For those of you that have gotten out of the military and have "civilianized", what do you wish you knew then that you know now?

SGT Dennis Miller — Tue, 13 Apr 2021 09:43:00 -0400

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 13 at 2021 11:23 AM

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 13 Apr 2021 11:23:14 -0400

SGT Dennis Miller Once a Marine, Always a Marine. As a Marine, I always put forth maximum effort and never quit. When I was discharged, I started college and worked at a Chemical Plant as an Operator while going to college. When I obtained my degree, I started a 33 year career on one program. I learned very quickly that politics reared its ugly head. Even seeing folks advance though political means, I continued to put forth maximum effort and stayed away from the political game as much as possible.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 13 at 2021 12:12 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 13 Apr 2021 12:12:13 -0400

I did the reverse (20 years in corporate finance then joined).

I thought I was getting into something for god and country, and really the Army is nothing more than the DMV with guns.

All good and bad things of being a person are exactly the same in the military. The actual JOB, while is different is much the same in regards to politics and pissing contests. Rank and UCMJ puts us on a shorter leash, but all in all under the surface it's all the same.

The one major difference is we wear our resume on our chest (ribbon rack), but where ever you are people are always flaunting their resume. It's in the service related lapel/tie pin you might wear. It's on your business card if you flaunt your credentials. It's in the name dropping or military stories you might volunteer to those around you.

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The important thing is the military to get to essentially COL/O6 and below is pretty fair. There is list of things that is the standard for all in order for them to go down a career path or promotion path they desire to achieve. I am actively GAMING my performance reviews and service record brief to conform to those standards. Politics or not, if one meets those requirements they are going to succeed.

Best example, if two Jr soldiers want to apply for OCS a degree is required. The kid with a degree from an accredited on-line university will check the same box as the kid with a degree from Harvard. If the kid with the on-line degree had a successful deployment and the Harvard kid didn't the deployment will give him the edge.

Now............ In the event one is in a crappy situation with a chain of command that is hell bent on counselings for every single little thing, then one has an opportunity to share their rational and mature opinion in the comments box reserved for them. Depending on the situation, a bully supervisor in the military can open his own can of worms in a documented form of counselings. I've seen it happen.

In the civilian world that really is only the case in larger corporations that operate like a large bureaucracy in fear of litigation. Politics and general working relationships carry more weight in smaller companies.

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Politics is everywhere. It will always be at the tipy top, and while there IS politics at the middle levels in the military the system is designed to cover it's ass. So if one toes the line, and plays the game in the military you can succeed regardless of politics at most levels. In the civilian sector that kind of thing goes away the smaller the company.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 13 at 2021 12:21 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 13 Apr 2021 12:21:37 -0400

Be aware of subconscious use of the knife hand.

Response by SSG Paul Headlee made Apr 13 at 2021 2:52 PM

SSG Paul Headlee — Tue, 13 Apr 2021 14:52:12 -0400

Don't marry pretty girls just because they're pretty. If you can't help it, stop at one.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Apr 14 at 2021 1:52 AM

CAPT Kevin B. — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 01:52:35 -0400

The quicker you make the transition from "they don't understand the military" to "they don't care about the military", to "they don't have the ability to perceive the military", you're getting close to the right track. A military background inherently gives you the ability to connect many more dots, especially when the chips are down. Use that to see the civilian inventory of dots and you'll start to understand the more limited field of play. Even so, civilians will magnify that smaller pool of dots. Then some will exclude dots and focus on just a few. That's where you get the brutal political animals along with the sometimes harmless and frequently dangerous Crusader Rabbits.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 14 at 2021 12:02 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 12:02:52 -0400

OH!!!!!!!!!!!!! Another MAJOR difference in the military is the retirement process. It takes sooooooo long.................. Right? More than 12 months one has to basically put in for retirement and then go through a whole check out process with various briefs, classes, and going back into the civilian world training.

Now, my point is TWELVE MONTHS of 20 years is basically 5% of an entire career. That's longer than one spends in TRADOC. And on top of that, during that entire time that soldier is CHECKED OUT. They have reached the point at which they are going to reach.

Now, 100% of those retiring are Sr. in their position. They are at the very least an experienced NCO probably critical to the knowledge base of what is going on where ever they are.

So now, the military is an organization where a significant portion of the Sr employee base is totally checked out, and nearly immune to doing a craptastic job.

In the private/civilian sector you are on your own to figure out your retirement cash stream. In fact, some might be working desperately to perform well right up until the end in hopes of that one last big bonus. Certainly, no one in the private sector is thinking "oh I'm going to send my last year+ just dicking around until I can finally leave" They just LEAVE.

Response by SrA John Monette made Apr 15 at 2021 7:13 AM

SrA John Monette — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 07:13:34 -0400

file for your disabilities immediately!!!!

Response by GySgt Kenneth Pepper made Apr 16 at 2021 10:19 AM

GySgt Kenneth Pepper — Fri, 16 Apr 2021 10:19:19 -0400

If you enter an organization at a supervisor/management level position based on your military experience, there will be some who will hold that against you. More than once I have heard "You've only been here a few years and I've been here 30 years."
Eventually that should go away if you deal with it properly.
On top of that, one of the biggest differences is that most civilians have no desire to advance. Not all, but most.
Most are happy to just show up, do the minimum, and go home. They resent those who aspire to something greater.
It is an odd dichotomy. They don't want to see you advance over them, but they don't want to advance themselves.