In Brief: Essential Insights for Post-Military Transition
13 Nov 2023 · 6 min
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In this InBrief podcast episode, Jordana McGonigal, CEO of the Recon Network, delivers a concise monologue aimed at veterans and military spouses navigating the military‑to‑civilian transition. She opens by illustrating how major achievements—like the internet, the polio vaccine, the light bulb, and the first airplane—were products of collaborative effort, establishing the premise that community is essential. McGonigal then describes a common pattern she observes in coaching sessions: veterans often report having only a spouse or a best friend as their support circle, overlooking broader networks they may not fully trust or recognize. She explains why many assume they can “go it alone,” noting the fear of rejection and the difficulty of reaching out during a period of major life change. Drawing on a recent large‑scale veterans conference (over 1,000 attendees), she highlights the sheer number of veteran service organizations—more than 40,000 across the United States—and the shared mission of helping the post‑military community thrive. She categorizes the support these organizations provide into practical (benefits assistance, housing, job search), social (reducing loneliness, connecting with peers), and emotional (listening, sounding‑board). McGonigal emphasizes that community is a powerful, already‑present resource, likening it to the trusted comradeship experienced in service. She concludes with a clear invitation: listeners can tap into the Recon Network’s resources via recon.vet or LinkedIn, and she offers to help direct them to additional services if needed, reinforcing that asking for help is the first step toward leveraging the vast, supportive community that exists for veterans and their families.
Chapters
This is InBrief. Let's get to it. Hey there, and welcome back to the InBrief podcast. This is Jordana McGonigal. I am the CEO of the Recon Network, and this is our podcast where we take just a few minutes each week, talk about Topic or a subject that you might find interesting, that might be able to help you in your transition process. This week we're talking about community. Now, in our world, rarely do big things happen in a silo. The internet, for example, was created by a team of computer scientists working for the U.S. Defense Department in the '60s. The polio vaccine was developed by another group of scientists under Jonas Salk. Thomas Edison gets credit for the light bulb, but he even had more than 60 people working for him to help. And even Orville and Wilbur Wright had each other as they developed the first airplane. So you can see that having a support team, having a network around you is important. But oftentimes when I coach veterans through their transition check-ins or through our cohorts, I'll ask them about their community, what support systems they have in place, or who they have in their circle. And more often than not, I'll get an answer like, well, I have my spouse or my best friend, but I don't really know many other people. And that's not really true. They know a lot of people, but they maybe don't know as many that they trust to support them in the worst of times. And so they don't necessarily count them as part of their inner circle or their inner community. But what's worse is that too many of them think that having such a support network isn't really a necessary thing. They think they can just get by on their own. Now, this is understandable, of course, because when you're going through a period of big transition, things can be hard. And if you're going to put yourself out there, you want to know that someone can help you. And not only that, but they will help you if you ask. None of us like rejection. None of us like putting ourselves out there. And in a transition period, it seems even more daunting than usual. Unfortunately, too often we suppose that any given person in our network won't be that person. We don't ask them, we just assume. And so we move forward with few friends and even fewer support systems. And when we really, really need them, we don't have anyone standing in our corner. But my point today is that you have a community far larger than you can even imagine if you just use it. I just got back from a huge conference of veterans, military spouses, hiring companies, and advocates. There were over 1,000 of us together in one place. And over the course of 4 days, I learned a lot from these people. There were different resources available, different passions that each person was chasing, and different regions or areas or industries that they all focused on. But there was one thing that every single person had in common. They were, by every account, dedicated to helping the post-military community thrive. So yeah, transitioning from military to civilian life can be a challenging time for veterans and military spouses. You're adjusting to a lot of new things, from finding a new job and housing to making new friends and hopefully getting involved in your own community. But that's where having a strong support system is so important, because you don't have to do any of this alone. There's an entire community out there rallying behind you to make sure you succeed, whether you know it or not. In fact, across the US, there are more than 40,000 veteran service organizations alone who are out there looking for you and willing to help you in any way that they can. Now, sometimes that may be practical. You may need help understanding how to apply for benefits or want to know about a school system in a new city. Sometimes it's social. To reduce the loneliness you might feel, or to connect with other veterans or spouses who may have been through something similar. And sometimes it could just be emotional support, just being able to talk with someone who understands the challenges you're going through and could be a simple sounding board. Regardless of what you need, I'm here to tell you, I am positive that there is someone out there that can help, or someone who knows someone that can. Because here's the down and dirty truth. There is nothing more powerful than community. You knew this while you were in service. There was always someone there who had your back. There was someone you could trust. And the same is true on the outside. It may just take a little bit more effort to find them. And these aren't just veteran organizations. They're not just your brothers and sisters from service. There are hundreds of different types of support networks and millions of people who are willing to step in and And be part of your community. Your job is simply to ask for what you need. So there's no challenge this week, but I do have an invitation to you. If you want to grow your network and build your community, reach out. Find us online at recon.vet or on LinkedIn at the Recon Network. If we don't have a service or the information that you need, we'll be happy to point you in the right direction or help you find it. We have spent a lot of years building a community and building a network with people who care about you and what you're going through, and we want to let you use that network for your own benefit. But regardless of what you need or where you are, we are always there to lean in, lean on, or just listen. I hope you'll take advantage of it, because when a community comes together, there's literally nothing that they can't do.
