

I wasn't certain if I would fail the moment I left the military, but I was truly motivated. I was divorcing, never had kids when I always wanted a family, and I felt lost more than ever. I was scared, discriminating against who I was for not being good enough. Time is ticking, and the clock seems to be moving faster than normal. My heart, dancing to a beat not on my desired playlist. Anxiety forcing isolation before a self-identity crisis grounds its anchor to take control in a cancerous manner. I thought this was just me. “Why me?” I would ask, which eventually and quickly switched to “Of course, me.” You see how quick we can go from “I am going to kill it and get that six-figure salary” to, “Nobody will hire me.” You see how fast our motivation can be crushed through constantly evaluating our probability of success?

Whether your motivation was predominantly intrinsic or extrinsic, a negative bias of self worth and questioning our credibility, will quickly turn into an introjected state. Much like when your boss at work gives you an unsettling amount of criticism, and you immediately feel less optimistic about your day and or work, new can punish ourselves when it's unneccesary. This is how I felt leaving the Military . I began to question my own ability to make the right moves when they were supposed to be implemented. I soon developed a habit of negative reinforcement and allowed myself to avoid things that would upset me. This was a barrier to basically anything I wanted to do. I went from “OK, this is what we need to do. Let's rock!” to, “I am really scared that I won’t be able to make this work in a small amount of time.”

One thing that I can say is that many veterans can attest to is, there’s not nearly enough time to transition out of the military. Yes, some have connected one thing to the next understanding that you can prepare yourself early. Some already know the resources and what to do. Most of the veterans I spoke with on many installations to include Military Veterans of LinkedIn , did not have that experience. I have operated multiple polls on LinkedIn and had many conversations with veterans regarding related subjects. An astonishing average of 80% of responses concluded that they did not have enough time to transition, the process was poor, and that they were not aware of the resources that could have mitigated many common barriers of the transition process.?

Imagine the clock being your enemy this time around. Every minute that passes, is a minute wasted. During your short excursion of discovering your exciting new venture, there may be some rocky waves challenging your path. I conducted multiple interviews and asked the questions, “What was going on in your head during your first month of job hunting at the tail end of your military career.” Here are the most common results found within the answers.

1. Self-Identity #crisis ?
2. Elevated #anxiety
3. #depression
4. Relationship disconnect or isolation
5. Increased alcohol issues
6. Self surrender

Seems like quite the list of everything that can go wrong right? It is true, even I rode that rollercoaster of emotion throughout the process. Overcoming these was not an easy task to accomplish, but the good news you'll make it through, which will build character and can be used as a tool of strength in your next career. There’s a twist to the results though. Almost 80% of those who expressed these challenges, expressed that the over all military transition office experience was unhelpful. With little time to plan, lack of resources, and a poor experience, we get to the current Military Times article we saw this week. Perhaps, has the time come where the United States Department of Defense is getting its own spanking from their own #veterans? We shall see, but at least the awareness has grown.