Transitioning from Military to Civil Life

Transitioning from military to civil life is hard.

Military veterans struggle with identity, sense of purpose, and belonging. On the outside, they often look alright but they struggle internally.

Retirement is something a lot of people look forward to. They hope to enjoy the freedom that comes with it. Most people often have a dream of moving to the suburbs to live a more quiet life while some look forward to traveling the world.

However, for the civilian and military veterans, is it always the same?

To understand the strain soldiers face at adjusting to civil life, we need to take a look at what the military training itself entails when one is recruited or commissioned.

Soldiers are oftentimes trained like wild horses meant to be broken!. During the training, all effort is geared towards “Sucking Out all the Civil Blood” (as they call it), from the potential soldiers.

This so-called civil blood means, “way of thinking and the civil life” in general. The military will then infuse a more disciplined military way of life which includes ” taking to orders” without questions!

At times, I do recall some of the experiences I had when my soldier was serving at the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna State, Nigeria where cadets are trained. I can’t forget the days I passed through where physical and endurance training was being conducted on the cadets and I overheard the following conversation:

Preparatory Wing Trainer: ” What’s the greatest sin on earth?”

Cadets: “To be a civilian sir!”.

Preparatory Wing Trainer: “Then, Why are you a civilian?”

Cadets: “Oh! God, Please, forgive me for being a civilian”.

Hmm…Hilarious!.

I also do recall some of the stories my soldier told me about his experiences during his training and some of them are downright funny!

While appreciating all the effort and pain the military takes at turning raw civilians into disciplined “Killing Machines“ ready to take orders to move at short notice, it’s also an inevitable fact that someday, they still have to leave the military and retire back to civil life.

This is where the twist now comes in as this brings to mind the question:

” How do you remove the military blood from a soldier’s system and infuse the civil blood or way of life back into the system?”

The instilled military training in soldiers most times makes it difficult for some to successfully reintegrate into civil life.

Situations abound in which retired military men in some neighborhoods are seen as people to be avoided. They are seen to always be on a short fuse and ready to pounce at short notice.

How then can the military adjust their men to the civil world?

To be fair, The Armed Forces Resettlement Centre is responsible for that. But, can six(6) months of transitioning training really prepare anyone for the civilian world? Especially, after wearing the uniform for decades.

Based on what veterans go through, you’ll realize transitioning is difficult. Therefore, the military has to put a good plan with practical steps in place to make it easier. This is a call to action for synergy and assigning of more roles to the Veteran Affairs Department, Armed Forces Resettlement Centre, and Department of Civil-Military Affairs.

I’m of the opinion, they should all work as one body on issues related to helping the soldier…..THE WARRIOR… to settle in.

Do you agree?

Please, do let me know what you think. I always welcome thoughts and opinions, Okay.

Let me also use this opportunity to say a BIG thank you to all soldiers worldwide.

Thank you for your selfless service and sacrifice!

 Not many people out there will do what you do.

Sacrificing your lives in order to serve your nation takes courage!

SO, once again, THANK YOU!

And to their awesome spouses, you all are a special breed of brave and awe-inspiring people!

You are HEROES behind the HEROES!

Thank you for standing by your soldiers!

You all are SUPERSTARS

In my next post, we will look at how soldiers can successfully transition from military to civilian life.