Staff Perspective: Supporting the Transition from Military to Civilian Life
In September of 2017, soon after my active-duty husband passed his 20-year mark in the military, I wrote a blog looking at current data on the transition from military to civilian life. Now, two years later, he’s currently on terminal leave, and it seemed like a good time to revisit this topic.
Initially I turned to the Blue Star Families (BSF) annual Military Family Lifestyle Survey, which is a great way to get a sense of current salient issues in the military community. The BSF Survey is an annual survey that examines the experiences and challenges encountered by military-connected families. The 2018 BSF Survey was the ninth iteration and was conducted in conjunction with the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University. Respondents included over 10,000 Service members, Veterans, and military family members.
Close to half of Veteran family respondents reported that their overall transition experience was either “difficult” or “very difficult.” In fact, for the past three years, Veteran responses have indicated that these difficult transition experiences have been connected to increased stress levels, increased likelihood of depressive symptoms, and thoughts of suicide. This finding is in keeping with research that indicates that while some Veterans make this transition seamlessly, many significantly struggle with various aspects of the transition experience.
The BSF Comprehensive Report hypothesized that some of the difficulties Veteran families experience around this transition may be due to inadequate transition preparation. When asked what would most improve the experience, the top strategy mentioned was “a strong support network” for transitioning Service members. This theme was particularly noticeable in relation to the challenge of finding employment – the top requested resource was “a network of those who successfully transitioned from the military into the civilian workplace.”
Recently, I was made aware of a transition program and resource hub in San Diego called “zero8hundred,” that I found really intriguing. They assist transitioning military personnel and spouses in establishing attainable post-service goals and connect them to relevant services and resources. The program is based on a holistic wellness model focused on five different domains: employment, education, basic needs, physical and mental health, and social/community connections. One of the most unique attributes of this program is that this assistance is provided by “peer navigators” who have both military experience and education in either social work or counseling. I also like the symbolism of the organization’s name, which comes from the daily ritual of raising the American flag at 0800 hours (or 8:00am for those who aren’t familiar with military time). As noted on the organization’s website (https://www.zero8hundred.org/), the daily flag-raising ritual is a signal to the military community that a new day of work has begun, and for transitioning Service members, it can also be a sign that the promise of a new day has begun.
A recent report, “2019 Navigating the Future: Making a Difference for Transitioning Service Members and Families,” showed evidence that this peer navigator model is working. Compared to transitioning Service members who did not work with a peer navigator, those who did were more likely to:
- Meet their primary goal
- Be employed 12 months after separation from the military (and more than twice as many were employed at the time of separation)
- Get connected to resources (and be satisfied with them)
Other positive outcomes included increased feelings of belongingness/connection to the civilian community, increased feelings of preparedness and confidence, and decreased feelings of stress, nervousness, and being overwhelmed.
With their holistic wellness approach, zero8hundred touches on areas that often provide the most challenges for transitioning Service members: finding employment, pursing education, managing finances, navigating the health care system, reestablishing family connections, and finding a place in the civilian community. A lack of research on the specifics of Veterans’ transition experiences has actually been identified as a key gap in the literature. The Veterans Metric Initiative (TVMI) is a longitudinal study that is currently underway and represents the first large-scale investigation of this issue.
The TVMI is an assessment of Veteran’s well-being and their use of transition programs in the first three years after separation from military service. The study cohort consists of a national sample of just over 9,500 newly separated Veterans from all branches of service, including both men and women across all age groups and pay grades. Participants were recruited in the fall of 2016 and assessed within three months of separation from the military. They will then complete five additional assessments at six-month intervals over the three-year study period.
The goal of the study is to gain insight into transitioning Veteran’s most pressing needs so as to inform the efforts of support organizations. The specific study aims are to:
- Explore Veteran well-being throughout the transition period in four key life domains: vocational experiences, finances, mental and physical health, and social relationships
- Identify programs Veterans use as they reintegrate into civilian life
- Examine the link between common program components and Veteran well-being
While data collection is still underway, analyses have begun to explore Veteran’s well-being across the key life domains. As a military family member who is currently in the process of transitioning from military to civilian life, I look forward to seeing the results of this study when they’re published!
The opinions in CDP Staff Perspective blogs are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Science or the Department of Defense.
Marjorie Weinstock, Ph.D., is a Senior Military Behavioral Health Psychologist at the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland.
References:
- Blue Star Families. (2018). 2018 annual military family lifestyle survey: Comprehensive report. Retrieved from https://bluestarfam.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/2018MFLS-ComprehensiveReport-DIGITAL-FINAL.pdf
- Hunt, K. D., Schumann, M. J., & Walker, L. (2019). 2019 navigating the future: Making a difference for transitioning service members and families. Military, 8. Retrieved from https://digital.sandiego.edu/mpi-military/8
- Vogt, D., Perkins, D. F., Copeland, L. A., Finley, E. P., Jamieson, C. S., Booth, B., … Gilman, C. L. (2018). The veterans metrics initiative study of US veterans’ experiences during their transition from military service. BMJ Open, 8(e020734). doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-020734
In September of 2017, soon after my active-duty husband passed his 20-year mark in the military, I wrote a blog looking at current data on the transition from military to civilian life. Now, two years later, he’s currently on terminal leave, and it seemed like a good time to revisit this topic.
Initially I turned to the Blue Star Families (BSF) annual Military Family Lifestyle Survey, which is a great way to get a sense of current salient issues in the military community. The BSF Survey is an annual survey that examines the experiences and challenges encountered by military-connected families. The 2018 BSF Survey was the ninth iteration and was conducted in conjunction with the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University. Respondents included over 10,000 Service members, Veterans, and military family members.
Close to half of Veteran family respondents reported that their overall transition experience was either “difficult” or “very difficult.” In fact, for the past three years, Veteran responses have indicated that these difficult transition experiences have been connected to increased stress levels, increased likelihood of depressive symptoms, and thoughts of suicide. This finding is in keeping with research that indicates that while some Veterans make this transition seamlessly, many significantly struggle with various aspects of the transition experience.
The BSF Comprehensive Report hypothesized that some of the difficulties Veteran families experience around this transition may be due to inadequate transition preparation. When asked what would most improve the experience, the top strategy mentioned was “a strong support network” for transitioning Service members. This theme was particularly noticeable in relation to the challenge of finding employment – the top requested resource was “a network of those who successfully transitioned from the military into the civilian workplace.”
Recently, I was made aware of a transition program and resource hub in San Diego called “zero8hundred,” that I found really intriguing. They assist transitioning military personnel and spouses in establishing attainable post-service goals and connect them to relevant services and resources. The program is based on a holistic wellness model focused on five different domains: employment, education, basic needs, physical and mental health, and social/community connections. One of the most unique attributes of this program is that this assistance is provided by “peer navigators” who have both military experience and education in either social work or counseling. I also like the symbolism of the organization’s name, which comes from the daily ritual of raising the American flag at 0800 hours (or 8:00am for those who aren’t familiar with military time). As noted on the organization’s website (https://www.zero8hundred.org/), the daily flag-raising ritual is a signal to the military community that a new day of work has begun, and for transitioning Service members, it can also be a sign that the promise of a new day has begun.
A recent report, “2019 Navigating the Future: Making a Difference for Transitioning Service Members and Families,” showed evidence that this peer navigator model is working. Compared to transitioning Service members who did not work with a peer navigator, those who did were more likely to:
- Meet their primary goal
- Be employed 12 months after separation from the military (and more than twice as many were employed at the time of separation)
- Get connected to resources (and be satisfied with them)
Other positive outcomes included increased feelings of belongingness/connection to the civilian community, increased feelings of preparedness and confidence, and decreased feelings of stress, nervousness, and being overwhelmed.
With their holistic wellness approach, zero8hundred touches on areas that often provide the most challenges for transitioning Service members: finding employment, pursing education, managing finances, navigating the health care system, reestablishing family connections, and finding a place in the civilian community. A lack of research on the specifics of Veterans’ transition experiences has actually been identified as a key gap in the literature. The Veterans Metric Initiative (TVMI) is a longitudinal study that is currently underway and represents the first large-scale investigation of this issue.
The TVMI is an assessment of Veteran’s well-being and their use of transition programs in the first three years after separation from military service. The study cohort consists of a national sample of just over 9,500 newly separated Veterans from all branches of service, including both men and women across all age groups and pay grades. Participants were recruited in the fall of 2016 and assessed within three months of separation from the military. They will then complete five additional assessments at six-month intervals over the three-year study period.
The goal of the study is to gain insight into transitioning Veteran’s most pressing needs so as to inform the efforts of support organizations. The specific study aims are to:
- Explore Veteran well-being throughout the transition period in four key life domains: vocational experiences, finances, mental and physical health, and social relationships
- Identify programs Veterans use as they reintegrate into civilian life
- Examine the link between common program components and Veteran well-being
While data collection is still underway, analyses have begun to explore Veteran’s well-being across the key life domains. As a military family member who is currently in the process of transitioning from military to civilian life, I look forward to seeing the results of this study when they’re published!
The opinions in CDP Staff Perspective blogs are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Science or the Department of Defense.
Marjorie Weinstock, Ph.D., is a Senior Military Behavioral Health Psychologist at the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland.
References:
- Blue Star Families. (2018). 2018 annual military family lifestyle survey: Comprehensive report. Retrieved from https://bluestarfam.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/2018MFLS-ComprehensiveReport-DIGITAL-FINAL.pdf
- Hunt, K. D., Schumann, M. J., & Walker, L. (2019). 2019 navigating the future: Making a difference for transitioning service members and families. Military, 8. Retrieved from https://digital.sandiego.edu/mpi-military/8
- Vogt, D., Perkins, D. F., Copeland, L. A., Finley, E. P., Jamieson, C. S., Booth, B., … Gilman, C. L. (2018). The veterans metrics initiative study of US veterans’ experiences during their transition from military service. BMJ Open, 8(e020734). doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-020734