Considering the traumatic effects of war on men, women, and children, compare the career issues affecting military personnel returning to civilian life to those who have not been in the military. This situation can affect all family members, including children in school, so please include partners and children in this discussion as it relates to career development. As part of your post, include your strategies for advocating for these clients' career and educational development. These sections in the posting needs to include the headings.

Response Guidelines

Respond to two peers regarding their assessment of the issues facing military personnel returning to civilian life and issues experienced by their families. Explain where your assessment was similar and different from theirs. Provide constructive feedback on your peers' proposed strategies. I have provided you with two postings from my peers. I need a response with at least one reference to each peers's posting. I pay $20.00.

First peer posting

Military Families

Military personnel returning to civilian life affects not only the military personnel, the return affects the military person's family, wives, husbands, children, parents, etc. are all affected in this transition. Common challenges for returning military personnel include; trying to relate to people who are outside of the military who do not understand what the military person has experienced, trying to fit into a family who had adjusted to the military person's absence, trying to reconnect with their children, who may not have seen their parent for a long time, and trying to reconnect with a unfamiliar society which have different rules than the military. ("Military personnel," 2012)

Military Jobs and Careers

Not only do military personnel have to learn to reconnect with their families, they have to learn how find a job, or a career outside of the military. In the military, there is structure. Everyone knows their place. In civilian life, structure takes time to build, the military person has to relearn how to adjust to the uncertainty of outside life. Depending on the age of the military person, or if they had a career in the military, they may have to learn how to complete a resume, apply for a job, and learn how to interview for a job. Military personnel also have to figure out which of their military skills will convert to civilian jobs. Once in the job or career, military people have to understand, in the civilian world, jobs are based on individual progress, where as in the military, assignments are completed as a group effort. ("Military personnel," 2012)

Advocating for Career and Education Development

The strategies for advocating for military personnel's career and education development are to help the military personnel gain access to services provided by the military. Although there military social workers who help the military personnel gain access to these services, they are small in number compared to how many military persons who need these benefits, therefor, counselors outside the military need to step up, learn everything they can pertaining to the military and these benefits and help military personnel gain access to these deserved benefits. The military provides preparation counseling checklist, which gives military personnel a chance to have access to information about financial planning, resume writing, interview skills, job counseling and placement services. (Rausch, 2013) Career counselors for military personnel should understand that military veterans see life from a different perspective. The military perspective. The military is a culture all on its own and any choices military personnel look at and choose are based on their military experience. Career counselors need to be aware of this perspective and have the tools necessary to help military personnel. By conceptualizing the experiences of military personnel, career counselors can use the contextual action theory which uses goal setting to help military personnel have a structure, similar to when they were in the military. This will help military personnel who may feel overwhelmed by all of the steps needed to integrate themselves back into civilian life.

References

Common challenges during re-adjustment to civilian life. (2012). Retrieved from

http://www.va.gov/vetsinworkplace/docs/em_challengesReadjust.html

Rausch, M. A. (2013, June 1, 2014). Contextual career counseling fortransitioning military veterans. Journal of Employment Counseling.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-1920.2014.00044.x

Second Peer Posting

Career Issues

Career issues affecting military personnel returning to civilian life is much different than those who have never been in the military. That is why all branches of the military are required to provide preseperation counseling and to offer transition assistance workshops to aid in returning to civilian life (Clemens & Milsom, 2008). Without transition assistance services and little or no work experience, some enlisted service members reenter civilian life with little direction or understanding of the civilian world of work (Clemens & Milsom, 2008). Career challenges faced by service-members returning to civilian life include loss of purpose. Although a lack of purpose can be a challenge for those who are non-service members, this can be more challenging for service members seeking employment who no longer felt they were contributing to an important communal effort. This feeling can be intensified when veterans can't find jobs they feel are important and drew upon their skills (Ahern et al., 2015).

Another challenge service members face during transition to civilian life is the task of taking care of oneself. Service members have described the environment in terms reminiscent of the care of a family would provide to a child such as holding their hand, a safety net, and comfort. Once many of them transition to civilian life, they don't understand how much of this works because there was always a system where everything made sense for them (Ahern et al., 2015).

This system does not apply to civilian life, one member stated all of sudden he had to take care of himself and make his own decisions." This dilemma creates a huge challenge for career counselors as it relates to decision making and career development. Transition to civilian life is also challenging for family members of service members. When enlisted, military personnel and their families move 4 times the rate of civilian families. Thus, the frequent moves associated with military service might decrease the likelihood of individual's knowledge of specific career opportunities through established professional or social networks (Clemens & Milsom, 2008).
Strategies for advocating

Career counselors can normalize the change from veteran to civilian by employing the skills learned and qualities developed while serving. This approach can help military personnel see their military service as part of their overall, continuous life-long career. Another strategy for advocating is collaborating with other counselors. Career counselors can collaborate with other professionals in their institution or agency, particularly in veteran's affairs. Career counselors can also establish relationships with college counselors to suggest courses or vocational rehab counselors to develop educational plans for veterans with service connected disabilities (Miles, 2014).

References

Ahern, J., Worthen, M., Masters, J., Lippman, S.A., Ozer, E.J., & Moos, R. (2015). The challenges of Afghanistan and Iraq veterans transition from military to civilian life and approaches to reconnection. PLoS ONE, 10(7), 1-13.

Clemens, E.V., Milsom, A.S. (2008). Enlisted service members transition into the civilian world of work:
A cognitive information processing approach. The Career Development Quarterly, 56, 246-256.

Miles, R.A. (2014). Career counseling strategies and challenges for transitioning veterans. Career Planning and Adult Development Journal, 30(3), 123-135.