Assimilating between two distinctly different environments is difficult to accomplish under the best of conditions. For those of us who are Veterans and have entered into the Military we can easily remember our first few days in boot camp. You will experience nothing like it the rest of your life. We had grown up, for the most part, in familiar surroundings and with people who had our best interests in mind. We enter into, of course strategically started at night, a whole new environment where there is nothing but yelling and in your face action going on. In time we adjust, become hyper sensitive to our surroundings, so that we can be successful on this endeavor we have volunteered to take. Over time you realize you are surrounded by the best people on the planet and that you will do anything for these comrades. This becomes your way of life for a period of years. During this period you go through some amazing shifts in who you are and exactly what you are about. All of this is for the best..right? Well the support structure and "guide" are all there for you to assimilate in but what happens when it is time to go to the next chapter?
Now flip that coin and you have honorably served your country, been through some very trying times, would do it all over again for your country and comrades, but now is the time to become a civilian. This transition may happen after having served 2 years or as many as 30 years. Either way the transition is confusing, challenging, stressful, daunting, you name it...anything other than understood and pleasant. For most they experience one or more of the items below:
- Don't understand the changes they are going thru
- Family doesn't know them anymore
- Certain situations trigger issues
- Lost touch with society and its expectations
You quickly realize there is a lot to be said for structure, a chain of command, housing and medical as part of your basic compensation, trust and honor amongst your comrades, etc. As you look around you realize what you have known to be true for so long is not going to be the case anymore. You see many instances of people who are very much into themselves, will do whatever it takes to get what they want and certainly don't care about you or where you have been. This stops most of us Veterans in our tracks, shaking our heads, and saying WTF? You will routinely hear things like; boy you've changed, that's not what we do, good luck with that and this is just using basic examples. What you want to hear is; Thank you for your honorable and courageous service to our country and for providing a blanket of protection that has allowed the rest of us to sleep well and enjoy our daily lives, now let us provide you a similar comfort as you transition to a successful civilian life.
Now if that is not complicated enough many our brave and deserving of only the best veterans have combat challenges due to the past 15 years of war. Many of our transitioning Veterans have served multiple tours in more than one combat arena. Absolutely unheard of in history!
We as a Nation have a strong moral obligation to step up and take these fearless heroes and make them into fearless Veterans. There should be no Veteran who feels lost, who hears unsolicited or unthoughtful comments about how they have changed, etc. Realize up front, Veterans have changed and they are better than they ever were and will be the most productive, self-driven, loyal, trusting and integrity based individuals our society or any other society has to offer. Take advantage of this and put our Veterans first, as they have put everyone else first for many years.
Landmark Life Coaching's Mission is to honorably and respectfully serve courageous groundbreakers and transitioning veterans to persevere in defining and executing their future by providing an atmosphere of comradery and trust that honors their dedication and commitment. This will empower our clients to feel whole, honored, respected and fulfilled in defining and living their life purpose.
Founder/Coach/Speaker/Writer
Dwayne.paro@landmarklifecoaching.com