Discussion on:

Veterans in the workplace: What employers and vets need to know

I'm a retired Gulf War vet. In the military, you can sit in the club, get drunk with the boss, and honestly tell him or her what's on your mind and most of the time there are zero repercussions from it, and often an attempt will be made to fix the problem. It's because we're all in this together.

In the civilian world, that's usually a good way to get fired, have an HR session, get passed over for promotion. Things get worse and no attempt will be made to fix the problem. It's because it's every man or woman for themselves first.

as a non- vet I sufferer of prolonged duress stress disorder PDSD - it is time that people recognised both conditions - PDSD is caused by never knowing what is going to happen next in high stress situations - it's existence is denied in the UK because of the Northern Ireland situation and the number of military who were patroling streets not knowning if they were going to be blown up! Its effects are just as dibilitating as PTSD and in many case can be worse as it is not only triggered by individual events but by ongoing events. So trigger events can't be avoided.
My sympathy for all other suffers time does heal just it takes many years....

I never had a military career myself, but have been nearby the military culture most of my life. My dad was Seabee's Reserve since I was in my mid teens, and in my career I have worked on at least twenty military bases in all branches except the Marine corps. There is definitely a culture difference for non-comms between the military and civilian world, that goes beyond just the command structure. I have noticed some civilians who were military which showed signs of not having adjusted entirely to that difference, and other vets whom you would not identify except that the topic eventually came up. The above comment about supervisor-employee socializing patterns is thus indicative, and might stand as an example of a relatively minor case of implied value inconsistency. In the civilian work environment, you do not typically place your life in the trust of your team members. In the military, often the opposite is the case, and it seems to create bonds that last a lifetime. Some civilian work relationships do approach that level but they are the exception rather than the norm. And those vets who are scarred by their duty experiences are legion (use intended); the lack of help they appear to have gotten, in the hard battle to re-assimilate to civilian society, is a black mark upon this nation. Those vets made a sacred commitment to their country and every voter, as well as every elected official who advocates "cutting taxes" while those vets' needs go unaddressed, are accountable.

Articles written on here in the last few weeks. My S.O. is a vet with many problems thanks to the military, including PTSD. While she currently cannot work in an office job, a LOT of managers and others who can work with vets need to understand a few things. And I'm not talking some of the moronic 'politically correct' BS...

Thank you Toni, the hints for veterans entering back into the workforce are very valuable. I wish that these would have been available back when I got out. Better late than never.

Thanks for the article!

Since my discharge in '92, these are the most important things I learned about working in the civilian sector:

1. Teamwork in the military world and civilian world are completely different beasts. Everybody on a civilian team without a military background is out for themselves. Some will intentionally work to cause a project to fail. Those same people will arrange it so the failure will appear to belong to someone else, so keep records of EVERYTHING. Former military make easy targets, at least initially.
2. Even an excellent technical background from military service does not guarantee an equal shot at employment once outside. I lost several opportunities to far less experienced and knowledgable people because of some distorted perception of the military and military service. In fact, one job I failed to get as a technician was given to an individual who had ZERO experience with electronics and a Liberal Arts degree. I found this out directly from the person who was hired once he realized he was in way over his head.
3. From my own experience and talking with other vets in the area, it seems most employers believe that a compensation package 30-40% less than the going rate for the job position in that area is an acceptable ceiling for former military members.