Own your jump
Deciding to leave the military can be hard. Extremely hard. Gut-wrenchingly hard.
Being a soldier quickly becomes your identity. It shapes how you dress, who you hang out with, and what you like to do in your free time. I always joked with my family that being a soldier wasn’t a job, “it was a lifestyle choice.”
Military life can be deceptively easy in many ways. Health care is free, you typically don’t have to worry about losing your job, and you can get by wearing the same thing to work every day.
But there can come a time in your career as a soldier where you start thinking about leaving. Maybe the deployments, field exercises, and weekend staff duties are just testing your family too much. You could personally be feeling the stress of the military grind and feel that for your own personal well-being you need to move onto something else. Or it could simply be that you feel complete in your military service and you are ready to pursue a new opportunity.
The decision can be stressful. What will you do for work? Do you need to go get more education? How do you translate your military experience, which involved jumping out of planes and shooting guns, to something that a hiring manager in the civilian world will understand?
And most importantly, what will be your purpose? Who will be your next brotherhood and sisterhood? How will you find meaning after wearing the uniform and serving your country?
These are not easy questions to answer, but there are resources to help. Groups like American Corporate Partners and Veterati can connect you with mentors in the corporate world to help you understand your skills and how to communicate them to civilian employers. Organizations like Team Rubicon, Team Red, White, and Blue, and The Mission Continues can connect you with other veterans and find meaning in serving your community. And if you aspire to start your own company, Bunker Labs and Patriot Boot Camp are there to help.
The decision is not easy, and it can be greatly intimidating. But it is one you can make. And should you find yourself deciding to end your time in uniform, you can find a way to succeed and thrive on the outside.
Every time you jump out of a plane, the decision is ultimately on you. Yes, there will be serious repercussions if you don’t exit that aircraft because you just aren’t feeling it that day. But it is only you who will hand the static line off to the safety, turn into the door, and jump into the sky. Only you will have to trust the chute to take you safely to the ground. And only you can make a safe landing.
Jumping out of an airplane is like being in a herd. The green light comes on and you start following the guy in front of you, even when that means jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. At some point it feels as if you are on autopilot and you are just reacting to the situation like you’ve been trained
The Jumpmaster will give the command of “Go!” and everyone starts their walk to the door. After a few jumps, the process becomes ingrained in you. You start to react less than you necessarily think about it.
You all jump out of that plane together. Following the same path and procedures, everyone exits in the same way to get to the same place (hopefully).
That jump is meant to accomplish something. The jump is meant to get you to the ground to accomplish a mission. Even if the jump was just for currency, you did it to maintain your proficiency as paratrooper.
Your decision on whether to stay or leave the military is a lot like that jump.
Just like that jump, your decision to stay or go is ultimately yours. You will follow the procedures and get to the door, but only you will have the decision to jump out of that plane.
If you keep following the crowd, you will end up at the door. Everyone will follow along the same path and follow the same procedures. But when you get to that threshold, you have to personally commit to the jump.
And what is that jump? That jump is there to get you to your next mission.
If you can make the decision to jump out of the plane, you can make the decision on what your life will be like when you hit the ground.
You may decide to stay in the military. As you are aware, there are a lot of rewards in service. Unmatched camaraderie, a feeling of purpose, and getting to do some pretty fun stuff (.50 cal night fire anyone???). Staying in is admirable.
The lifestyle, however, may be something you feel the need to leave behind. You may be feeling the call to leave and the urge to go elsewhere in your life.
Whatever you decide, own it. In your own life, only you can see the green light and decide how your jump will go. Only you can decide what your next mission will be and where it will take you.
But you have all the tools to do it. You have the skills and the know-how and the determination to succeed.
Own your jump.
Mark is a part-time writer for WETSU. He served in 3rd BCT, 82nd Airborne Division, and then in the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion. Before starting his MBA in Fall 2020, he will be traveling the world and writing about his own experience leaving the military. More of his work can be found at www.theveteranpro.com
-
160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment - The Night Stalkers
Read MoreThey were born out of a doomed operation, but their role has become irreplaceable. Their brothers in arms count on them in the most difficult of times while they remain the enemy’s worst nightmare. Battle-proven, always resilient, and lethal, they are highly respected among all the services and have often...
-
Operation Hump: 173rd’s Legendary Operation in Vietnam
Read MoreSoldiers take cover in a crater during the Vietnam War (Courtesy Photo/U.S. Army) Operation Hump is a legendary operation conducted jointly by Australian and American Airborne forces in Vietnam. The Friendly composition consisted of the 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, as well as a battalion from...
-
The Elusive Blue Air Assault Beret
Read MoreBlue Air Assault Berets: A Brief Chapter in Military History In the accounts of military tradition, berets have often stood out as symbols of honor and excellence, providing soldiers with an extra element of pride. They adorn soldiers' heads, signifying their commitment to a unique calling. While everyone in the...
-
Wisdom from the Community: Top Five Pieces of Advice for New Paratroopers
Read MoreWisdom from the Community: Top Five Pieces of Advice for New Paratroopers Hear ye, hear ye! Young paratroopers, we believe you deserve some valuable advice because you are at a stage where you need it to shape your military career. Because we care, we reached out to our community to...
-
Operation Restore Democracy: The Landing that Never Happened
Read MoreOperation Restore Democracy: The Landing that Never Happened In the early 1990s, Haiti's democracy was in constant crisis, and the island was being governed by unconstitutional leadership. The regimes kept changing but lacked national and international legitimacy, leading to U.N. sanctions. The United States created a multinational force (MNF) to...
-
The Evolution of Airborne Operations: From World War II to Present Day
Read MoreThey called it "The Iron Rain." On the fateful day of June 6, 1944, as part of Operation Overlord, more than 13,000 paratroopers from the American 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions leaped into the night sky, their hearts racing, their minds set on one goal: the liberation of Europe from...
-
Boots On Ground: The 82nd Airborne in the Battle for Iraq
Read MoreTransporting you from your favorite reading nook literally into the boots of the 82nd Airborne in the Battle for Iraq, Boots on the Ground by Karl Zinsmeister details the story of the frontline in a way that often isn't covered in the headline news story. A frontline reporter traveling with the 82nd,...
-
The Essentials: The C-17 Globemaster
Read More"The Essentials" Series is a monthly blog related to Airborne culture. We target fundamental topics such as Airborne equipment, culture, traditions, trivia, etc. While we have a semi-annual plan on the topics, we remain open to ideas from paratroopers like yourself. So, feel free to reach out and propose a...
-
The Filthy Thirteen: The True Story of the Dirty Dozen
Read MoreTightly bound to one another in times of war, unforgiving in the way they approach a battle, and legendary in their bravery, the story is told of the US paratroopers of the US 101st Airborne Division in The Filthy Thirteen. Finding the courage to parachute behind enemy lines in the...
-
Battle of Yongju: The Battle of the Apple Orchard
Read MoreAlso known as the Battle of the Apple Orchard, the UN orchestrated the Battle of Yongju to fight back against the North Korean forces during the Korean war. In this offensive maneuver, the US 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team—or the US 187 RCT was called on to move in front...
-
The Chosen Few: US Paratrooper's Battle in Eastern Afghanistan
Read MoreBringing you to a more recent battle in a different part of the world, The Chosen Few by Gregg Zoroya is a detailed account of how a U.S. Paratroopers company fought in eastern Afghanistan in 2007. In hopes to go in on a single, swift mission in order to befriend the isolated...
-
No Better Place To Day: The Battle For La Fiere Bridge
Read MoreIn this first-person narrative, Robert M. Murphy transports you right into the battle at La Fiere in the early morning hours of D-Day. Taking you through a firsthand account of close-quarters combat in the industrial war of the 20th century, Murphy covers all sides of the war, from the paratroopers...
-
Airborne Equipment: The Waco CG-4A Glider
Read MoreDuring World War II, the U.S. Army Air Forces utilized military gliders as a method of delivery to battle. These one-time use, engineless aircraft were towed in pairs near to the front lines of battle, typically by a Douglas C-47 military transport aircraft, carrying troops or supplies to bolster advancing...
-
Over 100 years of bravey: The 173rd Airborne Brigade
Read MoreThe 173rd Airborne Brigade is a United States Army airborne infantry brigade formed on 12 June 1917 at Camp Devens, Massachusetts. It is one of the oldest airborne units in the United States Army and has a rich history of service and combat operations. A WORLD AT WAR During World...
-
War: Through the eyes of the 173rd Airborne in Afghanistan
Read More"Brotherhood has nothing to do with feelings; it has to do with how you define your relationship to others. It has to do with the rather profound decision to put the welfare of the group above your personal welfare. In such a system, feelings are meaningless. In such a system,...
-
Into The Viper's Nest: The First Pivotal Battle Of The Afghan War
Read More"I set out then to report this story from many points of view - American and British, from soldier to general, from diplomat to president. It seemed to me that only by getting behind the scenes could anyone pretend to understand what was happening. And it seemed far better to...
-
You can Jump from a plane. How about jumping into a book?
Read MoreAs paratroopers, we know you've got discipline and are always on the lookout for that new book title that will leave a lasting impression. The global library has never been more diverse, yet you want something you can relate to. The good news is that we've reached out to our...
