transitioning veteran

Making the decision to leave the military can be very scary, no matter how many years you've served. You've been told what job you will do, where you'll do it, how much you'll get paid to do it. The fear of not knowing what job lies ahead for you as a civilian can add a lot of added stress mentally and financially. Michael went through this as a service member and Serena did as a spouse, and have talked about their experiences on past episodes. Wouldn't it be nice for a service member and/or their spouse to be able to chat with someone whos already in corporate America? "American Corporate Partners (ACP) is a national nonprofit organization focused on helping returning veterans and active duty spouses find their next careers through one-on-one mentoring, networking and online career advice. ACP engages the American people in a unique volunteer opportunity to provide career guidance to returning military as they transition back into civilian life. We believe that the biggest issue facing our returning service members is not unemployment – it’s underemployment. ACP focuses on helping veterans and active duty spouses find meaningful employment opportunities and develop long-term careers." We have guest Richard Comitz, Senior Vice Present of American Corporate Partners on to tell us all about this great organization for veterans and their spouses! https://www.acp-usa.org/

We have talked about networking before, but we have another opportunity for networking, and this this time for women! Mike and Serena chat with Melissa Washington, CEO and Founder of Women Veterans Alliance. "Women Veterans Alliance is a premier national network focused on directly impacting the quality of life of women veterans. We do this successfully through transforming the way the community networks to bring people and programs directly together through a reliable and resourceful platform." https://www.womenveteransalliance.org/

It's hard being the new kid on the block. It's extra hard when your family is uprooted from a place you call home and tossed to the opposite coast to try and make a strange place home again. Not just within your new four walls either, you have to find a new job, make new friends, find new doctors and *GASP* find new emergency contacts for your kids school forms! Have you ever heard of Blue Star Families? We hadn't either! So today we have Wendy Layton, Chapter Director for Blue Star Families in Jacksonville, on the show. "The families of our all-volunteer military make unprecedented sacrifices these days to serve our country. Blue Star Families was founded by military spouses in 2009 to empower these families to thrive as they serve. We're committed to strengthening military families by connecting them with their neighbors – individuals and organizations – to create vibrant communities of mutual support. We believe we're all stronger when we take care of one another." If you're serving for a little while longer, or you're ready to volunteer some of your time and advice as a seasoned spouse, you won't want to miss this episode. www.bluestarfam.org