Closing the Gap between Military Service and Civilian Career

Topic: HR Management
Words: 672 Pages: 2

Introduction

Enabling a successful transition from military service to a civilian career is possible because personnel has transition programs at their disposal, veterans can bring military qualities to noncombatant professions, and some of their skills are transferable to day-to-day professions, despite the failure to understand their predicament by people who have never served. Attending the TAP (Transition Assistance Program) workshop.

In efforts to improve the transition rate from the armed forces, the military began offering a transition assistance program that involves training and information about employment in the civilian world.

Through TAP (Transition Assistance Workshop), the military offers a means for a smoother transition for service members seeking to pursue goals such as higher education (Ziencik, 2020). Other aspects of the program include career exploration, strategies to employ during job searches, preparation for interviews, and resume writing.

Military men offer refined strengths and qualities that standard civilian candidates lack

The training offered in the military includes accurate execution of tasks, natural leadership, individual and team accountability, plus clear communication strategies, which are qualities that could be useful in everyday life.

Veteran employees would bring the same qualities to civilian professions with the utmost quality transcending through dutifulness, ethical, dedication, and loyalty (Gonzalez & Simpson, 2020).

Some military skills are transferrable to day-to-day professions

The wide range of skills that military training covers, even for noncombatants, allows the person to acquire various skills while serving in varying capacities in the armed forces. Some of these skills adopted in barracks end up measuring up to day-to-day professions such as the world of accounting, which could use cost-cutting smarts used in the military, or the world of engineering, which requires equipment repair skills.

By leveraging veterans’ military experience and standards, companies aim to contribute to organizational benefits, organizational motivation, and personal inspiration to boost overall performance (Gonzalez & Simpson, 2020).

There are employers offering veterans a lifeline

More and more employers in the corporate world identify and appreciate those who served in the military and the qualities they bring to civilian professions, which translates into a more accepting society for ex-military personnel transitioning to civilian life.

These employers use labels such as “veteran-friendly” and “military-friendly” in their quest to offer support to these individuals in an organizational setting (Kirchner et al., 2021). Furthermore, veterans who gain employment are more likely to find former military men in such civilian environments.

Serving in the Military After-Effects

Traumatic events in life, such as those involved in military missions, can have a long-lasting negative impact on someone in the form of PTSD, making it challenging to transition back to society.

Deployment to military endeavors increases the risk of mental health issues due to unmitigated war exposure and combat atrocities (Bøg et al., 2018). The result is that people who serve in the military find it challenging to transition back to society successfully.

Veterans deserve a chance while transitioning

For veterans, changing career paths from serving in the armed forces to resuming more open civilian life is complex. It encompasses a lot of challenges that demand some form of cushioning from society.

A successful shift in careers requires taking into account their military experiences and giving them a chance with more resources geared toward reducing barriers to this transition (Morgan et al., 2020).

Conclusion

Veterans aim to transition successfully and resume normalcy after a harrowing experience for the sake of the rest of the country. Failure to transition successfully could be an unforeseen issue, such as the mental health aspect, which often leads to leading an undeserved low-quality life.

Given the resources committed to helping veterans transition, such as the TAP program, society has to take a chance on them. The opportunities for their successful transition rely on their willingness as much as the community’s willingness to offer them the ability to utilize their military skills in day-to-day civilian life.

By making them feel valued and accepted, the result is an integrated community that appreciates diversity and is open to more inclusivity, even for those who do not successfully transition.

References

Bøg, M., Filges, T., & Jørgensen, A. (2018). Deployment of personnel to military operations: impact on mental health and social functioning. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 14(1), 1-127.

Gonzalez, J., & Simpson, J. (2020). The workplace integration of veterans: Applying diversity and fit perspectives. Human Resource Management Review, 31(2), 100775.

Kirchner, M., Stull, F., & Holloway, K. (2021). Perceptions and Practices of Military Friendly Organizations. Journal Of Veterans Studies, 7(1), 23.

Morgan, N., Aronson, K., Perkins, D., Bleser, J., Davenport, K., & Vogt, D. et al. (2020). Reducing barriers to post-9/11 veterans’ use of programs and services as they transition to civilian life. BMC Health Services Research, 20(1).

Ziencik, C. (2020). Transitioning from the Military to Higher Education: A Case Study of the Transition Assistance Program. Journal Of Veterans Studies, 6(1), 30.