Those that raise their right hand to serve our country in the military, make a minimum of two huge transitions during their lifetime; the transition in by taking an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; and the transition out. Personally, I remember my transition into service being filled with a spectrum of emotions and above all, the feeling of being proud—proud to be able to make the commitment to my country; proud to say I was a member of the most elite military in the world; proud to become part of something bigger. Though each experience is unique, I believe feelings of pride are common with those that make the commitment to serve their country. Military members are immediately immersed in an unfamiliar world with new rules, language, friends, and many new opportunities. It is a time filled with excitement, change, growth, and fear of the unknown. Many military members look back on this time with fond memories—many with a yearning to go back, like the common wish to reunite with childhood. In contrast, the transition out of the military, also a huge transition point in one’s life, is not the same. I’d like to offer my unique personal experience of what I found most challenging and provide some excellent resources that are available to all veterans and family members through the Transition Assistance Program and Military and Family Life Counseling Program.

The Challenges of Transitioning Out of Service

For me, the “transition out time” was a period filled with excitement and opportunity for growth, but it was not at all easy to navigate. Although I had always had a plan in my head for what I would do once I was discharged, the guidance and resources were not as formulaic as the transition into military life. I was excited to become a civilian free to take any job I wanted, but it was overwhelming not to have concrete steps for how to get there.

It is widely known that the military has a way of building its members up to feel as though they can accomplish anything and believe that they have a step up when it comes to the civilian population. While this may be true, it can be harmful to solely rely on this expectation. It is better to be aware of the potential challenges in advance so you can arm yourself with available resources and tools to navigate a successful transition.

In my experience, these are the top three challenges when transitioning back into civilian life:

1. Unrealistic expectations

• It will be easy to get any job I want.
• I will get paid more as a civilian doing the same thing.
• Working 40 hours a week will be east compared to being on call 24 hours a day.
• My experience will be respected; everyone loves military members.

I will get paid enough retirement that I won’t need to work.

2. Loss of identity

• No longer a leader or looked up to by others daily
• Loss of purpose
• No one really understands what you did in the military
• Bored with the new job
• Loss of connection to your familiar support system
• Work no longer makes a difference on a large scale
• Communication style in the civilian world is not the same

3. Limited immediate support 

• Just a number to the VA
• No longer have a chain of command to help
• Waiting list to get support
• Navigating resources alone

Combat Veteran’s Careers states, “The military provides a sense of purpose, well-defined roles and hierarchy, camaraderie, honor and mission—things that can be hard to find or define in the civilian world.” In my experience, this could not be more true. Although I planned and prepped for my exit, I still fell victim to some of these common beliefs and challenges. So, if you have a plan—or even if you don’t—I encourage you to take advantage of the programs and resources available to you while you are still in service to get a jump start on your transition to a successful civilian career. Here are a few I found helpful, and that Magellan Federal assists in delivering.

Available Career Resources

Transition Assistance Program (TAP)
The Department of Defense TAP provides lots of information, tools, and training to share tips on everything from resume prep to financial planning. For example, I remember them bringing in models to our installation from a local suit store to help us prepare for business dress. TAP is available to all transitioning service members and has a wealth of eLearning guides, trainings, and workshops. Connect with your local Transition Assistance Office or view more information on the DoD TAP website.

Military and Family Life Counseling Program (MFLC)
Military and Family Life Counselors (MFLCs) are on the ground at installations around the world providing confidential non-medical counseling to service members and their families to address issues such as improving relationships, stress, parenting, and grief. MFLCs are also armed with a plethora of training resources specific to making the transition from the military to civilian life. I highly suggest connecting with an MFLC at least a year out from your final separation date, even if it is just to help you organize your thoughts and help you more clearly define the path to your future. Contact your installation’s Military and Family Support Center to get started.

Education and Employment Initiative (E2I)
E2I is a Department of Defense program that assists wounded, ill, and injured Service members with education and career opportunities as part of their recovery and transition to civilian life. E2I’s Regional Coordinators work with Service members to identify skills and match those skills to a desired career path. Contact your Regional Coordinator to request an application, or visit the E2I website.

Tips for Successful Transition
While these programs and other resources will help you build a good foundation, it is ultimately up to you to put a detailed plan in place and complete the necessary steps to prepare for your civilian career.

1. Learn about careers—complete a self-assessment, compare occupations, and research industries
2. Find training—research basic adult education, apprenticeships, certifications, and scholarships
3. Network—connect with professionals in your career of choice to help with advice, job leads, and contacts; inform them of your skills and employment goals

It’s never too early to get a head start on preparing for a career that’s best for you and your family after service. I hope these tips will get you started planning today with confidence.

References
• CombatVeteranstoCareers.org, “5 Reasons Veterans Struggle to Transition to the Civilian Workforce,” view article
• Military OneSource

With a rich history of providing service and support to Warriors, Veterans, and their families, Magellan Federal is fortunate to attract and employ talent who have served our country or who have family members who have served. Here’s why Magellan Federal is fully committed to hiring military spouses.

Employment Challenges for Military Spouses

Deployments and relocations often lead to gaps in resumes, leading recruiters to incorrectly conclude that these candidates don’t have what it takes to keep a job. But in the context of military spouses, nothing could be further from the truth. The challenges of military life require an underlying creativity, grit, and a commitment to persevere.

In our experience, resume gaps are sometimes reflections of great self-sacrifice and the application of hidden talents. Military spouses are incredibly resourceful at using their time to their advantage—seizing additional education opportunities and certifications, stepping up for important volunteer opportunities as “unsung heroes,” and continually expanding their professional networks and interests. Many times, these highly desirable talents stay locked within the realm of volunteer organizations as employers make false assumptions about the employability of military spouses and the benefits of hiring them. Smart organizations see the benefit of employing military spouses in flexible roles to ensure they can support their home life while delivering important work.

Employer Benefits—Service and Loyalty

Once an employer has whittled a candidate field down to those with the desired or required skill sets, it is time to look further at the quality of the candidate and potential for retention. Of note, less than 1% of eligible Americans commit to service in the Armed Forces.

It’s no surprise that those who choose to marry service members often share these values and desire to serve. Bringing military spouses onboard at your organization will not only boast diverse skills that complement and improve your capabilities, but these individuals also often have an unmatched dedication to service. Military spouses spend their lives supporting their partner’s career, ensuring their spouse can perform their job with the certainty that all is well on the home front. That level of effort and flexibility to adapt to the ever-changing demands to meet the daily and emergent situations that arise, makes them extremely self-sufficient, alert for challenges, and exceptionally skilled in multi-tasking and dealing with changing priorities. These “soft skills,” coupled with the fact that most are driven to make their own significant contributions make them an invaluable addition to any organization.

To read the full article, visit https://www.magellanfederal.com/whats-new/mfed-inform/

“Our obligation to act is not just medical—it’s moral.”
Vivek H. Murthy, M.D., M.B.A. Vice Admiral, U.S. Public Health Service, Surgeon General of the United States

 
To support the Surgeon General’s recent advisory related to protecting youth mental health issues exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Magellan Federal offers best practices for professionals specializing in behavioral issues to foster the wellbeing of our military families.

Magellan Federal directly supports the mental health and resiliency of military youth and families, serving over 4.5 million service members and families a year. Read more about risk factors and recommendations in our whitepaper here.

Magellan Federal honors military caregiving children through a commitment to Hidden Helpers Coalition

Military Appreciation Month is celebrated in May and is a special month for those in and out of uniform. Throughout the month we celebrate Memorial Day (May 30), Military Spouse Appreciation Day (May 6), and Armed Forces Day (May 21). But did you know that it is also Month of the Military Caregiver?

Month of the Military Caregiver

The Month of the Military honors more than five million self-identified caregivers in the United States. By observing Military Caregivers, we can raise awareness and support for both wounded warriors and the people who care for them. Many of those caregivers are children, who have largely been unrecognized and unsupported—until now.

Honoring Military Caregiving Children

There are 2.3 million children of injured, ill, and wounded service members and veterans who play a crucial role in caring for their loved ones.

Magellan Federal has joined the Elizabeth Dole Foundation’s Hidden Helpers Coalition, a group of more than 60 organizations committed to recognizing the service of military caregiving kids and enhancing support services available to them. As a Coalition member, we have pledged to engage our nation’s health care providers to create a new national model of support for caregiver children within medical institutions to ensure that the physicians, nurses, and mental health and allied health professionals better understand and address the unique challenges military children face at every stage of their development.

Through the work of targeted sub-committees, the goal of the Hidden Helpers Coalition is to create a comprehensive framework of best practices, impactful tools, and action steps focused on supporting the overall well-being and long-term positive outcomes of Hidden Helpers and their families. Through this holistic approach, the coalition will develop baseline best practices for the ecological systems that impact Hidden Helpers.

This commitment reinforces what we do here every day at Magellan Federal — supporting the behavioral health of military service members, veterans, civil servants, and their families — and is just one example of how we give back to the military community beyond our everyday work.

If you or your organization is interested in supporting military caregivers, I encourage you to stand with us to make a difference by reading more at Hiddenheros.org 

Our nation recognizes April as the Month of the Military Child, celebrating and acknowledging the children of our service members. Through the Adolescent Support and Counseling Services (ASACS) program, overseas middle and high school youth enrolled at Department of Defense Schools have access to in-school counseling and prevention education lessons at no charge. Whether or not ASACS services are available in your area, it’s worth taking a look at the challenges military children often face, and the resources available to support their mental health.

The Challenges Military Children Face

Military children must learn to be resilient because their households may relocate every 2 to 3 years — sometimes overseas and to new cultures. For many kids, this is a difficult challenge. Middle school and high school are particularly challenging ages, where social connections, friendships, and romantic relationships become more important.

A term has been developed to describe children who spend formative years growing up outside their parents’ native culture—Third Culture Kids. Military children often represent this demographic when they relocate to other countries, which can translate into culture shock and create unique challenges that typical American teens may not experience.

In addition to being susceptible to frequent family moves, COVID-19 has impacted everyone across the globe, and our military children are no exception. They faced attending virtual schools in communities where they are already feeling isolated due to being in a new country and community. We have seen mental health concerns like depression, anxiety, and alcohol and drug use increase due to the pandemic, and many parents and students do not often seek help. But here is how they can and should.

Support Services for Overseas Youth

The key to effectively transitioning military children to their new surroundings is working with a counselor on their terms. Magellan Federal delivers the Adolescent Support and Counseling Services (ASACS) program on more than 14 locations in 6 countries.  ASACS is a school and community-based program providing counseling and educational prevention-based services that are confidential for students in grades 6 -12.

Magellan Federal counselors focus on issues unique to military children such as transitioning to new environments, coping with stress and challenges associated with moves, and alcohol and drug prevention. Additionally, our counselors support these young individuals with all the other “typical” issues teens face.

As the demand for mental health services has increased, getting on a waitlist for psychological services is a real challenge for students. So often, many students are ineligible for on-base counseling due to staffing limitations, and off-base options are usually nonexistent or not adequate for English-speaking students. Through ASACS, Magellan Federal provides tailor-made, in-school counseling and prevention education lessons at no charge to overseas middle and high school youth enrolled at Department of Defense Schools. The Magellan Federal staff works with students and teachers to identify an appropriate time so that the student is staying in class as much as possible. Our team develops counseling schedules, ensuring kids receive timely, critical emotional and behavioral support while maintaining academic requirements. Because of our programming, parents do not need to leave work early and drive to accommodate a counseling session, positively impacting family engagement.

It’s important to address the unique needs of military children overseas during formative years, to proactively ease their transition and bolster confidence and resiliency. ASACS services are available to any military ID card holder student and their families. To connect with your regional ASACS counselor contact your child’s school at the front desk or the guidance department or contact Allison Welliver at WelliverAL@MagellanFederal.com to inquire about local services.

Food security requires ongoing access to nutritious meals. This is fundamental to a family’s overall health and wellness. With today’s economic challenges, more families are facing financial hardships, making it difficult to access healthy meals and maintain a high level of food security. In this webinar, Magellan Federal experts will discuss the impact of food insecurity on civilian and military families, and provide practical guidance on connecting families with viable resources.

Magellan Federal experts hosted a webinar to:

• Properly identify food insecurity on the hunger spectrum
• Acknowledge food insecurity prevalence across civilian and military families
• Discuss the stigma associated with help-seeking behavior
• Distinguish casual inquiry versus formal screening of food insecurity
• Q&A session

Webinar Replay

To learn more about this topic, watch the replay today! Be sure to download the additional resources:

• Casual Inquiry Questions
• CORE Approach Guide
• Food Insecurity Resource List
• White paper

Read More

You can also read a personal account from one of the webinar hosts in the Tackling Food Insecurity in the Military Community article.

This article was co-authored by Nikki Walker

In April, we celebrate the children of active duty service members. Whether you work in a school, child development center, or youth center, there are many engaging activities available to highlight their unique strengths as military kids and celebrate what makes their military families special.

Here are some suggested activities for April’s Month of the Military Child:

• Spirit Week: For one week in April, conduct military-themed activities each day of the week. You can plan a spirit week around Purple Up Day (April 15^th), along with additional military theme days, such as Red, White, and Blue Day, Camouflage Day, Military Hat Day, and Military Show & Tell Day.
• School Morning Announcements: Ask students to participate in morning announcements by reading a military fact or a military trivia question. Provide students the fact or trivia question the day before to allow students to practice at home. To ease students’ nervousness, offer to stay with the student during the announcements as friendly support.
• Arts & Crafts: Engage students in creating posters and drawings about military life or ask them to identify positive traits about military children (e.g., brave). Display artwork on bulletin boards or blank walls. Show students how to create and design paper parachutes, using coffee filters and pipe cleaners. If your site has a calendar of events, ask if you can offer an arts & crafts activity during a special event.
• S. Map Bulletin Board: Find a map of the United States and post it on a bulletin board. Ask students to find where they lived prior to living in their current home. Use different colored push pins or thumbtacks to mark the cities and states. If serving children of multiple ages, select a color to represent each age group/grade level and create a map legend for each color. You can include staff who are service members themselves or are military spouses, on the map as well.
• Military Board Game: Create a board game with questions that highlight various aspects of military life (e.g., deployment, moving). Use popular board games as inspiration for your game’s design (e.g., Candy Land).
• Special Guests: If your site allows outside visitors, invite service member parents to come and eat lunch with their children one day in April. You could also request the installation’s military band or chorus to come and perform for the children.

If you are a part of a military community, you can see what events are planned near you by searching for events with the base Public Affairs office, Military Family Readiness Centers, Department of Defense Dependent School admin offices, and on-base Child Development Centers.

Activities may also be listed at Morale Welfare and Recreation (MWR) Centers at military installations overseas and stateside. The official sites for all these organizations often post calendars of upcoming events and programs.

Whether your organization is military-associated or not, it’s important to honor the sacrifices made by military families worldwide and emphasize the experience of military children serving at home and overseas.

Additional Articles on Supporting Children:

• How can I help my children during COVID-19?
• A pandemic’s impact on children’s mental health
• ADHD: Helping Your Child Get the Most From School
• Bullying: Building a Child’s Self-Esteem

The war in Ukraine is continually changing with updates to the minute within the news cycle and social media. Constantly, there are reports and images flooding our electronic devices with images that are incomprehensible to see. Military families have intense stress as they look at the uncertainties of deployments and the impact on military families. To add to the stress and concern, this global crisis comes on the heels of being exhausted and socially isolated by a two-year pandemic. The following are some tips to take care of your mental health during the Ukraine situation.

Limit your exposure – disconnect from electronics and social media. Although it is important to understand what is happening in the world, it is important not to immerse oneself in the event every moment. Set time limits for yourself regarding how much News or social media you watch or follow.

Recognize that people will have different reactions. People respond and react to tragedy and stress in multiple ways. Personal circumstances, such as deployment, may have different responses than those that are not experiencing deployment.

Talk about it. Do not keep your reactions inside alone. Process your feelings by talking to family, friends, and colleagues about your experience. If the feelings are overwhelming, consider talking to Mental Health Professional that can offer personalized strategies for managing your anxiety about current events.

Engage in activities that provide meaning. Participate in activities that are healthy and you enjoy. Some ideas include exercising, cooking, taking a hike, or playing with a pet.

Engage in meditation and mindfulness. Relaxation, or breathing exercises can improve your state of mind and reduce stress. Taking a few moments just to be present can shift your body’s reaction from a stress response. Try a simple breathing exercise of breathing in for a count of 6 hold for a count of 2 and breathe out for a count of 6.

COVID fatigue. Acknowledge that after a two-year pandemic and many people are tired. The Ukraine situation is especially hard to absorb. It is normal to feel overwhelmed

Avoid catastrophizing. Avoid thinking about future scenarios and what the outcome might be. Focus on one day at a time for now.