Adjusting to civilian life is a real, and very serious struggle. Jack knows this. Unless you have experienced the intense physical and mental training, the camaraderie, the discipline, the honor and passion of being in the United States military, it can be hard to wrap your mind around the struggle of adjusting to being in the “real world.”
There are a few factors that go in to becoming acclimated into civilian life – and the most important factor is finding another purpose – finding a career. It’s important to find a good fit as a veteran with a distinct set of skills.
That being said, the first step is to figure out what those skills are, and that could really depend on what your job was in the military. Were you on the medical team? Were you an officer? Technology? Weaponry? Whatever the case may be, find it and start there. Sometimes the cards are not dealt the way you’d like, and you end up grabbing the first job available and it’s a huge culture shock – the lack of discipline, the lack of respect that surrounds civilian life.
Once you find your niche, the second important task that needs to be done is to communicate with your superiors. Not too many people understand military life and all that encompasses it. The best thing any veteran can do is communicate with their supervisors, and even the peers they’d be working directly with. Are there any subjects to steer away from? Are there any triggers? How do you work best? Are you a leader? Do you take direction well? All of these are very important questions that need to be answered to make a veteran’s transition as seamless as possible.
Although Detective Jack Stratton knew exactly what he wanted to be after his time in the Army – he still had a large learning curve to overcome once he got home. He experienced death and trauma that not too many Americans can relate to, let alone time in combat. But with the help of his family, friends, and colleagues, he was able to become the rugged, limit-pushing detective we all know and love.
All the luxuries we have in the United States – the freedom, the safety, the democracy, the wealth – is because of our troops fighting both oversees and at home in the Reserves. They protect us, they care for us, they love us, and they’d die for us. The very least we can do is provide for them after their time in the military is over.
To all our past and present military personnel, thank you.