Successful Transitioning Stories

By Dr. Julie Ducharme www.synergylearninginstitute.org

LTC McCulloch

During his 23-year career in the Army, Oak McCulloch held numerous leadership positions in the Infantry and Armor branches. He assisted in disaster relief operations for Hurricane HUGO in Charleston, SC and Hurricane ANDREW in south Florida. LTC McCulloch retired from the Army in September 2009 and joined the staff at the Bay Area Food Bank as the Associate Director. He was also the Vice Chair for Military Affairs on the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Mobile Rotary International Club.

LTC McCulloch left the food bank in December 2010 to become the Senior Military Science Instructor and recruiter for the Army ROTC program at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. He received thirtyone military service awards including the Bronze Star, eight Meritorious Service Medals and the Humanitarian Service Medal. He is also an author and public speaker.

What was it like when you transitioned out after 23 years?

Anybody who transitions after 23 years in the military, I don’t care who you are, it’s scary! And you are trying to figure out, do the skills I have gained in the military transfer to the civilian world? And I will tell you, they absolutely do! You may have to adjust a few things in what you do and say, but the skills and values absolutely transfer.

What do veterans bring to the civilian job?

Not only skills training but we get a lot of leadership training and self-discipline, values, and how to manage time. I think one of the things people often forget most, soldiers learn how to deal with people because it is a people-oriented profession, you learn how to read people and interact with people. People often think that the military is an authoritarian leadership style and there is some of that but the majority of the military today is not as authoritarian as people think, people, get to make their own decisions, and they get to do things the way they want to, and if you’re a good leader you’re going to encourage that.

You have a new book out, let’s talk about it!

The book is titled Your Leadership Legacy: Becoming the Leader You Were Meant to Be. In the book, I share common sense principles that every current and aspiring leader can use. Throughout the book, I speak about my experiences from childhood and adult careers framed the leadership legacy that I have personally passed down to countless others.

It’s so important for people to be able to tell their stories and our veterans have tremendous stories to tell. But the writing process for a book is not easy. Some days I would sit down to write, and I could not get anything done and other days I would write for hours. But I encourage you if you have something to share take that leap and write that book. One of the reasons I wrote the book is to help guide our up-and-coming youth on leadership. Because our generation must do a better job of training our youth, we are not doing a good job of that right now. Here is a good example, I always tell people, if you tell me you’re a leader and I ask you whom you are mentoring and you tell me nobody, I am going to argue that you are not a leader because leaders mentor people. We have to coach, train, and develop the next generation.

One of my favorite quotes that I can’t take credit for is from Master Sergeant Major Powell. One day we were talking about the importance of what we were doing in creating the next generation of leaders and he said, “Great leadership handed down from generation to generation is what creates great nations.” And what I love about that quote is you can substitute the word nations for any business or organization.

What my book focuses on is our responsibility to coach, mentor and train the next generation. Often people will say to me you know how to lead in the military, but you don’t know how to lead in the civilian world and I say that is crazy, leadership is leadership, and its adaptable to all situations.

What are some tips for our transitioning veterans?

First, you need to get out of the fear of getting out. In the military, we train you how not to be fearless but how to overcome your fear and move forward.

The second thing is, be yourself. I think a lot of veterans are afraid to be the leader the military has trained them to be. Show them your confidence, show them your skills in communication, and interpersonal relationships and they will see the value you bring to the organization.

To get the book and or bring him in for speaking to our group check out his link below. https://www.ltcoakmcculloch.com

To see how we help and support veterans transitioning out of the military check out our school www.synergylearninginstitute.org