Posted on Jan 27, 2015
MAJ David Vermillion
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PO3 Machinist's Mate
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The short answer to this question, without trying to muddle it up with questions of how or where would funding come from is, without a doubt, YES. Transition class is BS. If things went according to how my TAPS instructor said they would've, I should have been able to walk into a job with a week of my ETS that paid as much or more than I made on Active Duty. Instead, I was out of work for a year and haven't made CLOSE to what I did on AD (with a MASTERS DEGREE) in the 13 years I've been out.
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MAJ David Vermillion
MAJ David Vermillion
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The same thing happened to me, retired and forgotten. I was young when I retired and nothing happened that was favorable that led in the direction of obtaining a job. You are on your own.
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SSG Parachute Rigger
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Absolutely, MAJ David Vermillion.

Just because they have a class on how to do a resume and all does not necessarily set the Soldier transitioning for ultimate success.

I believe there is more that can be done to assist those who need or want it.
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MSG William Wold
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"I'm from the government and We're here to help you", has always been my dreaded saying to hear. Government is too much in our daily lives. A lot of the skills in the military do not transfer to a peaceful society, unless it's neighborhood watch in a secure facility, and we all know where that will get you.
When I got out of Active Duty in the early 70's, there was a "project transition", ran thru the education center. They found you an employer in a field that you might like that would agree to the program. Or they found something in a field that your 3 hour questionnaire you filled out pointed you toward. You were still in the military. No formations, PT, etc, but you got up in the morning into civies, and drove to their place. You worked for them as a civilian would, but they didn't pay you. You still had all the military pay. At the end of the 8 weeks, you got back in your uniform for 3 days, doing ETS physical, sign out of the base, and waved goodbye. If you had leave on the books, they paid you for it. There wasn't terminal leave, the day you drove off, you were done.
After the second week into it, That employer hired me on Saturdays, which was actually against the rules, and did hire me the day I got out. I worked for a month there, then decided to move 3000 miles back to my home town. because my dad was talking about buying the business that he worked at; a small ma and pa hardware store in a small rural town. The original owner lived upstairs, and was retiring, heading to Arizona.
My dad was going to mortgage his home for the down payment, and I would live upstairs more for security, and work the store with him. Well between the time I left Virginia and drove to WA state in the middle of the early 70's Oil Embargo (that was fun finding gas as a transient passing thru town) , the deal had fallen thru, so there wasn't anything. I drew unemployment for 6 months, and was signed up for a school, but in the mean time a young lady caught my eye, and in her parents eye I was just an unemployed bum..
So I found a job, and a year later we were married. That produced 5 wonderful children, and lasted 29 years; the job 31. She gets 50% of the retirement earned from that job, as long as I continue to draw it also, regardless of martial status.
Anyway, I think maybe there could be some assistance available for the transition of the structure of military life to a more relaxed civilian life; not necessarily an actual job finding thing, but it should be more treated as an optional backup, not main stream.
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