Posted on May 3, 2016
Does any other combat vet find it hard working in the civilian world?
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Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) - Afghanistan
Combat Arms
Combat
Posted 10 y ago
Responses: 23
SFC Andrew Dowell I was discharged in June 1972, when there was no love lost between the military and civilians. I worked in the civilian world, but I was not a civilian. Once a Marine, Always a Marine. I have a real problem putting up with petty B.S., so I have to sometimes restrain myself from saying anything. I worked on the Space Shuttle program, but I never was like everyone else, and felt a lot more comfortable around active duty personnel and veterans.
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That is why I went in the security field. It is still semi military and there are many vets that I work with.
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I took a job in auto manufacturing. I put in earplugs, thanks to military I have some great ones, and I don't have to talk to anyone if I don't want to. The job itself is not very difficult or intensive. However, working with civilians is an adjustment. Especially when they ask about my service with sometimes very probing questions. Thankfully the company is very veteran friendly and I am not the only veteran there.
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MCPO Katrina Hutcherson
GySgt Bill Smith - I think your "hysterically" fell victim to spell check...
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SPC Casey Ashfield
My favorite response to THAT question has always been "You make it sound like the killing is over."
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For me it is a little bit of both. Taking direction from those above me is easy. My bosses know when they give me marching orders that the job will get done and it will get done right. Because of this I have moved quickly up the food chain.
Not calling bullshit is hard. Because I am a combat vet I get certain lead way that others in the same position do not get. I get to express my opinions and give alternate ideas much more openly. They understand I am a get'er done guy, not the guy you take to the board meeting.
I can honestly say I am the only sales guy that you will ever see in golf slacks working a milling machine because the order has to go out today.
My bosses recognize that my loyalty to the company is real and honest. Customers recognize that I have their best interest at heart and I am there for them.
Those things were all learned from my time in the Army and in combat.
Not calling bullshit is hard. Because I am a combat vet I get certain lead way that others in the same position do not get. I get to express my opinions and give alternate ideas much more openly. They understand I am a get'er done guy, not the guy you take to the board meeting.
I can honestly say I am the only sales guy that you will ever see in golf slacks working a milling machine because the order has to go out today.
My bosses recognize that my loyalty to the company is real and honest. Customers recognize that I have their best interest at heart and I am there for them.
Those things were all learned from my time in the Army and in combat.
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I transitioned to state corrections officer. It was the easiest way for me.
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MCPO Katrina Hutcherson
SFC(P) John McLaughlin I did the same, the job was easy and I made Lieutenant within a year and a half because of my military work ethic. I found, however, that dealing with lazy employees with union mentalities who didn't follow post orders, harassed inmates for fun and spent the majority of their time hiding from work was quite difficult.
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SFC(P) John McLaughlin
I understand you there especially with the national spot light on us correctional officers. Right now the PA Dept. of State Corrections is leading the way on reform of the correctional settings for both inmates and staff.
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I left the civilian career world to mobilize for combat three separate times. It was fascinating to go from a senior manager in financial services with MBA from BC to combat then back. What did I learn? That contrary to what people say the civilian world really does not support mobilizations. At the end of the day of you are not there you will be passed over. I also learned that you will never be looked at the same way. Regardless of how you interact you are the person who chose to go to combat and most in white collar world will look at you as defective. Lots of misconceptions on the civilian side. Overall I regret nothing as my tours were a profound learning experience. I also changed industries and focus. It has been a fascinating journey. I was lucky to have college and grad school done as well as years of work experience. I have no idea how many of you start all over and make the transition. Much respect for being able to do that.
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Not typically. The hardest difficulty veterans like myself have come across are finding the area where people stand. We are brought up with the mentality of, "stay in your lane." Well, the difficulty in the civilian world is that there is no structure. There are only supervisors and "seniority". It is really difficult to keep someone in their place without stepping on someone's emotions or speaking down to them like a child because they haven't been exposed to our lifestyle.
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SFC Andrew Dowell To me my biggest hurdle was expecting the same from civilians as i did from military.
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I work for the Army as a combat safety and now for the navy as a safety specialist
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SFC Thomas Howes
When I was a combat safety specialist we are assigned to combat BDE in garrison we follow AR 385-10 Army Safety and OSHA regs. In combat we were responsible for the safety of the FOB I would check troops to make sure they did not have any loaded weapons on the fob. Also if there were any accidents that were none combat and some one got hurt we would investigate them. When I was hired back in 2006 they sent us to the Army Safety School at Ft Rucker we are 118 in usa jobs we started out as GS11 then promoted to 12 after a year
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SFC Thomas Howes
All branches have a safety field the hardest one to get is the air force you can find them in all government job
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SFC Thomas Howes
The code for safety is 018 I said 118 made a mistake was thinking of something ells also when you look it up and it says Title 32 this means you need to be in the guard
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SFC Thomas Howes
This is what it say at Fort Sill, OK
Safety and Occupational Health Specialist
U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command
Agency contact information
1 vacancy in the following location:
Fort Sill, OK
Work Schedule is Full Time - Term NTE 13 MOS
Opened Wednesday 4/27/2016
(6 day(s) ago)
Closes Friday 5/6/2016
(3 day(s) away)
Salary Range
$58,562.00 to $76,131.00 / Per Year
Series & Grade
GS-0018-11/11
Promotion Potential
11
Supervisory Status
No
Who May Apply
Status Candidates (Merit Promotion and VEOA Eligibles)
Control Number
436607500
Job Announcement Number
SWEK [login to see] 4767
Job Requirements
Key Requirements
•Permanent Change of Station expenses are not authorized
•Defense National Relocation Program expenses are not authorized
Qualifications
In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.
Experience required:
Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
To qualify based on your experience, your resume must describe at least one year of experience which prepared you to do the work in this job. Specialized experience is defined as: 1) Providing information to unit/organization supervisors, employees, and safety officers, concerning safety occupational health regulations, policies, procedures, and practices in garrison situations; 2) Receives, collects and analyzes accident reports determining completeness of details; adequacy of supporting documentation; specific cause(s); nature of injuries or damage to property to ensure proper coding; 3) Developing, initiating, and implementing a safety promotion and education program covering a variety of standard safety and occupational health subjects including mishap prevention and safe working practices; 4) Researches to provide supporting documentation and recommendations to supervisor concerning compliance with Federal standards (OSHA), DA, and local regulations and standards
This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-09)
You will be evaluated on the basis of your level of competency (knowledge, skills, abilities) in the following areas:
•Knowledge of a Safety Program procedures
•Ability to communicate both orally and in writing
Time in Grade Requirement: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the GS-09) grade (or equivalent).
Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you may qualify if your education meets the definitions below:
Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, OR 3 academic years of progressively higher level graduate education,
Only degrees from an accredited college or university recognized by the Department of Education are acceptable to meet positive education requirements or to substitute education for experience. For additional information, please go to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and U.S. Department of Education websites at - http://www.opm.gov/qualifications and http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html
Note: If you are substituting education for experience a copy of the transcripts must be attached to your application packet.
Other Requirements: Click here for expanded definitions. •Male applicants born after December 31, 1959 must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
•You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
•One year trial/probationary period may be required.
•Direct Deposit of Pay is Required.
•This is a Career Program (CP) 12 position
Additional info:
Applicants claiming veteran's preference must clearly show an entitlement to such preference on the resume/supplemental data submitted.
If required, official college or university transcript must be submitted.
Ability to communicate orally and in writing is required.
Personnel security investigation required.
Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement.
Temporary Duty (TDY) travel is 05 percent.
Conditions of employment
1. The ability to obtain and maintain a Secret Security Clearance is required.
2. All current Safety and Occupational Health Specialist must have completed Level I Skills related training as outlined in the CP-12 Master Training Plan
Note: This is an obligated position.
Security Clearance
Safety and Occupational Health Specialist
U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command
Agency contact information
1 vacancy in the following location:
Fort Sill, OK
Work Schedule is Full Time - Term NTE 13 MOS
Opened Wednesday 4/27/2016
(6 day(s) ago)
Closes Friday 5/6/2016
(3 day(s) away)
Salary Range
$58,562.00 to $76,131.00 / Per Year
Series & Grade
GS-0018-11/11
Promotion Potential
11
Supervisory Status
No
Who May Apply
Status Candidates (Merit Promotion and VEOA Eligibles)
Control Number
436607500
Job Announcement Number
SWEK [login to see] 4767
Job Requirements
Key Requirements
•Permanent Change of Station expenses are not authorized
•Defense National Relocation Program expenses are not authorized
Qualifications
In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.
Experience required:
Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
To qualify based on your experience, your resume must describe at least one year of experience which prepared you to do the work in this job. Specialized experience is defined as: 1) Providing information to unit/organization supervisors, employees, and safety officers, concerning safety occupational health regulations, policies, procedures, and practices in garrison situations; 2) Receives, collects and analyzes accident reports determining completeness of details; adequacy of supporting documentation; specific cause(s); nature of injuries or damage to property to ensure proper coding; 3) Developing, initiating, and implementing a safety promotion and education program covering a variety of standard safety and occupational health subjects including mishap prevention and safe working practices; 4) Researches to provide supporting documentation and recommendations to supervisor concerning compliance with Federal standards (OSHA), DA, and local regulations and standards
This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-09)
You will be evaluated on the basis of your level of competency (knowledge, skills, abilities) in the following areas:
•Knowledge of a Safety Program procedures
•Ability to communicate both orally and in writing
Time in Grade Requirement: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the GS-09) grade (or equivalent).
Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you may qualify if your education meets the definitions below:
Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, OR 3 academic years of progressively higher level graduate education,
Only degrees from an accredited college or university recognized by the Department of Education are acceptable to meet positive education requirements or to substitute education for experience. For additional information, please go to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and U.S. Department of Education websites at - http://www.opm.gov/qualifications and http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html
Note: If you are substituting education for experience a copy of the transcripts must be attached to your application packet.
Other Requirements: Click here for expanded definitions. •Male applicants born after December 31, 1959 must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
•You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
•One year trial/probationary period may be required.
•Direct Deposit of Pay is Required.
•This is a Career Program (CP) 12 position
Additional info:
Applicants claiming veteran's preference must clearly show an entitlement to such preference on the resume/supplemental data submitted.
If required, official college or university transcript must be submitted.
Ability to communicate orally and in writing is required.
Personnel security investigation required.
Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement.
Temporary Duty (TDY) travel is 05 percent.
Conditions of employment
1. The ability to obtain and maintain a Secret Security Clearance is required.
2. All current Safety and Occupational Health Specialist must have completed Level I Skills related training as outlined in the CP-12 Master Training Plan
Note: This is an obligated position.
Security Clearance
Classification & Qualifications
Welcome to opm.gov
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My first job after retirement was as a contractor in Afghanistan. I don't recommend for everyone, but it was a good stepping stone for me. I also spent a lot of time in my last year of service preparing for civilian life.
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