What is the worst part, personally, about transitioning into civilian life?

Embrace the change! If you find an organization with leaders whom accept and respect your leadership than stick with it IF not then move on until you find YOUR heart desire to grow and improve the organization! YOU have much to offer!!!

I don't want to get into the negatives because I just don't think that will help you much. The biggest thing you have to worry about is your quality of life and I am positive you will do that.

The one thing you need to be doing, is networking. Go meet people, join local groups (of veterans, etc.) and let people get to know you. It's hard to transition from the military not having like minded people to lean on daily. Doing this one simple thing will be super beneficial for you and will make most of the worries you have seem unimportant.

Can't count the number of times I mumbled "can't wait to get out and not work with stupid people".....

Turns out, most of the stupid people are not in the Army

I'd say it really depends on how GungHo you are about the service. If you are expecting things to run like the military where there is respect and discipline, the transition is going to be tough. I got out under a medical discharge as well. I found it very difficult and, 18 years later, still have issues with things (just not nearly as significantly as when I first got out). There is no easy solution to helping you overcome those issues. Only thing I can recommend is to adapt and overcome.

The Cartoon you posted does speak the truth. Some of the problems I have dealt with are basic things, e.g., showing up early to be prepared to either take over or get the COA under way promptly. Dealing with P.C. nonsense and inadvertently hurting someone's senses when I was simply relating facts (in our way), concentrating on "Mission Success" and not the side bars and waste of time. There are many factors which will have you step back and do a WTF appraisal but before you let loose with a tirade, remember where you are at and act like a native. Making new friends will help and make transition much smoother. Take advice and critical help serious and grow.

For me it was learning to relax a bit. I was used to the structure of the Marine corps and found it difficult to work at a civilian pace, if you will. It also took me some time to umm accept and tolerate the suckups. I was a bit harsh at first but that gets better. One thing I never got over is having to deal with complete cluster Fs. To this day I cannot stand disorder, and I've been out 25 years. I guess some things are just going to stick with you. I eventually found that I worked better alone, in a position where I was responsible for my own actions and I didn't have to deal with the mess. If something happened on one end I just called and made adjusents on the other end, that is just me. Some of my buddies had no issues transitioning back to civilian life.

After my deployment, it was being part of a team.
Also learning not to use foul language sometimes.

The biggest problem I had was adjusting initially to the GI-Bill levels of income from a Captain on flight status because I needed to prepare for a civilian compatible career field. Apparently dropping bombs in the civilian sphere is frowned on. However, I was able to get into the reserves for a part time job and it worked out fine. I got my training and have been a computer nerd for over 30 years. Is this a great country or what?

You are entering a whole new world and no one will really care what you did before and you will have to prove yourself all over again. In many companies rules are vague but I have seen a few make the mistake of going on too many long lunches and such. If you think the military had the politics you haven't seen anything yet and many companies have no clear promotion guidelines if any at all. Many jobs can be rewarding though and find a fellow vet there who knows the ropes and learn from him/her. It is strange at first but you military experience will enable you to follow through.

Find a goal! Find and maintain friends who are what you spire to be. Never allow can't to enter your vocabulary. Never allow your experience to be discounted by you or anyone else. Never think you are above doing something, it's the things we don't want to do that teach us the most. There are a lot of sorry ass excuses for human beings out there: treat them with respect. There are a lot of good ones to. And #1 never, ever, ever freak out! You know what to do next, do it:) Never stop learning.

Hey, it can be Dicey at first, but a lot of companies like ex-military. I Retired from the USNavy in 1992,then went to work for the State of Md in their Division of Corrections. I Retired from there this past May 1st. So, it's really whatever you want to do.

Honestly its hard. People have a different experience every time. I had a boss once that hired several military only to find out that they dont work. So some employers have issues. Finding work is difficult. Cause unless you are law enforcement or a gorvernment worker its a completely work force.

Honestly its hard. People have a different experience every time. I had a boss once that hired several military only to find out that they dont work. So some employers have issues. Finding work is difficult. Cause unless you are law enforcement or a gorvernment worker its a completely work force.

Being able to quickly evaluate the professional level of those working around you. In the military you could look at rank, rating (MOS), awards and how quickly they had advanced. This gave you a quick and fairly accurate assessment of the professional ability of a military worker. It is not so obvious with civilian workers. It took longer and you had to use different clues to evaluate them. This is important because lots of well meaning civilians will be giving you advice and suggestions. How much weight do you give to them is harder to evaluate.

I had to redefine things. Teamwork, commitment, loyalty all have a much different meaning.

It was not easy for me, I too,was medically retired from Army , however due to my disabilities I do not have to deal with civilians accept my mental health providers and go to my medical appointments. Get ready for a rude awakening brother unless you have your ducks in a row, you will be left behind the pack, these civilians do not operate like we do, they are for them selves no one else. There is no comeradery among them.

Two things: the sense of camaraderie is many times lost (or greatly diminished) when you transition to civilian life. The other is that there are many people in civilian leadership positions, that just have no sense of ethics or doing what is right. Its all about what the "reports" or metrics will say about them if they don't manipulate the numbers to make themselves look good. This is especially true in corporate environments.

However, you can join various veterans organizations or just regularly meet-up with former military members for some adult beverages to maintain that connection. As for the corporate integrity issues you will be faced with (or lack thereof), I would usually openly challenge those company decisions that were just wrong. Sometimes they would see my point, other times they would pay lip service and blindly continue on. Eventually, with my last corporate job (rhymes with horizon), we just had to part ways.

I think the worst part for me has been that things move slower in the civilian sector. I am always ready to bust out of the gate at a sprint to get A, B, and C done. But that is not always the case with others from what I can see. I also find that access to medical care where I am at has been less than what I had in the military.
That being said, my transition has been a positive. My boss, who is retired from the military, appreciates the fact that I can accomplish last minute taskers without drama, and done to standard. I have found my co-workers to be supportive for the most part, and professional. Unlike others on this board, I have not experienced the back-biting that many have experienced. I think attitude is everything. If you show up ready to work, with a smile, and a helping hand, you will be accepted. Ask questions and try to understand and assimilate into your new culture and you can really flourish.
The best things? Facial Hair, comfortable clothing, and the knowledge that 2 months from now you will not be sitting on some mountain or in some desert waiting to get shot at.

The lack of respect! Do I feel that we should have presidence above everyone and special attention? HELL YES I DO!!!! When we are in the military, we are in charge not only I iur troops, but of hundreds of thousands of military equipment. When we get out, they wanna offer us minimum wage and then act like "We" are the ones that are suppose to be greatfull. Go figure!

For me, I never missed the daily BS, but I miss my brothers daily. The camaraderie is not easily replaced. The biggest learning curve for me was the idea that the majority of civilian have a very different work ethic. As a manager I would tell someone to do something (not barking orders but in a calm rational and professional manner). They would say, "I'll take care of it" but when it came time for it to be completed, I'd find out they either half-assed it, of did not bother. Now I have to micro manage folks to insure things get done and seniors see that as normal and not something to discourage.