Get a job
You just don’t know how good the job market is — that is, unless you’re leaving the military.
Job fairs are popping up in towns and cities with high military populations and recruiters are told to walk out of there with bonafide hires (sound familiar, infantry?).
So what do these military types have that most others apparently don’t?
They have skills that can’t easily be found elsewhere. The Merchant Marines can’t hire enough sailors with seagoing experience, for instance. Most airlines have traditionally found their pilots from the military ranks.
And those who leave with the golden egg can pretty much write their own ticket. Golden eggs are valid security clearances of a secret level and above. I last heard that it now takes two years to investigate a civilian before issuing a clearance. Employers don’t want to wait, nor do they want to incur the expense.
Besides skills, employers want candidates with discipline, a solid work ethic, and that magical touch called honor. Defense contractors hire ex-military because they understand the culture. Police and fire departments hire them, perhaps for their discipline and a perceived rigidity.
Last September, I attended the mandatory military “TAP” class for Navy officers and enlisted who were retiring. We had a minimum of four recruiters working the class and these guys were ready to hire.
Job fairs aren’t all brick and mortar either. Try an online job fair at wwb militaryconnection.com.
Not taking care of our own
Why are women in the military so hesitant to report sexual attacks against them?
The mechanics are there - toll-free numbers to call, plenty of lip service in mandatory GMT (general military training), a go-to advocate within each command.
But the truth is, sexual violence – and I’m talking rape, not improper touching – is often tacitly tolerated, not only by leadership, but by the victims themselves. Why?
Think about it. You’re a minority (only 15 percent of the military is female) in a culture known to “take care of its own.” When something bad happens to you, the first thought isn’t going to the local police. What happens in the military stays in the military.
And a command can get really small. Everyone knows everyone – sometimes too well. Betraying that ”one team, one fight” mentality gets nasty. And lonely. Shipmates resent you for turning on one of your own, or for “ruining” the career of a “good” sailor or soldier or airman or whatever.
And yet, a report released by the Pentagon this week shows an increase in sexual violence reports from women in combat zones and elsewhere.
So are women spilling the ugly truth more often or are some ”heroes” among us getting bolder? You tell me.
Getting a bit pudgy, are you?
Never thought I’d miss those zero-dark-thirty Navy PRT sessions in the gym. You know, flashing a fake grin at the admiral who is sweating it out on the elliptical (does she ever miss a day?). Trying to outshine a chief on the mat with my snazzy sit-up regimen.
Nope, I don’t ever recall enjoying the 0500 drive to the torture chamber or the gossipy showers stalls.
But here I am, back home after a year of active duty recall with the Navy. Another weekend slips by without punching my card at the gym which, this time, I’m paying for in monthly dues. I shudder at how easily my excuses are working these days.
So, no more peer pressure to perform physically. No judgmental glances when I help myself to a second (or third) cookie. How I longed for this day — and how I’m paying for it now. For all my whining, I’ll say this about the military’s “culture of fitness” it did keep me in shape. Which makes me wonder, what if the same type of pressure was applied in the civilian workforce?
What if, at the end of a staff meeting, our boss lectured us on the virtues of weightlifting? Or required us to sign in each time we showed up at the gym (as the admiral did)? Could a co-worker get away with poking fun at our too-full plate and expanding waistline at the company picnic the same way the chiefs did at Friday socials? I’m guessing not. But it would be, err, fruitful, in a way.
So next this week I’ll really get in a workout, or maybe even two. Really.
