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We're Letting You Go!

What happens after you've faithfully served your country, but then told you're being discharged? Prepare yourself before you get out.

By Asia JPublished 6 years ago 5 min read
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Photo by Holly Mindrup on Unsplash

Generally, when you enter the military you plan on making it your career. For some that enter, it means we enter as a child and leave as a more mature adult. When I look back on my time as a committed airman, I am proud to have been a part of the journey. However, I am saddened and regretful that I couldn't make at least the 20 year mark.

If I had been able to continue of my journey as an aeromedical evacuation technician, I would be nearing my 19-year mark with no thought of retiring anytime soon. Sadly, following a severe and chronic back injury, I had to be discharged after 14 years. It literally broke me! I felt like I had a career I absolutely loved and wouldn't trade for the world, but was fired. Has this happened to you? What do you do next? What happens after you're a civilian?

Moving Forward

In the beginning, like me, you may suffer from shock and have a fear of failure. What you must do next is pull yourself together, and lift yourself up by the your bootstraps. First things first, have ALL of your medical conditions and injuries listed and ready. You will need that when it's time to submit your injury's or conditions prior to your C & P with your local VA hospital. The C & P exams are the sole purpose for you to be evaluated to calculate what your percentage will be once discharged. With that said, even if you think it is a minute problem, report it anyway. Something as small as flat feet or shin splints need to be reported. Once your percentage has been calculated, it is near impossible to be re-evaluated until you are discharged.

Here's what happened when I didn't make a big stink about my shin splints at my C & P; I ended up getting a 0 percent rating because at the time they weren't bothering me. Why? Because I could only walk about 15 minutes before my back injury began to flare up. Now even though I had ER documentation and primary care documentation for a hairline stress fracture due to shin splints, the condition wasn't important enough to me. Take it from me; report it.

Out-Processing

Test of strength

During your out-processing, for a reservist and guard member this may take months, you will need to without a doubt make a visit the VA hospital representation at your base. This may or may not be on your checklist. Luckily for me it was. At my base, they has an office at the hospital. During this visit, they will get you setup for your VA benefits direct deposit. Without this, of course, you won't get paid.

The next step, which may or may not be on your checklist as well, is to visit the vocational rehabilitation office. This for me was the best part of the out-processing. I got so much good information that I still use to this very day. They will schedule you for a class which gives you loads of information on your transition back to the civilian world. They provided me with information on my local VFW, DAV, and off base voc-rehab location. Here they also be able to schedule you to meet with the off base local voc-rehab specialist.

The voc-rehab specialist is the THE best thing that had happened to me during my transition. On the day of my appointment with my counselor, a group of us were given testing booklets to see where our passions and skills lie. Once you meet with your assigned counselor, she/he will let you know your next steps. This may or may include re-training. For me, since I was in the medical field in the military, but my passions and skills were in information technology; I had to be re-trained. This worked out pretty good for me because I had already been pursuing my degree in Information Technology. So be completely honest with yourself about what you want to do now that you're a civilian!

I recommend visiting and bookmarking these two pages: Ebenefits and My HealtheVet. Ebenefits is where you will be able to check on the status of any claims you submit, your pay, and dependents. My HealtheVet is the newest and best way to keep in touch with your VA doctor. No more leaving a message for your doctor hoping for a call back. You can email your provider from this website. You can even keep track of your prescriptions and order refills.

Civilian Life

Photo by Brad Neathery on Unsplash

Now that you're a civilian what are you going to do with yourself. If you're a reservist or guard member, the transition is fairly simple. It just means that you now have some weekends free. As an active duty member, it may be a little more complicated adjusting. If you find it difficult adjusting, remember you're now a veteran. There are tons of outlets available at your disposal. A simple web keyword search is all you need to find your local VA hospital or office.

Start working on your resume and begin submitting for those open positions. If you are not being retrained, voc-rehab will work with you on presenting the best cover letter and resumé for your next career. If you are being re-trained with voc-rehab, they will send you to the accredited school of your choice to pursue your degree in your future field. If required for the job, this also includes your certifications. While in school full-time, you also receive a stipend. After you have finished your degree plan and graduated, voc-rehab will then also help you secure your next career. Didn't I tell you voc-rehab was great!

Final Thoughts

Once you've entered into your full-time civilian life again, the transition can be scary. Remember that the military has trained you like no other. It may be a good practice to google your career field in the military because they serve as great bullet points on your resume and cover letter. Additionally, since you have served in the military, you now have veteran's preference. This essentially means that you are more likely to get the job than someone straight out of college. The best websites for companies that love hiring Vet's are, USAjobs, VA for Vets, and Hire our Heroes. I'm sure there are tons more but I have found these the most helpful.

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About the Creator

Asia J

I am military veteran, single parent, live-in caregiver, entrepreneur, writer, blogger, and vlogger. If that wasn't enough for my life, I also love volunteering at events like Ride for MS, and the Walk for MS across the US.

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