Reflections of a Veteran job seeker

I am a Combat Veteran (having served overseas in Afghanistan 2003 to 2004). Shortly after returning to Northern Virginia - I had a blitz of job interviews (to continue my career pursuit as a Financial Advisor). I was offered employment at Morgan Stanley (vicinity of Tysons Corner) and I recall that the Hiring Manager said that my "service overseas was the hardest thing I had probably ever done and that work in the private sector would be much easier." At the the time I nodded in agreement; 10 to 12 years later in retrospect, I believe the opposite was true - serving in combat was by far the easiest thing I had ever done (and loved it too) and working in the private sector or public sector was by far the hardest thing to do (and mostly disliked it). I was a citizen soldier and had served 12 years (4 years enlisted, 8 years as an Officer) as a Heavy Wheel Mechanic, Military Police Officer, and All Source Intelligence Officer. In those 12 years I was Block Buster Store Manager and a Financial Advisor. I resigned my commission in 2008 and for the next 9 years I worked full time as a health and safety manager and emergency manager for local governments in Los Angeles and Riverside. I am presently a consultant (although I am interviewing to work full time as either a Recruiter, Insurance Wholesaler, State Farm Agent, and Director of Safety and Security).

4 months ago (nostalgic for better times) I reached out through Linkedin and got written approval to be re-commissioned as a Captain in the California Army National Guard. I am close to finalizing the deal, of which getting back into shape and losing 20 pounds has been my personal goal for the past 2 months). I also need to qualify on my primary weapon (a Beretta M9 handgun) if I plan on serving overseas again. My 7 year old son assures me that if I play his game Roblox it can help me refine my skills. It may be odd to admit but I don't own any weapons and I don't plan on practicing at a gun range any time soon; however, fate intervened with an email from a friend introducing me to a startup of his which consists of a networked training pistol and a smartphone App www.interactivepistol.com (I plan to buy one next week). Stay tuned . . I do plan on sharing other insights on Safety, Emergency Management, and other reflections in the months to come.