YOUR Next Move by Gail Allyn Short
How the REBOOT program helps US service members and their families make the switch to civilian life
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he U.S. Department of Labor reports that 200,000 and now you’re a civilian,” says Wilson. “It doesn’t work people leave U.S. military service every year. Many are like that.” left to ask, “What’s next?” During the first week of REBOOT, facilitators show “When you’re in the military, you’re in a community, an participants how to build new identities outside of the ecosystem, with defined customs, traditions and a culture military, he says. that’s not necessarily like the civilian world,” says Maurice “The second week, we help them find their purpose Wilson, president and executive director of the nonprofit and passions,” Wilson says. National Veterans Transition Services. To do all that, REBOOT uses a curriculum that takes The civilian world requires you to direct your own participants through several modules that promote selfaffairs—making decisions, for example, on buying a home efficacy and self-direction and explains the mind’s decisionor choosing a career, Wilson says. Moreover, making process. 86% of transitioning service members During week three, facilitators assist polled say they want careers different participants in discovering their from the jobs they held in the “career DNA” using an AI-powered “REBOOT is the military. job-matching tool that lists reverse of boot camp. To help, the NVTS operates more than 650 competencies. a program called the REBOOT They also use psychometrics It helps people make that Workshop that supports to identify participants’ service members, veterans psychological characteristics. psycho-social transition. That’s and their families as they With the data, look forward to postparticipants review all not as simple as just taking off the military life. possible career options, “REBOOT is the reverse uniform and now you’re a civilian. and REBOOT works with of boot camp. It helps people 2,500 employment partners, It doesn’t work like that.” make that psycho-social Wilson says. transition. That’s not as simple One REBOOT grad, a Navy MAURICE WILSON as just taking off the uniform chief, pivoted from air traffic PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF NVTS
controller to becoming a facilities manager in San Diego. “He’s now making $80,000 a year,” Wilson says. The workshop classes even helped him and his wife open lines of communication to heal their marriage, he says. Every year, 360 people participate in REBOOT, and Wilson says he has met veterans who lament the time and money they wasted because they did not participate in a REBOOT transition program. But that is not the job of the military or the VA, he says. “It’s the job of the community to help these individuals find their way back home.” To learn more about REBOOT, visit www.nvtsi.org and click on “Enroll in Workshop” to get started.
REBOOT YOUR LIFE Transitioning from a life in the military to civilian life is often a time of stress and uncertainty. But the National Veterans Transition Services’ REBOOT Workshop tackles five transition domains so participants gain confidence and practical skills.
EDUCATION: how to make decisions and embrace self-discovery as the first steps on the journey to future economic success EMPLOYMENT: choose the career path that is the right fit for not only themselves, but for their families as well ENTREPRENEURSHIP: discover their passions and purpose and, perhaps, even start their own business that will make a meaningful difference in their communities WELLNESS: promote wellness by building a healthy mind and body FAMILY: support families through home Maurice Wilson (center), president and executive director of NVTS, says it’s the job of the community to help transitioning military members and their families return to civilian life. PHOTO BY CHARLIE NEUMAN
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Transition Assistance
County of San Diego Office of Military & Veterans Affairs
ownership and financial prosperity
