Who has thought about politics after the military?

This doesn't directly answer your question, but for those interested in politics, there is a great training session in DC each year specifically for military veterans who are running, or considering a run for public office:<div><br></div><div>http://www.veteranscampaign.org/<br></div><div><br></div><div class="pta-link-card"><div class="pta-link-card-picture"><img src="http://bespeckled.net/vetcampaign/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/vet-campaign-logo1.png"></div><div class="pta-link-card-content"><div class="pta-link-card-title"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.veteranscampaign.org/">Veterans Campaign</a></div><div class="pta-link-card-description">Non-Partisan Campaign Training For Veterans</div></div><div style="clear:both"></div><div class="pta-box-hide"><i class="icon-remove"></i></div></div>

Great question, after leaving active duty, I ran for a state house race against a well entrenched incumbent, lost by about 550 votes. I am now chair of the HI GOP. One thing to note is that it is very different from the military and the transition isn't as clear cut as we would like it to be. Having a military background helps, but unlike the military where our goal is to accomplish the mission, politics involves <i>politics, </i>where it is a game to see who has the upper hand. In the military we don't care who gets the credit, but it matters here since it can mean the difference between winning and losing.<div><br></div><div>In addition, there is a big difference between campaigning and legislating. You have to raise money, communicate/message effectively, ID and <span id="36c38acb-6b50-4c40-ae51-f44c5b0cf322" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="713dd0ed-cea4-4131-8ecf-df625e9dac68" class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark">microtarget</span> voters, deal with different coalitions and issues based groups, endure hostile people, learn to deal with the different personalities, and really have to make sure you know who to trust. Another big thing I have learned is that in most cases, the military people did things in good faith. Even though there are mistakes, it wasn't done purposely. In politics, sometimes they are.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The planning is very similar to the military. You also have to study your opponents so this is where the <span id="18acd61d-6e2b-4bd6-be7b-a6c7bea8ca00" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="1de53fc5-82f6-4fd7-8b99-e30a777c579d" class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark">intel</span> portion comes in and create your courses of action. What we call the "air" <span id="914747ba-6604-4f1a-8af8-ca456ef8eb9c" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="51e9309c-1bf3-49ac-b567-04821ee53536" class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark">war</span> are the mailers, TV, radio, social media. What we call the "ground" war is going door-to-door, <span id="2b2f209d-db43-471c-9a2e-7c9f890d53e4" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="b1a5fb7f-5371-4556-af88-b099b8560884" class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark">signwaving</span>,&nbsp;host events, etc. You need both in order to win. This part the military training we all had is very helpful. But when people start getting involved and want their own way, it is important to deal with them in the best way. Tip O'Neil said that "All politics is local." It is true, you have to know the issues, show that you care. They don't care what you know until they know that you care. Sometimes us military folk just want to get the job done, many times in the political world, that can push people off.</div><div><br></div><div>A lot more to talk <span id="202067d5-f823-4750-8c15-111506f76454" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="afc0b1bd-a810-4dd5-b1c3-819c390290b6" class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark">about but</span> this just scratches the surface!</div>

As SGT Holt said, I don't think running for public office is because many of us WANT to. Many of us have put in more time and effort away from the house and family than we care to dwell on but pause tho think about WHY we did that: wasn't it because we believed in something and wanted to protect that (as well our buddies left and right)? Stop and listen to the debate that had been ongoing in our country and only becoming more heated concerning our Constitutional Rights. Is the American ideal not what we wanted to protect? Does our chosen Duty end when we ETS or retire? Regardless if which side of the debate you fall on, it affects you and bears on everything your Oath stands for. It is a civic duty of every adult US citizen to be involved in the direction of this country; a duty all to often left derelict or not taken seriously at full value. But what about our duty to be involved? I believe that if we do not involve ourselves then we are just as culpable as the career politicians who've done nothing other than stand on their title of office and take in reward for themselves.