Captain Bill Toti talks about what led him to write his book, "From CO to CEO: A Practical Guide for Transitioning from Military to Industry Leadership." The book is available here: www.amazon.com...
I'm a Vietnam Vet. The first year after discharge, my total income was under $1000. I lived in someone's attic and ate cabbage to survive. It then got better. I still like cabbage. I retired as a Senior Software Project Manager. I had to learn coding and invented the job. I'm 75 now and my only profligate habit is buying the most expensive hot dog weiners at the grocery store and Costco roasted chickens. I also help support a friend's widow financially until she turns 62 and receives enough SSI to live on.
My dad was a Vietnam vet. He brought my mother and her four kids (including me) back to the US from there. When he retired he worked a string of s--t jobs to get by until, like you, it got better. It wasn't a job he didn't particularly like but it meant food and a decent house for a still-growing family. I learned when things are tough, hard work is never a wrong answer.
Getting out was intensely stressful for me because I didn't really plan the exit or have a road map for it. Somehow I found job searching more stressful than combat. At least there I felt (right or wrong) I knew what I was doing. It worked out okay, but it wasn't easy getting there.
That is so profound, the difference is that in civilian life, your subordinates can quit. I never thought about that. I feel like enlisted have an easier time since they have more of a balance between leadership and actual job skills/knowlege. Officers tend to get overwhelmed managing the E-4 mafia. I’m just guessing, but subs may be different because of the whole dolphin qual. Officers may not be doing most of the actual physical work, but everyone on that boat is required to have a very in-depth, technical knowledge of… everything…. That is unusual. My OIC’s tech knowledge wasn’t nothing, but anything more in depth than what I would consider the most surface level knowledge of avionics repair and testing was just not there. He was in charge of almost 200 Marines, 8 ships with wildly different specialties. Then there were all the compliance secondary duties. He was a smart officer, very smart in fact. 90%+ of his job was people managing though.
2:20 in addition to the approach, they set some pretty wild expectations for salary and total comp. If you’re not going right back into a contractor / DOD role, you’re going to take a significant pay cut (even if you’re going GS-) unless you’re a 4-and-out first tour or got a REALLY niche, specialized skill out of the training. After I got out of the Navy enlisted I ended up bouncing around jobs and reserve component… I’ll have to grab the book! Thanks sir 🙏
Get Capt Toti's book. I had to fight to get out after 6 in the Navy. They did everything they could to keep me in all the way up to my last day. Their entire focus was keeping me in. No transition training whatsoever.
Still watching, but the Captain is very right. I've many friends from the military who had issues adjusting to civilian life, and from them I got that it's a lack of structure. Civilians create structure for ourselves, however we can. The military imposes it's structure on its members. This is not a negative and I don't want it seen as such. I have the highest respect for those who serve/served. But from the sociological pov, civilian life IS unstructured and difficulty integrating makes sense
Outstanding work sir...I wish I had that type of info when I seperated in 1987. The AF didn't offer any transition info, they just collected my paperwork and pushed me out the door. luckily I ended up in the Detroit Fire Department, a "paramilitary " organization, but 36 years later I'm paying for my lack of planning, organization, and foresight . Help these youngsters due better, we owe them!!!
Dunno Bill, My many veteran friends thrived after their service… Tended to be rural raised and into competitive sports. There were PTSD from Vietnam too but now they are coming out very much troubled. Thanks for your efforts in these times!
Interesting observation about PTSD. From a generational perspective, it seems that a large percentage of millennials lack the mental toughness of previous generations. The verdict is still pending on Gen Z, but I shudder to think of what that will look like. Our education system and ideological shifts have hurt these generations greatly. Trophies for everyone, tribalism, villification of faith and religion, discouraging all forms of masculinity, reduced emphasis on competition, sports, etc. have all created a culture of victimhood, self-pity, and individuality. These kids need more exposure to teamwork and how to prevail in the face of hardship. Mental toughness and faith are the foundation of resilience, which goes a long way to reducing PTSD effects and high suicide rates.
Well said Capt Toti. I'm a great fan of your Pacific war series with you and Seth and guests and a worldwide audience. My Uncle Willie was part of the British pacific fleet on our UK armoured aircraft carriers: Formidable etc. The UK helped to defeat Japan in the Pacific. But we took huge human losses. Maybe you will get to that as part of your story. We also disproved the (then) Japanese fascist fantasy that US/UK/AuS and Netherlands were decadent/soft and worthless. Unprepared ? Yes we were. A lesson there.
I got out of the service after 4 years and went to college, which was one incentive to join in the first place. My best advice is to have a vision and plan while you're in or even before you join. If practible, the skills you develop in the service as part of your overall career goals. Take advantage of military programs such as refresher courses and tuition reimbursement. Finally, apply to the school of choice right before separation from the military to dovetail right into school. Consider working for local or State or Federal governments. They often have to hire vets for at least a probationary period and have excellent benefits. My municipal government even allowed me to add my military service years to their pension once I bought the time.
