Military Transition Stories: Willing to Dream. Able to Adapt.

This article is presented by the Power Veterans Initiative. 

Good day, fam. Today I bring you the story of John Oppici, an Air Force Meteorologist whose story is less about struggle and more about preparation, adaptability and adventure. His story is great for anyone who is either preparing for a new chapter in life or those who feel stuck in the chapter they’re on. Whichever boat you’re in, I hope you find value in the words that follow and ultimately the courage to take some action. 

Hey there, John. Appreciate you chatting with us today. Let’s start with a bit of your background. How did you end up in the military?

Sure, so I was born and raised in North Jersey. I spent the first 19 years of my life there. After high school, I didn't really know what I wanted to do. I did one semester of community college and I didn’t do very well. I was working dead-end jobs, got mixed up with the wrong crew and wasn't doing anything with my life. I realized at that point I needed to do something different. So I was like,

'Well, I guess I'm just going to join the military and get my shit together.'

I always had a desire to get out of New Jersey and I just saw that as my ticket out. You know what I mean? 

I sure do. We've actually got pretty similar stories, man. Right out of high school I left the life I had known, ended up spiraling for six months, lost a friend to heroin overdose, and I was like, ‘all right, I'm getting the f*ck out of here’. The military was that parachute, so I feel you. Now, you told me earlier you were a meteorologist for the military -- that must have been quite the experience. Can you tell us a bit about that? 

Yeah man. Being a meteorologist in the Air Force was one of the harder tech schools as far as dropout rates because there’s so much information cramming. So from the get-go there was always a lot of pressure to learn the information and pass your tests. After my schooling, I went to St. Louis for on-the-job training and that's where I really started actually forecasting the weather for real.

?I want to stop you there for a second. Was there a moment where it was like, ‘Oh wow, this is kind of cool?’

Yeah...actually, there is. It’s kind of funny because now that I think about it, you were the photographer for the Secretary of Defense and he flew into Fort Campbell one day when I was sitting at my desk in St. Louis. Everybody was kind of over my shoulder like, "Don't f*ck this up! This is the Secretary of Defense!" And so I helped them make an unexpected stop on their trip. They used my forecast to land the plane. That was the first time I was like ok, this is actually pretty cool.  

That's crazy. I may very well have been on that trip. So how long did you do that for? 

I was in St. Louis for about a year and a half, then got sent to Hunter Army Airfield to support the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade and 3rd Infantry Division. I was really pumped about the assignment, but when I first got there I hated it. The Army just does things differently than the Air Force and everything's a f*cking hassle.

For the first six months, there was a major learning curve with being attached to the Army. But then I started to settle in, made some new relationships and started getting better at the job. I loved being in Savannah. Good food. Good drinks. You're on the beach. It all started to come together and then I deployed to Afghanistan which was f*cking awesome. So, it started out rough in Savannah and then just got better and better until the end.

That sounds great, man. Not many describe their Afghanistan deployments with as much excitement. What was that like for you?

Well for one, I was doing crazy shit all the time, but I also liked it for the fact that you kind of get to get off the grid, focus on yourself, focus on the job and just get into a routine. I hit the gym a lot, took some classes and also got to meet a bunch of really cool people. The only regret I have is that I wish I would have deployed earlier, or deployed more. 

Wow, what a unique experience you’ve had. Now you mentioned getting out after six years. Talk to me a bit about what that transition looked like? 

I was really, really pumped to get out. I saw it as an opportunity to go back to school and be a good student for the first time in my life. I was looking at schools and researching where I was going to go after the military for a year and a half before I got out. I put together a really intense plan of what I was going to do, where we were going, what I was going to study and what my career was going to be. My wife, Jean Marie, who I met in Savannah right when I got back from Afghanistan, was so supportive. Wherever I was going to go, she was going to come with me so we made the decision together and chose Drexel University in Philadelphia. I got out in May of 2019. In July, we moved to Philly and in August I started school. 

And it was awesome. School was great. I was on the Dean's List. I was killing it, making friends, making connections, getting involved and then Covid happened and it threw everything for a loop. I was not doing great with online school. My wife is a nurse so she was dealing with stress in Philadelphia. It did a complete 180 on us and we decided to move down to Tampa and adapt to the situation essentially. 

What made you choose Tampa? 

Well, when we chose Philly we really could have chosen anywhere then too. But with all the external variables and the general vibe of the Northeast, we just weren't happy. We wanted to be in a place that was a little more easygoing. In Tampa, we’re close to the beach and only four hours away from her family. She was able to be a nurse here and then I found Power. When I saw the opportunity that Power was presenting and their work with veterans it was like all the pieces just came together.

That's awesome, man. It's such a great example of a positive reaction to a potentially stressful situation. You found a workaround and stuck together with your spouse making those decisions together.

Absolutely, man. I feel like people settle for mediocrity too often. We could have stayed in Philadelphia because it's what we knew. I was in school and she was a nurse so we were there, but...

"...we took the shot at trying to be happier elsewhere and we did that without knowing if it was actually going to work." 

I love that last part. Why do you think you were willing to take that risk?

You don't know what you don't know. You don't know if you're going to have a better life somewhere else unless you get out and at least try something or experience something. Ask yourself: “What's holding you back? Are you there just because you're comfortable, or is there actually something serious going on where you can't leave?”

I always give my family sh*t in Jersey because they settle. They always talk about leaving but have lived there their entire lives and I just ask them, “What is holding you back? There's a whole country, a whole world out there. Go do something! If you want to go hiking in Colorado, go hiking in Colorado!

"Don’t just settle for where you are because you don't think you can make it elsewhere.”

I just feel super grateful that we were able to pull that trigger and make it work. 

Dude I've lived in literally a dozen different places. I love that. 

Yeah, it doesn't work for everybody. It's not like I'm saying everybody should just uproot their lives, but if you're unhappy then you should be actively thinking about what you can do to make yourself happy.Think about: Is it me? Is it my job? Is it my surroundings? The weather? Do I need to be closer to a beach or am I more of a mountain person? I feel like those are things people don't think about. They kind of just take for granted their surroundings just because they're comfortable.

I think you're right -- a lot of people never question the location or the way they live because it’s all they’ve ever known. Now, does Jean Marie share the same sense of adventure? And how important has that relationship been? 

100%. She had lived in Georgia her whole life before we met and when we were deciding where I was going to go back to school we both wanted to go somewhere we’d never been before. We were looking at schools in Colorado, Chicago and Arizona. Philadelphia was actually one of the last places we looked at. She’d never lived in the Northeast and I’d never spent much time in Philly, so it was still a new experience for us both. Ultimately when that didn’t work out, we were able to use that same perspective to our advantage and pick a better place going forward.

So, I look at all this as kind of a blessing because I love Power. Being in the field is not the most glamorous sometimes, but I love it because

"I've met some of the most interesting people. I got my biggest paycheck of my life last week. Things are just really falling into place in every aspect."

And that's why I was saying, I just feel super grateful to be down here and to just be happy.

I love that and I’m happy to hear you’ve found some happiness with Jean Marie down in Tampa. Now John, I feel like your story is unique in that you’ve had this ability to kind of see into the future and create your own reality, which is something all vets want to do as they transition. What advice do you have for servicemembers about to make that jump?

Do as much research as possible. Where are you now and where do you see yourself in five years? Do some financial planning. If you have a spouse or significant other, make sure they're on board with everything. Really think about it, plan it -- but at the end of the day, you have to understand your plans are probably not going to go the way you think they are. There were days before moving down here where I wanted to walk back into the recruiter's office. I did have some regrets, as I’m sure a lot of people do. So the most important thing is being able to adapt within that plan and flex where you need to flex.

"I feel like we have an advantage over a lot of people by being able to adapt to hard times."

In the military you have to get into that mindset of having to move around frequently and being able to adapt to your surroundings. It’s an advantage because a lot of people won't pull the trigger and make a move.

Those are such wise words, John. A lot of people just accept their current place in life because they are too afraid to take action. Being forced into situations in the military where you have to move to new places and start all over kind of gives us the ability to make those moves a bit more confidently.

Yeah, I just feel really grateful to be where I am. I haven't had the worst experience and like you said, I'm sure there's more horror stories out there for sure. Of course there were some troubled times that we didn't really get into, but all-in-all looking back, joining the military was the greatest decision I’ve made. It gave me some incredible experiences which taught me life lessons I’ll always take with me. 

John gave us all a lot to think about. Today, instead of the typical takeaways I leave you with, I’d like to leave you with a few questions for you to ask yourself: 

• Am I happy? When was the last time you really evaluated your happiness? Get specific here with all the different areas of your life. Identify where you’re not satisfied. 
• Did I choose my current situation or did I just stay where I was comfortable? Too often we don’t even take the time to evaluate where we live, our vocations, our community...any of it. We accept things as they are because we’re afraid to rock the boat. 
• Is that something you’re actually stuck with or can you change it?  Some circumstances are non-negotiable and are just the realities in which we must succeed. But sometimes we actually can make major changes in our lives if we have the courage to do so. Be real with yourself about what’s holding you back. 
• What alternate futures could you imagine for yourself?  I love this quote by Joe Rogan: 'If your life was a movie and you were the hero, what would you do right now that would make this movie worth watching?” This is the only life you get. Why not make it something you think is awesome? Live where you want to live. Do the work you want to do. Be around the kind of people you’d want to be around. Use your imagination and remove your own limitations. 
• What can you do to make that a reality? John didn’t just imagine his future, he prepared for it. He spent time working out the details. Hopes and dreams are great but if they aren’t paired with preparation and execution you’ll wake up from your daydream in the same place you started it. 
• Who else will this affect? John was also a great example of including your significant other in these major life decisions. Because both John and Jean Marie went into each decision together, they also faced the results of those decisions together and when it was necessary they audibled together as well. Get the important people in your life on board, it not only affects them but they’ll be your support when things don't go as planned. 

Click the link to read more of the "Stories of Transition" series. If you’re looking to start a new chapter in your life, Power is hiring in 17 offices spread across the U.S. in some pretty exciting locations. Head over to PowerVeterans.com and start to envision your new future. 

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