Posted on Jul 11, 2015
What is the actual purpose of having Civilian Supporters and military family Members sign-up on RallyPoint?
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This question is for the RP Executives, Administrators, Support Staff, and RP Members (all branches and statuses). If Civilian Supporters that I’m connected with have suggestions please send them to me as well. I hope you can share with the group openly and honestly (unless its a business secret)!
I see a lot of Civilian Supporters and Military Family Members signing up on RallyPoint. I have some questions that I would like to see the answer to for General Purposes (GP) only and get some thoughts from other RP Members on how they can or can't contribute in the future:
I personally have connected with a lot of Civilian Supporters that work in different industries that I'm interested in or would like to network in and I have exchange some really good dialogue with a few on comments they had some of the discussion questions.
I'm sure there are brighter people than me that developed RP and have the answers to all these questions, but I would like to hear the "why", "What if", "Suggestions from RP Members", and "what the future holds" for RallyPoint with regard to Civilian Supporters and Military Family Members!
Questons:
1. I would like to know "why" they are allowed to sign up in the first place?
2. Secondly, what is the benefit to RallyPoint?
3. Does this provide additional advertising to members that can't provide input for outside companies & financial contributors to RP?
4. Was this just an after thought when non-military veterans started signing up through invitations?
4. Could military spouses provide valuable feedback on RP or would that be a waste of time?
5. How many of you have had good dialogue with Civilian Supporters via messages, because that can't reply, post a discussion, and don't have any access to voting, etc...?
6. Should we allow limited access to Civilian Supporters (say so many characters to post a reply or thought), special voting rights, or special characters to add to a post or discussion just to know they are there watching and reading the discussions?
7. Should we give them any "rights" on RallyPoint except for "view" only?
8. Should we give them their own section to post stories or post questions that we RP Members can't jump in on, so they feel welcome?
I see a lot of Civilian Supporters and Military Family Members signing up on RallyPoint. I have some questions that I would like to see the answer to for General Purposes (GP) only and get some thoughts from other RP Members on how they can or can't contribute in the future:
I personally have connected with a lot of Civilian Supporters that work in different industries that I'm interested in or would like to network in and I have exchange some really good dialogue with a few on comments they had some of the discussion questions.
I'm sure there are brighter people than me that developed RP and have the answers to all these questions, but I would like to hear the "why", "What if", "Suggestions from RP Members", and "what the future holds" for RallyPoint with regard to Civilian Supporters and Military Family Members!
Questons:
1. I would like to know "why" they are allowed to sign up in the first place?
2. Secondly, what is the benefit to RallyPoint?
3. Does this provide additional advertising to members that can't provide input for outside companies & financial contributors to RP?
4. Was this just an after thought when non-military veterans started signing up through invitations?
4. Could military spouses provide valuable feedback on RP or would that be a waste of time?
5. How many of you have had good dialogue with Civilian Supporters via messages, because that can't reply, post a discussion, and don't have any access to voting, etc...?
6. Should we allow limited access to Civilian Supporters (say so many characters to post a reply or thought), special voting rights, or special characters to add to a post or discussion just to know they are there watching and reading the discussions?
7. Should we give them any "rights" on RallyPoint except for "view" only?
8. Should we give them their own section to post stories or post questions that we RP Members can't jump in on, so they feel welcome?
RallyPoint
Civilians
Military Family
RallyPoint
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 16
Hi, here is what is going on with RallyPoint and civilians.
RallyPoint is a site for those who serve and have served, and will remain so. RallyPoint is also a place for networking, for learning, and for career progression. There are times when civilians can contribute in these areas to your benefit, and we plan to create compartmented groups within RallyPoint where this professional interaction can take place. To be clear, these interactions will be compartmented to just their own subject areas, and will not cross over into the rest of RallyPoint. Examples:
- Corporate recruiters who want to help you with your resume, job search, or job application.
- Military families who want to learn from each other and how to better support their units and spouses (any potential "drama" will be kept separate from the rest of RallyPoint).
- Potential recruits interested in joining the military, and want to learn more about opportunities besides just what their local recruiter can tell them.
- Employees of various local businesses who want to help veterans in their job search and transition.
If the above is not of interest to a RallyPoint member, then you do not have to engage in any of it, or even see it. Civilians cannot post to you, and cannot initiate a contact request (but you can initiate one to them). Helping military members advance their career both inside and outside the military is one of our primary missions, and to support the "outside the military" piece of it, allowing civilian recruiters and supporters on the site that can help you, if you seek it, is part of the way we intend to help military members in their transition.
Your feedback is very important to us and we are definitely interested in your input. This is part of the reason we are being very deliberate in how we approach introducing this resource.
RallyPoint is a site for those who serve and have served, and will remain so. RallyPoint is also a place for networking, for learning, and for career progression. There are times when civilians can contribute in these areas to your benefit, and we plan to create compartmented groups within RallyPoint where this professional interaction can take place. To be clear, these interactions will be compartmented to just their own subject areas, and will not cross over into the rest of RallyPoint. Examples:
- Corporate recruiters who want to help you with your resume, job search, or job application.
- Military families who want to learn from each other and how to better support their units and spouses (any potential "drama" will be kept separate from the rest of RallyPoint).
- Potential recruits interested in joining the military, and want to learn more about opportunities besides just what their local recruiter can tell them.
- Employees of various local businesses who want to help veterans in their job search and transition.
If the above is not of interest to a RallyPoint member, then you do not have to engage in any of it, or even see it. Civilians cannot post to you, and cannot initiate a contact request (but you can initiate one to them). Helping military members advance their career both inside and outside the military is one of our primary missions, and to support the "outside the military" piece of it, allowing civilian recruiters and supporters on the site that can help you, if you seek it, is part of the way we intend to help military members in their transition.
Your feedback is very important to us and we are definitely interested in your input. This is part of the reason we are being very deliberate in how we approach introducing this resource.
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Vit Spirek
I think that civilians and military families will bring a lot more, I agree at all. anyway we can count that the targets of the server will expand by needs.
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LTC Stephen C.
LTC Yinon Weiss, please explain how civilians become verified, and name the criteria. I've only seen a few with a blue "C", meaning verified. The preponderance of civilian RP members have gray "Cs" denoting unverified.
CPT (Join to see) COL Mikel J. Burroughs
CPT (Join to see) COL Mikel J. Burroughs
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LTC Yinon Weiss
LTC Stephen C. Verified civilians generally means they are recruiters who have been vetted by RallyPoint.
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I don't know, and see no reason to allow or want that. Want I liked about this, RP, was it was only for Veterans.... The .45%... COL Mikel J. Burroughs
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COL Mikel J. Burroughs
COL Charles Williams Totally agree. I'm just trying to get to the bottom of "why" they are allowed to join!
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I used to be very active here until I started seeing non-military/veterans and international members. I think the solution is #8: “give them their own section to post stories or post questions that we RP Members can't jump in on, so they feel welcome.” I’m not even in support of giving them general “view only” rights. I prefer that when a military member starts a discussion, the default should be that it excludes civilians and the asker would have to actively opt them in to allow them even see the threads. It allows me to know/control when I am interacting with these types of members. I also think their ability to become “contacts” should be in some way different. My participation will be much more limited until this is resolved. I do not think RP should be so eager for growth as to get away from its core mission. I have a LinkedIn account. I’m not looking for a second one.
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LTC Yinon Weiss
Hi Ann. Civilians cannot post nor initiate a contact request, so it is not really possible for them to have much interaction with a service member unless the service member or veteran initiates the contact. We have a lot of corporate recruiters and civilian supporters on here who have helped our members find jobs and support their career transition, which is a very valuable resource that we believe adds substantial value to the network.
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COL Mikel J. Burroughs
CPT (Join to see) Hope to see you back and participating based on LTC Yinon Weiss explanation in this post. Thanks
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CPT (Join to see)
LTC Yinon Weiss - Good information to know regarding the direction of contact/information flow. Thank you.
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I signed up as a military family member in order to find out how to properly assemble my son's new blue service uniform. My son was severely wounded in Iraq and isn't able to do so himself. I found the help I needed and I appreciate it very much. That being said, I understand the point of the question and I do think that the civilians and families should not have access to everything service members post. Perhaps there should be an option for posts to be shared with "everyone" or "military only." We have a private brain injury caregiver support page and I wouldn't want just anyone reading what we post on there when things are rough!
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CSM Charles Hayden Passed 7/29/2025
Lisa Schuster We regret your son's injuries. When a Mom accepts responsibilities as you are, all we can say is, "Thank you"!
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As much as I like talking to current service members and Veterans, others including civilians and definitely family members can share some great insight. One of the big goals of RP as i see it, includes transition and employment support. This critical component is greatly facilitated by civilians who may not have served. I'll give you a specific on that. I was the Director of the Boots to Suits program at the University of Colorado Denver. We matched student Vets up with mentors in whatever sector they wanted to go into during their Junior and Senior years. We had a 94% success rate in placements within 90 days of graduation and a 97% retention rate in school if they had not met grad requirements. I had students mentored by energy companies, accounting, human resources and even in the arts. Fantastic program and one thing I used to comment on was that some of our best mentors were non-vets as they forced students to talk in language which the 99% speak in Great program.
In regards to families, I'm a huge believer that the entire family served, one just happened to wear the uniform. They have endured many hardships and made sacrifices to support their husband/wife.
Finally, one thing I would say that we all need to do is break down the divide between civilians and service members. It makes the fabric of our nation stronger. As the Commander of VFW Post 1, we removed the bar for this very reason. Why segregate Veterans away from society? There are 2,500 bars in Denver and we could go to any of them with 20 Vets and get a hell of a discount. What our Post should do is serve as a bridge between the SMVF (Service Members, Veterans and their Families) community and the wider community.
In regards to families, I'm a huge believer that the entire family served, one just happened to wear the uniform. They have endured many hardships and made sacrifices to support their husband/wife.
Finally, one thing I would say that we all need to do is break down the divide between civilians and service members. It makes the fabric of our nation stronger. As the Commander of VFW Post 1, we removed the bar for this very reason. Why segregate Veterans away from society? There are 2,500 bars in Denver and we could go to any of them with 20 Vets and get a hell of a discount. What our Post should do is serve as a bridge between the SMVF (Service Members, Veterans and their Families) community and the wider community.
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The VFW / AL have Auxiliaries.
Perhaps there should be one here in RP
Common discussion areas and private areas for each.
Perhaps there should be one here in RP
Common discussion areas and private areas for each.
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I am responding late to this conversation COL Mikel J. Burroughs. Originally I was puzzled when civilian supporters responded. I have been used to explaining military history, actions, policy, and terminology to people unfamiliar with it over the years so I tried my best to answer serious questions and in some cases point out errors in understanding or terminology.
I support having civilian supporters including family members on this net.
LTC Stephen C. LTC Ivan Raiklin, Esq. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx SSgt (Join to see) TSgt Joe C. SGT John " Mac " McConnell SP5 Mark Kuzinski SPC (Join to see) SrA Christopher Wright Maj Marty Hogan PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SP5 Robert Ruck SCPO Morris RamseyCPL Eric Escasio SGT Michael Thorin
I support having civilian supporters including family members on this net.
LTC Stephen C. LTC Ivan Raiklin, Esq. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx SSgt (Join to see) TSgt Joe C. SGT John " Mac " McConnell SP5 Mark Kuzinski SPC (Join to see) SrA Christopher Wright Maj Marty Hogan PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SP5 Robert Ruck SCPO Morris RamseyCPL Eric Escasio SGT Michael Thorin
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Some of the civilian supporters on here are in fact RP staff. I have met some of them in person and they are great people. I had the same misgivings when the topic was initially brought up fearing that non-vet civilians would get involved in military discussions and we'd get bad mouthed for our points of view or worse. Thanks to the rules/safeguards in place in place I have never seen that happen. I have seen the posts that have been put up here by the staff and other civilians and they are mostly career/job related and often very useful. The civilians I have had contact both RP staff and others have been very respectful and supportive.
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COL Mikel J. Burroughs
MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca That is good news - thank you for the update. I too am connected with some of the RP Staff. Great individuals to work with.
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COL Mikel J. Burroughs
Sir I have the same questions and would even take it a step further and ask why foreign military members and young people in DEP are allowed to sign up for RP. Some of the civilian contributors I can understand as they are RP staff. But other than that, I haven't seen any benefit from having them on the site?
Sir I have the same questions and would even take it a step further and ask why foreign military members and young people in DEP are allowed to sign up for RP. Some of the civilian contributors I can understand as they are RP staff. But other than that, I haven't seen any benefit from having them on the site?
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CAPT (Join to see)
What's wrong with having foreign military? We work with allies and coalition partners all the time. Much of the classified activity we do is REL FVEY. I have numerous friends who are Brits, Aussies, Canadians, Germans, etc. They bleed and die just like we do.
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PO1 John Miller
CAPT (Join to see) I'm glad you asked Sir. The reason I personally feel this way is I have personally spoken with foreign military personnel who seemed just a tad bit too interested in the capabilities of the US Navy in general, or whatever ship I was stationed on at the time specifically. Is this all foreign military personnel? Of course not. But when people started asking me questions like "what kind of weapons does your ship have?" or "where will you be deploying to after you leave here?" that always made the little voice in my head go "was that person trying to get me to reveal classified or protected information for nefarious purposes?"
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SPC (Join to see)
On the DEP point, this site helps us before going into things such as BCT, AIT, and/or Deployment. Gives us an understanding of what we really are walking into besides what our Recuiters and DS tells us. And what better way to get valuable information than the person who served before us? I joined because I have searched high & low on the internet looking for just advice in general about OSUT for the past 3 months. This site has gave me the BEST advice I have read. But since I wasn’t a member beforehand I couldn’t read everything. This is a great community and I love it already. I come here mainly for knowledge and the experience others endured before me.
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COL Mikel J. Burroughs I signed up with RallyPoint because it is a Military/Veteran site with no civilians. Keeping it Military oriented is what makes it special. I'm not to keen on letting civilians on the site....then it'll just become like any other site.... Just my two cents.
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COL Mikel J. Burroughs
Sgt Kelli Mays I agree in part, but I think that Military Family Members are crucial to our Service Members and Veterans. I too believe there is an important roll for Civlilian Supports and Recruiters to RP. Without their advertsiing and job opportunities RP would struggle to survive - they are so important to the support we need in that special blend between the military and civilian world. We need each other and we support each other in my opinion!
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