The most important information in the article shows that the way veterans leave the military may affect their transition. The article reveals that the veterans’ discharge status indicated that leaving immediately might mean they had no opportunity to get prepared. Due to their discharge status, they could also be restricted in payments and access to Veteran Affairs programs. A lower-than-honorable discharge could indicate underlying issues that would lead to difficulties (i.e., substance misuse). Even though this particular group of veterans requires additional support, there are not many services that can help. According to the article, the specific support requirements of these veterans should be investigated further and used to guide service provisions. Most veterans seem to claim their superiors lost interest in them once they learned they would be departing, focusing instead on those still serving.
I agree that it is crucial to realize the condition under which the veterans have left their service. This means that not all veterans have the same level of difficulty while transiting to the civilian life. Therefore, each of the cases should be treated differently and in accordance with the veteran’s needs. Veterans who assert to have gone through emotionally trying or traumatic experiences while serving their country appear to be the ones most likely to state that adapting to regular life was difficult (Keeling et al., 2018). Moreover, they might also have developed post-traumatic stress disorder as a consequence of their life experience in the military. In the database search, I used terms like ‘the gap’, ‘military service’, and ‘transition to the civilian career’. The only question I had while searching the database was how much the life of veterans are illuminated via social media.
Reference
Keeling, M., Kintzle, S., & Castro, C. A. (2018). Exploring US veterans’ post-service employment experiences. Military Psychology, 30(1), 63-69.