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General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: JunkyII on January 21, 2015, 12:18:51 AM

Title: Army to Civilian
Post by: JunkyII on January 21, 2015, 12:18:51 AM
During the next year I will be transitioning from Army to Civilian life....any tips to making this transition smooth would be very helpful.

I've already started looking into my next career that I want to go to (Air Traffic Control) and I'm getting all of my current medical conditions well documented/ work out so I leave as close to what I came in as (Went from running 11:55 2 miles to not being able to run 2 miles....Knees who needs those anyway :aok ).

I'll appreciate any advice, thanks in advance :salute
Title: Re: Army to Civilian
Post by: guncrasher on January 21, 2015, 03:28:55 AM
take a deep breath and relax. then try to understand that most of us will never know what it's like to be in your shoes.  dont take things personally when people talk about if we were right or wrong.  just be proud you served, just like a lot of us are proud you did  :salute.


semp
Title: Re: Army to Civilian
Post by: -ammo- on January 21, 2015, 05:00:34 AM
During the next year I will be transitioning from Army to Civilian life....any tips to making this transition smooth would be very helpful.

I've already started looking into my next career that I want to go to (Air Traffic Control) and I'm getting all of my current medical conditions well documented/ work out so I leave as close to what I came in as (Went from running 11:55 2 miles to not being able to run 2 miles....Knees who needs those anyway :aok ).

I'll appreciate any advice, thanks in advance :salute

Congrats first and thank you for your service.

Make sure you take advantage of the Army's transition Assistance Program.  There is a lot of good information provided and some you haven't thought of.

There are resume/career services out there that specialize in Military transitions.  They are able to take the military skills you acquired and put them into Civilian sector language.

One of my squad mates is an Army Civilian ATC.  If you are interested, I can PM you his name to contact.
Title: Re: Army to Civilian
Post by: -ammo- on January 21, 2015, 05:03:21 AM
Side note: I didn't bother advising on the VA process.  I hope you know all the the prudent things to do to expedite the process and assist your claim ending in a fair and favorable decision.

I did all these things in 2011
Title: Re: Army to Civilian
Post by: USRanger on January 21, 2015, 03:54:52 PM
We'll have to chat Junky. :salute

Btw, still proud of you troop from where you started pre-Army, to the man you've become. Hooah!
Title: Re: Army to Civilian
Post by: Obie303 on January 21, 2015, 04:11:10 PM
First off, Congrats for a job well done! :salute 

Sadly, all of my info is outdated by a couple decades.  A good friend just retired last year and his biggest complaint was having a mortgage and paying for utilities. 

I'm sure that some of the younger vets on the boards will be able to point you in the right direction.  Best of luck with the ATC prospects.

Obie
Title: Re: Army to Civilian
Post by: Serenity on January 21, 2015, 05:19:58 PM
Congrats, and thank you for your service!

I don't know if the Army does this, or if it varies between officer and enlisted, but Navy officers have the option at the end of their time to "sell back" their excess leave days. Basically, try to leave with a full basket of leave days, don't waste them before getting out, and the government will give you cash for your unused leave time.
Title: Re: Army to Civilian
Post by: mbailey on January 21, 2015, 05:32:08 PM


Wow I remember when you were first going in......man I'm getting old.

Thanks for your service, hope the transition runs smoothly ( and on a side note, I'd feel much better flying knowing gents such as yourself were in the tower)
Title: Re: Army to Civilian
Post by: JunkyII on January 21, 2015, 05:45:03 PM

Wow I remember when you were first going in......man I'm getting old.

Thanks for your service, hope the transition runs smoothly ( and on a side note, I'd feel much better flying knowing gents such as yourself were in the tower)
I'll make you feel older....that was 6 years ago ;)
Title: Re: Army to Civilian
Post by: mbailey on January 21, 2015, 06:00:39 PM
Yep, that did it  :lol
Title: Re: Army to Civilian
Post by: BuckShot on January 21, 2015, 08:46:49 PM
Thank you for your service.

There are more idiots out there now than when you enlisted, so try to be patient and tolerant.
Title: Re: Army to Civilian
Post by: Scotch on January 21, 2015, 11:22:38 PM

Wow I remember when you were first going in......man I'm getting old.

Me too. That's crazy
Title: Re: Army to Civilian
Post by: CAV on January 22, 2015, 10:18:08 AM

After my 24 years in the Army I had to remine myself that "I am not in Command anymore"

By-the-Way Civilians are odd............ they don't think like we do.... :aok


CAVALRY
Title: Re: Army to Civilian
Post by: phatzo on January 23, 2015, 03:05:32 AM
Geez already, how time flies. I still remember you flying at our times when you were in Korea.
Title: Re: Army to Civilian
Post by: JunkyII on January 23, 2015, 11:24:04 AM
Geez already, how time flies. I still remember you flying at our times when you were in Korea.
I used to get up at like 0600 to fly with the Pigs, they were all hammered...I was eating breakfast :aok
Title: Re: Army to Civilian
Post by: Traveler on January 23, 2015, 05:11:41 PM
I used to get up at like 0600 to fly with the Pigs, they were all hammered...I was eating breakfast :aok

Welcome home and thanks.  Just remember,  Civilians just don't get it and never will so don't let them get to you, it ain't worth it....  if you were in a combat zone, find a PTSD group and use it.  There is no cure for PTSD, but a support group can help you understand why you think the way you think.   
Title: Re: Army to Civilian
Post by: Selino631 on January 23, 2015, 06:05:44 PM
During the next year I will be transitioning from Army to Civilian life....any tips to making this transition smooth would be very helpful.

I've already started looking into my next career that I want to go to (Air Traffic Control) and I'm getting all of my current medical conditions well documented/ work out so I leave as close to what I came in as (Went from running 11:55 2 miles to not being able to run 2 miles....Knees who needs those anyway :aok ).

I'll appreciate any advice, thanks in advance :salute

its not too bad. The freedom is great. It can be frustrating dealing with people sometimes, but you'll get used to it after a while. Are you planning on going straight to school for ATC when you get out? Or are you going to take time off before hand? By far the hardest part of the transition for me was getting a job. I applied for about 12 different jobs (mixture of Federal and normal jobs) and the only 1 that even interviewed me was a Loss Prevention position for Sears. I worked there for about 6 months until I was able to get hired by a security contractor for the government. I'm still trying to figure out now what to do for a actual career too.

but thanks for the advice you gave me before I joined, Thank you for your service, and enjoy your freedoms!  :salute
Title: Re: Army to Civilian
Post by: gpwurzel on January 23, 2015, 06:51:36 PM
Junky, thanks for your service, the only advice I can render is, when you finally leave, get into a routine. For me, that was the hardest part, was so used to having to be somewhere at a set time, the lack of a routine in my life made things difficult.

Can't believe its been 6 years already, sheesh.

:salute

Wurz
Title: Re: Army to Civilian
Post by: Dichotomy on January 23, 2015, 09:43:44 PM
We'll have to chat Junky. :salute

Btw, still proud of you troop from where you started pre-Army, to the man you've become. Hooah!
 Amen and let me add thank you from some of us civilians that get it.. if I can be of any help say the word and you got it.  

And they're right.  Most of us civilians don't get it.  Even those of us who respect yall.  But some of us try our tulips off to understand as much as we can.