Posted on Feb 9, 2016
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Yesterday, I had the awesome opportunity to join several other Veterans from the Pittsburgh region at an open forum as part of a new push from the VA to strengthen the Veteran/Community relationship. This 90 minute moderated discussion brought together Veterans from all eras, branches, genders, and races together in a room with several community leaders and we discussed a lot of different thing including the discussion around the military/civilian gap in the region.
Pittsburgh is in a unique position. Without having any large military installations to draw upon, this region finds itself near the top of the list of number of Veterans calling this region home. This means that unlike communities who's livelihoods really circle around the local military installation, this region really relies on the private sector to fill the gaps the VA is not able to cover.
It is no secret that the gap does exist for a lot of reasons. We, as Veterans, enter the civilian world after 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 20 years of service in our chosen branch with a different skill set than our peers who did not serve. And last night we discussed in small groups what some of the gaps are and how we as Veterans can bridge some of them. And for the more active users of RallyPoint, you have seen us discuss this issue several times before.
So, then why did I feel the need to add to this conversation with another post? Simple, I think we as Veterans need to revisit this topic more often. You often hear the line of never letting one generation of Veterans forgetting another and this is where this topic falls into place. If we do not continue to mind the gap, driving the conversation, than the gap will only grow; removing the work that has already been put in place.
During the small group conversation I had the honor of being part of, there was a Veteran from the Vietnam war in the same group. This Veteran served with a Rangers Regiment during Vietnam completing a ton of missions only to come home and go through the horrible treatment many of you that served during Vietnam faced. Name calling, being spit on, treated as some sort of monster; all because you did a job that you either volunteered for or was "volentold" to do because of the draft. Yet, a lot Veterans came back, saw this treatment and vowed to never let it happen again. They saw the gap, took action and created a bridge that has allowed the Veterans that followed to have a much different experience upon their return.
We also discussed the fact that while one of our strengths is our ability to adapt to new situations, the gap causes us to adapt slower to changes in the civilian world. Sometimes it is our pride that gets in the way of asking for help and we try to bridge the gap on our own only to find ourselves struggling more. For me personally, this struggle resulted in two years of heavy drinking; almost resulting in my early departure from this world. Ignoring the gap, allowing it to expand, will only result in more and more Veterans struggling to cross the gap.
So what can we do to help bridge this gap? Will the gap ever be gone? Personally, I do not think the gap will ever be gone. Yet, there are a lot of things we can do to help bridge it. Community involvement, sharing our stories, remaining connected to others who have been where you are and done what you done is key in maintaining this bridge. We are entering our 15th year of "active combat operations" in the fight against worldwide terrorism. That only means that we, the Veterans Community must remain strong, connected and ready to help our newest brothers and sisters-in-arms.
Pittsburgh is in a unique position. Without having any large military installations to draw upon, this region finds itself near the top of the list of number of Veterans calling this region home. This means that unlike communities who's livelihoods really circle around the local military installation, this region really relies on the private sector to fill the gaps the VA is not able to cover.
It is no secret that the gap does exist for a lot of reasons. We, as Veterans, enter the civilian world after 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 20 years of service in our chosen branch with a different skill set than our peers who did not serve. And last night we discussed in small groups what some of the gaps are and how we as Veterans can bridge some of them. And for the more active users of RallyPoint, you have seen us discuss this issue several times before.
So, then why did I feel the need to add to this conversation with another post? Simple, I think we as Veterans need to revisit this topic more often. You often hear the line of never letting one generation of Veterans forgetting another and this is where this topic falls into place. If we do not continue to mind the gap, driving the conversation, than the gap will only grow; removing the work that has already been put in place.
During the small group conversation I had the honor of being part of, there was a Veteran from the Vietnam war in the same group. This Veteran served with a Rangers Regiment during Vietnam completing a ton of missions only to come home and go through the horrible treatment many of you that served during Vietnam faced. Name calling, being spit on, treated as some sort of monster; all because you did a job that you either volunteered for or was "volentold" to do because of the draft. Yet, a lot Veterans came back, saw this treatment and vowed to never let it happen again. They saw the gap, took action and created a bridge that has allowed the Veterans that followed to have a much different experience upon their return.
We also discussed the fact that while one of our strengths is our ability to adapt to new situations, the gap causes us to adapt slower to changes in the civilian world. Sometimes it is our pride that gets in the way of asking for help and we try to bridge the gap on our own only to find ourselves struggling more. For me personally, this struggle resulted in two years of heavy drinking; almost resulting in my early departure from this world. Ignoring the gap, allowing it to expand, will only result in more and more Veterans struggling to cross the gap.
So what can we do to help bridge this gap? Will the gap ever be gone? Personally, I do not think the gap will ever be gone. Yet, there are a lot of things we can do to help bridge it. Community involvement, sharing our stories, remaining connected to others who have been where you are and done what you done is key in maintaining this bridge. We are entering our 15th year of "active combat operations" in the fight against worldwide terrorism. That only means that we, the Veterans Community must remain strong, connected and ready to help our newest brothers and sisters-in-arms.
Posted in these groups: 
Command Post
Transition
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Vietnam War
War on Terror
Command Post Transition Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Vietnam War War on Terror
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 9
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The gap will never go away. It's just one of those things we have to accept. We can make it better by having open and honest conversations with open minded people, but the problem with that is those same people have seen a lot of the negatives that are thrown on us by personal actions, professional actions, mental actions, and no reaction at all. The entitlement attitude is another killer with us. Too many think I deployed, so you owe me something. It's been said on RP before "you're not owed shit". We need to educate these troops you signed up knowing there is a chance to go to war. We're also used as props by elected officials. We need to get away from the stereotypes and make a new narrative that we dictate and control. This new narrative should focus on showing the public we're more than troops, we're human also. We do volunteer work, charity work, and are examples for the youth. In some cases, we're not. I support vet tshirt companies like Grunt Style and 9line apparel. But there are those rare moments where a tshirt seemed cool at first, but when I really look at it, I'm making myself part of the stereotype. Gotta get away form that.
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It takes both groups deliberately reaching out and teaching each other about ways to bridge the cultural differences.
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SFC (Join to see)
LTC John Shaw LTC Jason Mackay I had a really good conversation with my cousin this past weekend about this topic. He is a plant manager for a manufacturing company that does business worldwide. He knows I'm retiring here in the near future and the discussion on what I'm going to do when I get out. I told him I was putting in for any and all jobs I could closely relate to my skills on my resume. He kind of gave me a blank look. So I showed him my resume. I asked him if he didn't know me and I put in for a job with his company would he consider me for employment. He read my resume and told me probably not. I asked why. He told me he couldn't see how I could acquire the knowledge and skills that I have from being "just in the military". Well I broke it down for him and explained it, and showed him how it relates not only to the military, but also how much of a asset military memebers are to any organization. He honestly didn't know. So yes there needs to be more "bridging the gap"
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LTC John Shaw
I understand that issue, the civilian employer must be willing to see the value, but the military personnel must present in terms a civilian can understand. Not saying anything is easy, the connections must happen for each person and company.
I have been able to move back and forth from Military and civilian due to Reserve. The first step is to know it is possible and there are orgs to assist service members.
I have been able to move back and forth from Military and civilian due to Reserve. The first step is to know it is possible and there are orgs to assist service members.
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LTC Jason Mackay
SFC (Join to see) - that is what I am talking about. Even though they don't know, understand, etc there is no possible way you could have all those things you claim to have. No amount of bridge building will fix that when your resume is sorted electronically, prescreened by HR, and thrown to the side before a decision maker could look at it and not understand it.
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