By Donna Hoffmeyer
(original post on Medium)
In 2017, I co-authored a book on military transition…Warrior to Patriot Citizen. (Shameless plug…you can find it on Amazon.) When we were writing the book, our intention was to focus on the population separating from the military. This is the population that needs to do the most planning to avoid the big crash and burn. Yes, yes…everyone needs to plan. However, the theory (maybe more assumption) is that those retiring have a little savings and a retirement compensation to provide a little cushion during transition. (I was going to add VA compensation, but if you’ve been reading this blog, you know that might be awhile.)
It also seems like everything is geared toward the retiring population. There is a separate TAP program, ETAP (executive transition assistance program), for Colonels and SMSgt and above and it looks at various aspects of work…many of them from a leadership perspective. I’ve looked through books the TAP class gave away. Yep, you guessed it, the focus was geared toward the retiring veteran looking for their corporate job. My friends retiring had no lack of corporate head hunting companies offering them assistance.
All of it is fine. Everyone needs the assistance, but not everyone is retiring or has a skillset requiring the assistance of headhunters. In my TAP class, at least a third were separating. Some had terminal careers (e.g. pilots, nurses, docs) others did not. If you have not had the joy of the TAP class yet, here’s the summary… it is basically a firehose of a mass amount of information you attempt to digest in a week. There is not enough time to get into great depths about anything specific. Hence, why it is highly recommended to take more than once.
Here’s the point I am not so quickly getting too.
Very few of us have an exit strategy when we first sign on the dotted line, nor do we make one while we are serving. Oh I’ve heard a few, “I’m coming in to do my 4 years to get my GI benefits to go to college.” Awesome. I’ve even seen one or two stick to that game plan. The majority find out they want to serve longer or get comfortable with the security and stay longer. Even the ones that stick to their plan struggle when they lose the regular paycheck and benefits.
The opposite may also happen…they plan an entire career and it is unexpectedly cut short for one reason or another. From my experience working with injured service members, this is often the most devastating.
Either way, separating comes with some major stressors. So, what do you do?
The only way to mitigate the stress and struggle is to always be preparing for separation.
How do you prepare for something that may or may not happen at the time you planned? Well, glad you asked. Here are three tips to get you started.
LET YOUR DOLLARS WORK FOR YOU
It is never too early to start saving and/or investing, no matter how small the amount.
If you will, picture a little old lady shoving her fortune in her mattress…that would be me. I always have had a need to save. I came from a blue collar family with limited education. My mom had a high school degree and my Dad never made it past sixth grade (his family needed help on the farm). My parents worked hard at whatever jobs they could get, but money was chronically in limited supply. However, my Dad would tell me “It takes money to make money” and they were able to turn those few dollars into a 250 acre Christmas Tree plantation.
I always remembered my Dad’s mantra. When I first came into the service, one of the first things I did was start investing my money. At 22, I was putting away $150 a month and over the years continued to increase that amount every time I had a pay raise. It created a nice cushion.
Do not give me the BS you don’t have the cash. I’ve seen a few of you single folks and DINKs (dual income no kids) overseas in your sporty car and name brand handbag. Whether it is $5/mo or $500/mo, it adds up in the long run. It’s all about priorities…skip the latte today and you’ll be able to afford the espresso maker later. The military is making this easier to achieve.
Today, the military is offering the Blended Retirement System (BRS). Now, this article could go on forever if we started getting into the weeds of the BRS. I’ll save that for another post. For now, this is my thought. If you are unsure of your life expectancy in the military, do not opt out of the BRS. Anytime a company matches your contributions, you take them up on it. Who the hell refuses free money?! And…some of those dollars are pre-taxed. So, instead of giving it to Uncle Sam for your “might-not-be-there” social security in 20, 30, 40 years; you put it right into the “Bank of You”. When you decide to leave before retirement, you get to bring that nice little nest egg right out the door with you.
BUILD THOSE SKILLS
From the moment you endure your first motivational speech from your TI, you are starting to build skills. Take full advantage of every opportunity; you never know when the knowledge/experience, from that job no one wanted to do, comes in handy in the future.
I am not saying kill yourself with additional duties (unless of course that is something you enjoy doing). What I am saying is do not be adverse to jobs you do not feel are in your wheelhouse. Yes, I am a nurse by trade. However, I’ve also been a mission planner, readiness officer, personal trainer, preceptor, exercise planner, and writer while in the military. Out of the military I am an author, blogger, podcaster, entrepreneur, coach, and advocate. Heck, I have nurse friends, now out of the military, that like me, are doing nothing related to nursing.
The more you are willing to learn, the more skills you develop. The military provides ample opportunity to get out of your comfort zone. Whether it is formal college courses, taking the reins of a project, joining Toastmasters, switching jobs, or going to a joint services assignment; any knowledge gained is multiplied in empowerment. The military is fully aware the best leaders are the ones with a wide breadth of knowledge. Utilize this to the fullest. (Besides, people that only know one thing are boring. Don’t be boring.)
Best advice I received was from one of my worst commanders. “Take the military for everything it offers, because they are going to take everything they can from you; and when they are done with you, you are done.” Granted, he was in the midst of getting removed from his job and was obviously a bit angry. However, there is a level of truth in it. So, take advantage of everything they offer, because one day either you or the military will be done…and then that’s that.
KEEP AN EYE ON THE CIVILIAN JOB MARKET
You don’t have to get all crazy with this, but you do need to know what is happening in the civilian world. Sometimes you can see where the trend is going and other times it will jump out and surprise you. Either way, knowing what the civilian sector is doing is going to help you make decisions earlier on.
When I was in my TAP class there were at least a half dozen pilots separating. A few were not completely closing the door and opting to join a Guard or Reserve unit. Some, however, were cutting the umbilical cord and jumping to the civilian airlines. Hiring was hot.
Did I mention that it was in Sept 2019?
Yep, you counted that out right…6 months before COVID hit full force in the states. Could they have seen that coming…nope. I’m sure the ones that joined the guard/reserves were breathing little sighs of relief. I was curious, of the ones that cut ties, how many of them had enough cushion to land on while they figured out plan B?
Know what is happening out there. Are you an IT person? Corpsman? Mechanic? EOD (bomb squad)? Paralegal? What is the pay? How does your pay compare? (We’ll talk about pay comparison in another blog.) What are your hard and soft skills? Are your skills lacking, keeping up with or surpassing the requirements for the civilian sector?
What if you have one of those jobs that have hard skills that do not directly translate to the civilian world (JTAC, Special Forces, Irregular Warfare, etc)? What if you decide to change careers altogether? That’s when you need to look at those soft skills and have a general game plan on your desired civilian job. If there is a skills gap, then have a plan on how to fill it. Do you need certifications, internship, or college courses?
For example, I had a JTAC that was severely injured in an ambush. That event bought him a medical evaluation board. In one of our many conversations, he was worried about what he was going to do when he got out. I asked him what his skills were. He said, “I take orders and shoot the bad guy.” Well, I hadn’t seen many listings on Indeed, Glassdoor or USA Jobs for hitman, so I asked him to describe what skills his job needed to be successful. After a bit of discussion we had determined some of his soft skills included making accurate decisions with limited information; calm in stressful situations and great negotiator. After he was medically retired, he was quickly picked up by a security company that provided private security for wealthy individuals and families and now uses his skill set at Delta (travel perks).
The bottom line is you never know when separation is going to happen. You can plan for the whole 20 and beyond and find yourself looking at the exit door after 8 years. With only approximately 17% making it to retirement, it is definitely smart to have a game plan and be ready before you’re ready.
