SSG Techera, Carlos
SSG Techera has been in the U.S. Army for 11 years. He has been on three deployments and is a Senior Drill Sergeant at Fort Jackson. He is currently training to go to the Best Ranger Competition.
Follow him on Instagram @era_of_tech
Planning after the Service
Written by SSG Techera, Carlos
It isn’t a secret that big environmental changes are stressful. For example, when you first got in to the military. One week you had your parents taking care of you, providing all your necessitates in life and then the next you are at Basic training. Taking care of yourself for the first time is a huge shock to your body. The same can be said for when you get out. For an extended period of time, you have lived in a set way with slight variation and then the next thing you know, you are back on your own again. Planning for your exit is crucial to success. In the military we reverse plan to ensure that we meet crucial tasks by their deadline. We use the 2/3 rules. 66 percent of the time we leave for planning and the other 1/3 amount of time is used to execute what we planned for.
Where do we start when planning to get out? Well, we have to weigh our options. I would say to tackle the big ones. It is either school or get a job. Dependent on what our MOS was while we were in can impact the direction we pick to go in. Let’s address schooling using your Post-9/11 bill to pay for your education. What are you going to study? I suggest it be something you are passionate about but ensure it is a job that is in demand. For example, Nurses will always be in need and you enjoy helping people. All you need is a Bachelor’s degree and you are golden.
Going into a skill is also a great option to use and having the Post-9/11 bill pay for it is the best option; not getting debt is the key point. When getting out start early and have many back up plans. The amount of times I have heard those getting out not having a backup plan is alarming. As the saying goes don’t put all your eggs into one basket. War game it.
Yellow Ribbon Program
The Yellow Ribbon Program is a provision of the Post-9/11 GI Bill that allows veterans to attend a private school for little or no out-of-pocket money. Schools that participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program agree to waive a portion of their tuition. Let’s say you are attending a private university with a tuition of $50,000/year but the school has agreed to waive $10,000 tuition for Yellow Ribbon Participants. The VA will match that $10,000 making the total tuition waived $20,000. Your Post-9/11 GI Bill will pay $26,042.81 and the Yellow Ribbon Program will waive $20,000. You will be responsible for $3,957.19 tuition that you must pay with financial aid or out-of-pocket.
Thinking outside the box for your Soldier
One of the most reoccurring issues that comes up when I talk to my old Soldiers that get out is they miss the brother/sisterhood; the comradery that the military gives you. What I have done in the past was talk to my Soldier about what school they decided to go to and just look up their athletic program, whether it is a DI, DII, DIII, program. It doesn’t matter, that only means how much money the school puts into its athletics. I find out what sports that my Soldier enjoys participating and see if they have anything that aligns with that and just message the coach of that team. Majority of colleges have a future athletes’ questionnaire on their websites. Just write to them from the email provided. I will use the Soldier I had as an example. He was a fast runner in short distances. I found out he was going to a college in my old conference and I message the coach of the track team through their website and just informed them that I have a Soldier that has already been accepted to their and school and that they are a solid runner (if you have times provide them). I asked what he could do to walk on to the team. The best part of all, this is the coach was more than excited to have a walk-on with already fully paid ride to the school so it is no loss to the coach. The Soldier now has that team aspect secured. If they enjoy it they stay, if they don’t they can just not go back at no loss to anyone.
The Leaders Huddle 