“Your Uncle Billy is coming home soon,” that’s what I was told as a child in 1969.

Deployed home—no more exciting words for military family members. As an 11-year-old child in 1969, I was told that my beloved Uncle Billy was coming home from his second tour of duty as an army signal corpsman in Vietnam. During his first tour of duty, it seemed to me that he was only on a short vacation learning how to ski in Colorado and ice skating with the famous Peggy Fleming.  I promise he insisted that he had a date with her (where they ice skated).  I soon learned the truth and reality that being in Vietnam was drastically different from state side service.  Every evening as the nightly news came on during supper time, my daddy insisted that no one talk so he could hear reports of the casualties and war activities.  This was a stressful time one that I’m sure is probably more compounded today with 24/7 news availability through so many media forms.  At the time, we craved news, but now I understand how then no news was good news.

When my parents told their four daughters that Uncle Billy was coming home, I initially thought my parents meant that he was coming home for a short visit and would have to return to Vietnam. My parents and grandmother assured me that this time his arrival home was different as he was coming home “for good.” I was skeptical, but immediately began to plan how I would be the first one to see him.  Being the second born of four daughters, I always aspired to be the first or the best at whatever I tried to do.  I would be the first one to see him!  Now how was an 11-year-old child going to make that happen?  So, I went to my thinking tree, the great big mimosa tree in our front yard.  My tree often served as a refuge to escape from three sisters, one of those a special needs sibling with a pugnacious personality, and where I would read books or just think.  While thinking about my self-imposed challenge of how I had to be the first one to see my Uncle Billy when he came home, I peered high off from my perch in the mimosa tree and soon realized that I was sitting in the answer to my dilemma.  I’d climb my mimosa tree on the day that Uncle Billy was scheduled to come home so I could be the one to first see the car as it made its way from the high point of the street we lived on aptly named High Point Drive.  So on the appointed day, April 1969, I couldn’t wait until I got home from school.  The school bus ride home seemed longer than normal.

Despite being told that his arrival was still a couple of hours later, I went immediately to my tree, climbed up, and waited and waited.  Unfortunately, his arrival home was delayed due to a mechanical problem with the plane.  I had to be “dragged” out of the tree.  I was not happy!  My plan had failed.  I hardly slept at all that night wondering when I would see him.  The next day word came through a telephone call to my grandmother’s house that Uncle Billy’s plane was diverted back to Mississippi and his arrival time was as yet unknown.  So, I went to my mimosa tree and sulked, cried, and generally expressed my hurt and disappointment.  My tree “listened” and brought comfort to an otherwise inconsolable child.  After two days of angst, I was worn out and sleep came easy.  I awakened the next morning to learn that Uncle Billy had indeed arrived home in the middle of the night and that I was NOT the first one to see him.  Understandably, his mother, my grandmother and my daddy got that honor—they deserved it.  I learned that it didn’t matter that I didn’t see him first.  Once I saw his smiling face, I was simply happy to have him home and secure in knowing he was safe from the far away mystery of Vietnam and the fear and angst that the nightly news reports gave of casualties.

For the next forty years, he was a strong influence in my life challenging me to be first in my love of God, family, country, and always for my Uncle Billy.  Six years ago on October 22, 2009, Uncle Billy, flew to his Heavenly reward after an eleven year battle with cancer.  No one fought harder to beat cancer and the ravages of Agent Orange that he did. I’m happy he’s free from the effects of post-traumatic stress too which at the time of his deployment home in 1969 was unknown, untitled, and horribly misunderstood. I’m looking forward to seeing him again one day healed from that horrible malady and the ravages of cancer.  I won’t care if I’m not the first one to see him this time, just so I get to.

Article by Brenda H. Truelove, M.A, program manager at Bama At Work. Her training and development training portfolio with the College of Continuing Studies includes the manufacturing and technology sectors with special emphasis on Maintenance and Supply Chain Management for industries and service professionals. She is also the Program Manager in charge of the Service Member to Civilian Summit.

This testimonial is the third one we received in our #DeployedHome campaign. #DeployedHome is an effort created by Bama At Work to help share the stories of returning veterans and how they have made it through their struggles. This campaign is part of the Service Member to Civilian Summit’s effort to bring together service members, veterans, their families, and community stakeholders to meet with advocates, researchers, clinicians, educators, and policymakers from around the nation, They want  to better understand and explore ways that all stakeholders can improve the transition from military service to civilian life.Through the use of #DeployedHome we hope that many of these veterans will see how their fellow soldiers have made it through and can see that they aren’t alone in this battle. If you are interested in participating, you can also submit your transition stories on our website militarytransition.ua.edu .

We invite veterans to tell us their story using #DeployedHome on Facebook and/or Twitter. We want to let our veterans know they are not alone, and there is still hope for them to overcome any challenge they may be facing.

In the Process of Healing Others, I Have Healed.

“I am a Behavioral Health Officer for the U.S. Army.  I served in Iraq during “the surge” as a combat stress provider, providing mental health services at FOB Liberty’s “Restoration Clinic”, a Psychiatric facility that provided overnight care for front line soldiers to decompress from combat, receive group and individual counseling, and return to duty.  I also counseled soldiers in Iraq individually. For the last half of my tour I was the Officer in Charge of the Combat Stress Prevention Team in the Green Zone (International Zone), covering downtown Baghdad units and outlying COPs (outposts). Rockets fell from the sky dozens of times a day, and I was constantly dodging these rockets.

In May of 2008, suddenly I was home… and 3 weeks later we had our 3^rd child, a newborn son. Sitting in rooms, or walking through parking lots, I would hear the warning sirens of the incoming rockets and see explosions around me…. So, I walked into my nearest Vet Center.  A Vet Center counselor helped me realize what I was experiencing (even though I myself had done that thousands of times for soldiers downrange) and helped me process what was happening to me.  For me, spiritual attunement to Christ, and the healing power of him and a community of faith and fellow believers was actually what helped my combat stress normalize after my return home.  I returned to teaching at a Bible college and knew that I needed to help the soldiers again.  In April of 2009, I was hired by the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs as a Care Manager for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. Part of my daily healthy transition is helping others along their journey and connect with the healing resources that they need to stabilize… I’ve built relationships with local community colleges and universities… local companies ready to hire veterans… and local non-profit organizations. We’ve built a network of public and community resources to address the “whole health” of our veterans.. in their physical, social, emotional, spiritual, and relationship dimensions of fitness.  In the process of healing others… I have healed, with the help of God.. and country.  ”

Article by Chris Atkins, LCSW, BCD OEF/OIF/OND, Care Manager for the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs, Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Social Work Service at the Chattanooga Outpatient Clinic. 

This testimonial is the second one we received in our #DeployedHome campaign. #DeployedHome is an effort created by Bama At Work to help share the stories of returning veterans and how they have made it through their struggles. This campaign is part of the Service Member to Civilian Summit’s effort to bring together service members, veterans, their families, and community stakeholders to meet with advocates, researchers, clinicians, educators, and policymakers from around the nation, They want  to better understand and explore ways that all stakeholders can improve the transition from military service to civilian life.Through the use of #DeployedHome we hope that many of these veterans will see how their fellow soldiers have made it through and can see that they aren’t alone in this battle. If you are interested in participating, you can also submit your transition stories on our website militarytransition.ua.edu .

We invite veterans to tell us their story using #DeployedHome on Facebook and/or Twitter. We want to let our veterans know they are not alone, and there is still hope for them to overcome any challenge they may be facing.

 

Being Deployed Home : The last Mission.

What do I do now? It’s probably the most important question service members ask themselves when they are deployed home. The transition from uniformed duty to civilian status is not just a change of jobs. It’s the start of what could be the hardest mission: going home. According to a nationwide poll of veterans conducted by The Washington Post and Kaiser Family Foundation, more than half of veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan said their adjustment to civilian life was difficult. They cited various reasons, from struggles in finding a good job to inadequate assistance from the government.

#DeployedHome is an effort created by Bama At Work to help share the stories of returning veterans and how they have made it through their struggles. This campaign is part of the Service Member to Civilian Summit’s effort to bring together service members, veterans, their families, and community stakeholders to meet with advocates, researchers, clinicians, educators, and policymakers from around the nation, They want  to better understand and explore ways that all stakeholders can improve the transition from military service to civilian life.

Veterans who have survived Al Qaeda, roadside bombs, land mines and death of their fellow soldiers are now struggling to put their lives back together. In the 13 years since American troops first deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, more than 2.6 million veterans have returned to a country that was not fully prepared to meet their needs.

Through the use of #DeployedHome we hope that many of these veterans will see how their fellow soldiers have made it through and can see that they aren’t alone in this battle. If you are interested in participating, you can also submit your transition stories on our website militarytransition.ua.edu .

We invite veterans to tell us their story using #DeployedHome on Facebook and/or Twitter. We want to let our veterans know they are not alone, and there is still hope for them to overcome any challenge they may be facing.

Article by Leroy Hurt and Kevin Lake. Leroy is the Associate Dean for the Professional Development and Community Engagement at The University of Alabama.He is also a retired U.S. Army officer. Kevin is the Communications Specialist for The University of Alabama College of Continuing Studies.

   

Understanding Military Culture

Military culture is based on the unique tradition, mission, structure and leadership of military history. Further, military culture maintains distinct sub-cultures (known as Branches of Service) that have unwritten sets of rules, viewpoints, perspectives and operating procedures. Understanding military culture is important when working with Veterans.

Defining the uniqueness of military culture:

The military is unlike any other career and the demands of military life create a unique set of pressures on service members and their families.  For most people, their job is what they do; it does not so deeply define who they are. For families, military life offers a sense of community with clearly defined rules and expectations. Members of the military and their families share a unique bond, professional ethic, ethos, and value system. The military offers a sense of community and camaraderie unlike any other profession. But it also fosters a warrior ethos that rewards physical and emotional prowess and frowns upon weakness and timidity. It is said that the military defends the Constitution; it does not emulate it. There are strict rules limiting freedom of speech and association.  To maintain “good order and discipline” commanders at all levels are given widespread authority over the personal affairs of their subordinates and held personally responsible to resolve any issues that could potentially affect performance of duty.

A Veteran’s military experience has equipped him or her with a unique set of values and skills. These characteristics distinguish Veterans from their civilian counterparts and can make them valuable members of your team. Below are common traits associated with those who have served in the military.

• Highly structured and authoritarian way of life with a mission-focused, goal-oriented approach—both explicit and implied.

• Strict sense of discipline, tending to adhere to rules and regulations.

• Strong work ethic with high regard for physical and mental strength.

• Code of conduct and organizational culture that reflects well-defined and strongly supported moral and ethical principles.

• Decisive leadership that expects loyalty of subordinates and allies.

• Warrior Culture – Bravery, Duty, Honor and Courage.

• Loyal to Comrades- Leave no Man Behind!

• Protective of family and civilians, chivalrous.

• The Mission comes first above all else.

• All Volunteer Service (No Draft).

Additionally Military Service Members share the following traits:

• Quick Learners. Men and women in the military are often forced to learn new tasks very quickly under high pressure. This can result in the development of an accelerated learning curve, which means less time training.

• Tolerant. Veterans understand diversity. During military service, they were required to work with and for whomever happened to be serving with them. This experience gives Veterans a greater sensitivity when it comes to cooperating with individuals from different backgrounds.

• Tenacious. Veterans have experience performing their duties in less-than-perfect situations. This means they have most likely achieved success under adverse conditions. Having already overcome adversity during their military career can make Veterans great employees because they are less likely to give up when challenges arise.

• Understand Leadership. Veterans have witnessed the dynamics of leadership in action and understand how to manage people in order to achieve results, regardless of circumstance. In addition, Veterans have a healthy respect and understanding for leadership, whether they were a leader or a follower during military service.

• Team Players. Although there are significant differences between the command and control culture of the military and the more collaborative culture in the civilian workforce, Veterans bear a huge sense of responsibility toward their colleagues. This trait makes Veteran candidates natural team players.

• Efficient. Veterans have likely performed effectively under high pressure on numerous occasions during their military career. The ability to handle pressure translates into workplace efficiency as military personnel are used to getting a job done correctly, quickly and expediently—with limited resources or assistance.

• Appreciate Receiving Feedback. Veterans are used to receiving direct feedback from superiors. Military personnel learn to absorb what they are told regarding their performance without taking it personally. As a result, Veterans know how to handle feedback well and appreciate being told how their performance aligns with expectations.

As a civilian who has not ever served in the military, it is easy to be influenced by commonly held stereotypes regarding military personnel and the challenges and experiences that they have faced during their service. The chart below highlights some of these issues and challenges.

What are some common stereotypes of military culture?	What are some of the challenges that come along with the commitment to military life?	What are some positive aspects of military life?
Too rigid and serious Unable to think outside the box Unwilling to learn a new culture Roadblock to higher education Training and jobs have little relation to the civilian world Life threat (combat and deployment)	Loss (e.g., death of close comrades or loss of relationships, loss of aspects of one’s self, loss of possessions) Inner conflict (belief systems or values) Strong stigma with receiving mental health care Family separations and re-assimilation into the family	Increased sense of camaraderie and teamwork Pride in serving the country Support for continuous education Insurance and retirement benefits

Each military service has its own history, mission, culture and terminology. Listed in the chart below is a brief description of each branch of the military. It is important to remember that each person is an individual, so ask the person how he or she would like to be addressed. The U.S. military has five branches: the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard. The Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines are housed under the Department of Defense (DoD). The DoD is headed by the Secretary of Defense, a civilian appointed by the President. Each department within the DoD is headed by its respective Secretary (e.g., the Secretary of the Army), also a civilian appointed by the President. Each branch is headed by a military 4-star general or admiral (i.e., Army Chief of Staff, Air Force Chief of Staff, Chief of Naval Operations, and Commandant of the Marine Corps) and these individuals are collectively known as the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Coast Guard is housed under the Department of Homeland Security during peacetime and can serve as part of the Navy’s force during times of war. Each branch of the military has a Reserve component.  In addition, our nation is also served by the National Guard and the Merchant Marine.

Service Member to Civilian

Military Service Veterans transitioning to the civilian workforce may face challenges demonstrating how their military experience relates to the career opportunity they are seeking. However, as hiring managers and HR professionals, being aware of these issues can help you bridge this gap as you integrate talented Veterans into your organization.This conference ,dedicated to the process of transition ,will be held at the Bryant Conference Center on December 2-3, 2014. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and visit our website for more info and news about veteran careers, veterans issues and the transition process.

Article by T. Scott Martin, MSW, LCSW. Scott Scott Martin is the Chief of Social Work Service for the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center and is part of the advisory committee for the S2C Conference. He served as an Army enlisted Combat Engineer and was later commissioned as an Army Officer. He served as a Captain in the Army’s Medical Service Corps as a Social Work Officer until 2004

You’re Stronger Than You Think You Are: How Yoga Continues to Help Me Heal.

I am a Marine Corps veteran, yoga skeptic, turned yoga student, turned yoga teacher. It’s been quite the journey from my “it’s not worth exercising unless it kicks my butt” military days to where I am now. I’m still both a student and a teacher at all times, though. I am a recovering perfectionist; I was raised by a career military father, strict mother, have been a competitive athlete my whole life, and became a United States Marine. I’ve got plenty of interesting baggage to work with. We all do. Realizing that I’m not special in that regard – that we’ve all got baggage, insecurities, and (mental and physical) injuries – has helped me immensely.

I’ve been injured – a lot. I really shouldn’t be alive. (No really, I’ve been hit by a car and struck by lightning, just to give you a couple examples). I can get mired down in that story sometimes, though, believing I’m the only one who’s been through what I’ve been through (which I’m not). And yoga, for all its feel good niceties, bendiness, and fit bodies, isn’t all sunshine and butterflies all the time. Yoga brings your tough stuff up, too. It’s sort of supposed to but it doesn’t always mean that’s a pleasant experience. Yoga can be the refining fires that we need to walk through, but don’t want to.

The question is, how do we meet the challenge of the fire without getting burned up?

Admittedly, I usually turn to yoga to make me feel better. When it doesn’t, I sometimes get mad. I think, “There’s no way anyone else in this room has sustained the injuries I have” or “no one’s been through what I’ve been through; my body is housing more trauma than yours.” I become defensive against the inaudible – yet very real – arguments and naysayers in my own head. Honestly, I don’t look around a lot during yoga class – usually. But last month, I caught myself getting frustrated with my body and doing just that: looking and judging (myself). It was awful. Talk about a slippery slope! It took a millisecond to leap from “I am present, I am peaceful” to moving into a posture I couldn’t do (yet everyone else in the class seemed to be able to do with ease and grace) and thoughts of “wow, I am still so screwed up and I’ll never be ‘good’ at yoga” to flood my brain.

Theodore Roosevelt said, “Comparison is the thief of joy,” and I’d have to agree. You don’t know what anyone else has or hasn’t been through. You don’t know if they were abused or loved, a dancer or a footballer, a military veteran or a “regular” college student, a newbie to the practice or an experienced guru. They good look like they’re doing the posture with ease, but they might be miserable. Or you could pity someone for not being able to touch their toes, yet they could be thrilled with themselves that they’re even in a yoga class at all. You have to meet yourself where you are and accept that in that moment, that’s what your mind and body is making accessible to you.

“Meeting yourself where you are” is a dance between complacency and perfectionism, coupled with trusting that you are stronger than you think you are. It’s not even about finding balance; it’s about being comfortable with the rhythm of your authentic ebb and flow. As Jon Kabat-Zinn says “You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.”  Learning to find your intelligent edge that fosters growth, versus pushing yourself to further injury, can take a lifetime to master. Striving for growth is very different than striving for perfection.

“Perfect” is an outwardly focused standard based on others; growth is fueled by healthy introspection. Omni-present comparison isn’t a sustainable attitude. That’s what helps me let go of it. It’s tempting and seductively destructive to self-bash. But it’s not sustainable. Accepting that comparison will kill you, along with these three simple yet powerful reminders help me work through painful and frustrating yoga classes. I hope they help you, too:

1.Good thing it’s all about the breath. Yes, it’s that simple. Thank God it is. I usually laugh when I catch myself self-destructing about something ridiculous (she is so much bendier than I am), and then I breathe. I take heart in knowing even if I just sit there without touching my nose to my toes, if I am breathing mindfully, then I am doing something good for myself.

2. Modifying doesn’t equal cheating. There are lots of yoga theories out there, some of which think that props are crutches. I strongly disagree. If I need to modify a posture by throwing a block under my booty or a strap ‘round my foot so I can enjoy the intended opening and keep my breath smooth at the same time, great, I’m going to do it. Modifying without props by utilizing the diversity of our own body is another way to tangibly meet ourselves where we are.

3. This is your karma. Injuries are not your “karma” as in “what goes around comes around” or “you deserve this,” but as in “your healing is your karmic action.” As you heal, you make space for others to heal. Doing yoga for you is the action you can take to heal yourself, previous generations, and future generations. We must change within before we can expect to change the world.

Look, I can’t do forearm stand. I can’t do sundial. I can’t do cow face pose. I most certainly cannot sit in full lotus. But I can move. I can breathe. And most days, I can meet myself where I am. When I do, I remember to allow for surprise. Sometimes, I can do full wheel without crushing pain in my low back. I have seven herniated discs in my back, a few of which are in my lumbar spine, and I had been convinced for years that Urdhva Danurasana was one of those “pushing yourself to the point of pain” postures for me. That is, until I had a gifted teacher guide me and tell me to think of the opposite of fear as I am about to lift up into the pose. For me, that word is “courage.” I silently say, “Courage, courage, courage” and every once in awhile, it gives me wings.

Student. Teacher. Both. Always. This is my yoga. What’s yours?

Sarah Plummer, author of this article will be one of the keynote speakers at the Military Member to Civilian Summit, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. This conference ,dedicated to the process of transition ,will be held at the Bryant Conference Center on December 2-3, 2014. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and visit our website for more info and news about veteran careers, veterans issues and the transition process.

Article by Sarah Plummer, keynote speaker at the Service Member to Civilian Summit, author, Certified Health Coach, RYT-500, and former Marine Corps Officer.  Sarah serves as a board member on the Military Advisory Committee for Service Women’s Action Network

My Transition from Military to Civilian Through Yoga…

 “Coming home is harder than fighting in the war.”

– Congressman Patrick Murphy

Clay Hunt was a fighter in every sense of the word.  He fought for years, both literally and figuratively, before finally ending his life all alone in a Texas apartment.  He was educated, handsome, young, accomplished – it didn’t make sense at casual first glance.  A Marine, Clay came home from multiple combat deployments with raging symptoms of PTSD and survivor’s guilt.  He had lost friends and seen more than he ever wanted to. 

The clash between yoga and warrior cultures –

I will always be proud to have been a Marine, but after becoming a yoga teacher, I think about pride differently than I used to.  I used to think strength meant presenting an image of strong silence and always looking like I had everything together.  Yoga taught me about vulnerability, honesty, and connecting authentically with the people around me, letting them see both my light and dark.  We have to be honest about where we are hurting, or where we fell down.

I’ve fallen down pretty hard before and it took me too long to get back up because I didn’t know that people might be okay with an imperfect version of me.  Marines aren’t supposed to be sad.  Marines aren’t supposed to screw up.  I was.  I did.

What if I had completed training designed to increase self-awareness and promote resilience?  What if PTSD was something I knew to look for in myself and others rather than ridicule as the province of the malingerer?  Understanding warrior culture thoroughly only underscores the need for mindfulness training – it is all about stigma.  Right now we are losing more veterans to suicide than to combat.  I’m a pretty decisive person with a limited ability to ask for help and zero trouble taking risks – I was almost one of those statistics.

I teach yoga today because I know how it saved my life.

The suicide numbers among active duty military personnel eclipsed the number of combat deaths in 2011.  Before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the incidence of suicide in active duty US service members was consistently 25% lower than in civilians.

Yoga offers something special and completely reframes the issue of treatment.

The idiosyncratic messages of warrior subculture make sense to me.  I grew up in a military family where “civilian” was synonymous with a host of pejorative insults.  I joined the Marine Corps in college to test myself.  I doubted whether twenty-mile hikes or back-breaking obstacle courses were within the scope of things I could physically accomplish- I quickly learned that they were; they had to be.  In those early years as a Marine, I got very good at presenting a veneer of stoic professionalism at all times.  Presenting the certain, effective façade required some incredibly useful skills – skills that become incredibly destructive when you never learn how to turn them off.

The above description fits most Marines.  We tend to be a driven, dysfunctional lot.  I was a bit of a performance junkie and my desire to constantly display an ideal version of myself in front of others has caused incredible heartache and alienation.  I weathered deployment, loss, injury of loved ones, alcohol abuse, domestic violence, and divorce completely alone and in an unhealthy way.  I share this not because any of it is particularly interesting, but because it is particularly common and normal in the military community, I call home.

Why Yoga for veterans?

The answer has to lie outside the contemporary standard of care.  Yoga can do that.

I came across yoga as an athlete looking for something fun to try, something new to master, and something to help me bend my unyielding muscles a bit more easily.  What I found on the mat changed my life entirely.  I found a practice that was about more than my body, my training, and was something I could practice and study while joyously never “mastering.”

Our bodies were made to move in constant search of unity with our minds and spirits.  It is a natural stillness that those who have felt it love, pursue, and fight to regain if lost.  When we discuss the sorts of trauma and injuries our veterans have experienced, I believe we need to bring mindfulness into the conversation around treatment and prevention.  Pills and therapy are not enough to return this active, passionate community to full health after trauma.  We won’t seek them out and we won’t ask for help.

While clinical health services exist for soldiers and Marines with existing mental health conditions like post-traumatic stress, they are not stemming the rising tide of service suicides.  Framing mindfulness training as a way to “bulletproof your brain” renders the practices palatable within the confines of warrior culture.  Marines and soldiers are competitive individualists who respond much better to notions of challenge than to victim or patient identities.  I teach yoga because it asks the practitioner to work at creating mental fitness and resilience, and I know no other way to reach my peers with such effect.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and visit our website for more info and news about the transition process, veterans care and military personnel education.

Article by Dr. Kate Hendricks Thomas,  Assistant Professor of Health Promotion at Charleston Southern University and former Marine Corps Officer.  Kate serves as Co-Chair of the Community-Based Organizations track for the Service Member to Civilian Summit.

 

How to Help Veterans Transitioning To Civilian Life ?

“Military training does not result in a pleasant segue to the civilian world, and it can be difficult to forge a career change. A comprehensive transition program is necessary whether the separating veteran is looking for higher education or employment (American Council on Education, Veteran Success JAM 2010, p. 21).”

Researchers, policy makers and federal agencies have been slow in coming to terms with the realities of being in a worldwide conflict in multiple countries with no end in sight and the impact that has on service members, veterans and their families (Pryce, Pryce and Shackelford, 2012). In a recent article, J. R. Romaniuk (2012) stated:

“We must assume the challenge of returning veterans as our own. A social worker confronting an OIF/OEF veteran for the first time must recognize the history of the person he or she encounters. Listening to and understanding each individual’s history and matching it with our own professional training and what we know about how these young people live is vital to successful treatment” (pp. 2-3).”

Service Member to Civilian (S2C), a national summit to address the current and emerging needs of service members transitioning to civilian life, will be held at the Bryant Conference Center December 1-3, 2014. S2C will examine how service members from all branches of the military transition to civilian life and how we can improve that transition through translational science and service. This summit will bring together service members, veterans, their families, and community stakeholders to meet with advocates, researchers, clinicians, educators, and policy makers from around the nation to better understand and explore ways that all stakeholders can improve the transition from service to civilian life.

The scope of the need is great: between 2002 and 2012, nearly 1,500,000 veterans left active duty. Multiplied by the average three family members, the impact is enormous – in 2009, the 2,258,757 active duty personnel had 3,093,709 family members (Pryce, Pryce and Shackelford, 2012). There are approximately 22.7 million veterans nationwide, the highest percentage (40.4%) of whom lives in the South; over 400,000 veterans live in Alabama alone.

S2C is the first national, interdisciplinary summit to focus on translational research to better understand and improve the transition from military service to civilian life. S2C incorporates four themes – the roles of higher education, families and children, communities, and employers in the transition – interactively. These themes collectively reflect the objectives and aims of the summit to build a research consortium, present current research, develop multidisciplinary future researchers, use current research to illuminate critical issues, identify research needs relevant to demographic shifts in the Armed Forces, and build a cadre of new professionals inclusive of current graduate students, interns, and diverse researchers underrepresented in the academy

The S2C objectives are to:

• Present current research and best practices for improving military to civilian transitions.
• Build research and practice consortiums that bring service members, including National Guard and Reservists, veterans, and their families together with researchers, Department of Defense (DoD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) clinicians and decision makers, civilian employers, researchers, students, and higher education leaders.
• Articulate short-term and long-term translational agendas for research and practice in four core theme areas.
• Provide job acquisition training and access to employment opportunities.

The video below will be presented as an introduction for our speaker panel, in September:

 

 

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and visit our website for more info and news about veteran careers, Service Members to Civilian process and military personnel education.

Article by Dr. Karl Hamner,  Assistant Dean for the UA Capstone College of Nursing and the School of Social Work overseeing research and is Co-Chair of the Service Member to Civilian Summit.