A Soldier's Christmas

The holidays are upon us once again, and though I will be in a warm house enjoying the days with family and friends, I take a moment to step back in time. I recall the days serving in the military when I couldn't make it home for the holidays and I couldn't be with the family and friends I began my life with for the first 18 years. Though my friends I served with became my new family, my second family who I would celebrate the holidays with when I couldn't come back home to New York.

Every holiday season I seem to have a flash back at sometime, a flash back of celebrating the holiday's with my friends who I served with and with my Friends who became my second family to me. I could remember having to work and perform my entry control duties on gate 4 on Arctic Warrior dr. (just up the road from our favorite Ski and Benny pizza) on Elmendorf AFB, and how other military members coming onto base would constantly drop off trays of food for us while we worked. I remember how us younger Airman would volunteer to work Christmas eve and day, so the older NCO's could spend the holidays with their kids and so we could have New Year's Eve off to party.

Though today and the the years past since I have been home, I come to realize that so many families will be without a loved one, because he or she is serving far away oversees. A spouse may be home alone, children may wonder when dad or mom that is deployed will be back to help put up the tree or to unwrap gifts with them Christmas morning and a soldier will be going on through the day like a normal work day missing his family back home. I can't complain what I have, it would be completely selfish for me to whine about something this holidays season, so I want to put the word out there to everyone who may read this. Just for a moment, forget about yourself and just think about what others may be going through this holiday season who not only are serving in the military, but all those people out there who make good in this world, yet who continue to struggle to get by.

Merry Christmas to all out there, to the men and women of the Armed Forces, to the soldier's who are oversees, to their families back home waiting for their return and to all the good people out there through out the world who are struggling to get by.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

-Steve

I leave you now with "A Soldier's Christmas Poem"

Take a Veteran to School Day - My Experience

When approached by a good friend of mine who is a teacher, and ask to take part in coming into her class to speak to her 1st grade students about what it is to be a Veteran of the military, I couldn’t turn it down. While on my usual search throughout the internet searching for resources and information for us Veterans of past, present and future, I stumbled upon The History Channel’s website. Their website had a special page dedicated to honoring the men and women of the Armed Forces and also dedicated to a new program called “Take a Veteran to School Day“, which would bring military Veterans into the classroom to speak to students about what it is to be a Veteran.

So I began the planning process of how I can really make this a great experience for the students and for myself. Speaking to 1st graders is a first for me, especially when it came to speaking to them about what I went through serving in the military. I filled my N.Y. National Guard back pack with pictures, my old uniforms (including my father’s Vietnam uniform) and my medals to bring to life my time in the service. The kids loved it, asking me questions, answering questions I had for them, looking through all the pictures, and some even shared with me and their classmates stories about how their grandparents and parents served or are serving in the military.

The 1st grade class at St. Patrick’s Parochial school gave me a better perspective of what we’re really fighting for. We fight so our future generations can continue to grow up in a safe world, a world where they don’t have to be in fear of attacks by the most evil individuals who blow themselves up killing women and children as well. Though it saddens me to think that the children overseas in places especially like the Middle East, see war everyday and even are raised to hate other people in the world at such a young age. It is the children that suffer the most through all the fighting; it is the children that seek adults to raise them in a safe and well being environment.

Veterans day will be tomorrow; a day I will always look forward too and a day I will always celebrate by thinking about my friends and everyone else who continue to serve. Today going into the classroom and speaking to these students was such a great experience and already I have been requested to come back next Veterans Day, which I have already agreed too.

A Special Thank You to the 1st grade class of St. Patrick’s Parochial School.

- Your Veteran Friend, Steve

September 11, 2001

There I was in uniform, guarding a high level priority aircraft on Elmendorf AFB in Alaska. I was down to my last couple of hours on shift performing my duties as a Security Forces member, when I received several phone calls from my buddies who were also on shift with me. They told me to quickly put on the radio, there is talk about a plane crashing into the World Trade Center buildings. Thinking It wouldn't be much of anything, I slowly got up off my seat and stopped what I was doing to turn on the radio. Within seconds I realized this was something serious.

After listening a few minutes to understand what was all going on back in New York City, the new crew from the facility I was guarding began filtering in for the beginning of their shift. Though most of the crew members looked like they were ready to prepare the jets and deploy in a moments notice, some members had no idea about what was going on. After listening to the radio for some time to make sure what I was hearing was true, one family member came to mind, my Godmother.

My Godmother works right around the vicinity of the World Trade Center, so I quickly grabbed the phone ignoring any calls on my hand held radio to call back home and find out if she was OK. I got in reach with my parents back on Long Island and they told me they got word from my Godmother that she was OK, though she along with thousands of other New Yorkers were walking over the Brooklyn bridge, because everything was shut down. I could hear in my mother's voice that she didn't know what to think right now, the news was awful and on the other hand here I am serving in the Air Force far from home believing we have just been attacked.

I reassured my mother that I was fine and not to worry about me, but do what you can for my Godmother if she needs anything. Though I knew in my mind, the possibility of seeing war was the closest it's ever been in my military career, and that moment I knew the people I worked with and myself were ready to be called upon to do what we must, since by this time the news was claiming this was looking more like a terrorist attack.

I was already working a 12 hour shift that night, but as soon as my flight got relieved from duty, that 12 hour shift turned into close to a 16 hour shift. We were briefed on any intelligence about the situation and we were told directly from our flight chief that when we get back to our living quarters, to be ready to work longer shifts, and understand deployment is very possible at this time. I had just gotten back from a 4 month deployment in Saudi Arabia that ended in June 2001 and though it was great to be back in the states, I knew if I was called upon, I was more than willing and ready to go back to the Middle East. Though that day never came and it wasn't till some time after I separated from the service that my Squadron began to deploy to Iraq.

As the months went by after 9/11, I was given a chance to return home for a week and a half. It was something I was looking forward too, seeing my family and friends again and checking on my Godmother who had been working in the city that day. When I returned home and was on the ride back from the airport, I remember seeing just about every single home displaying an American Flag. I thought to myself "I never saw this before", yet it was a great site to see. Flags lined the streets all through out Long Island N.Y. and though today the flag my father put out still waves in the wind, other Americans have put their flags away.

When speaking to people on my vacation, you quickly see just how many innocent people died in the World Trade Center attack. Everyone just about knew someone who had lost their life in those buildings, and during the time I was home I went with my parents down to the World Trade Center. I had an empty feeling standing there in front of a wall that was blocking the entrance to the WTC work site. Thousands of letters and flowers covered the wall from thousands of people, from letters to a father a child lost, to letters from strangers from other countries giving their condolences, it was another reminder of just how many innocent people lost their lives that day.

Though September 11, 2001 is a day that came and went for many Americans, it's a day that has never really ended for those who have lost loved ones. New Yorker's will never forget the sacrifices our men and women of FDNY, NYPD and all other emergency responders who have lost their lives, trying to save others.

Today the war on terror also continues; 8 years later and our men and women of the Armed Forces continue to need our support.

Switching Careers

When I walked into Sgt .Coyles recruiting office back in 1999 for the 5th time, I finally decided on the career I wanted to begin in the Air Force. It was a tough decision, because there were so many jobs I would have liked to have done, though in the end after being told my first choice (Fire Fighter) had no openings, I decided to gowith Security Forces (MP). The Security Forces career field was a great first step for me, to see if it was a job I would want to do for the rest of my life, even after the military. Though when I returned home and had the choice to attend school, that's when I saw an opportunity to do something new, something I felt maybe I was cut out to do in this life time in the first place.

By September 2004 after returning home from serving in the Air Force, I began to put the GI BILL to great use, focused on achieving something I truly never thought of. When I joined the military in 1999 I didn't even think about asking or looking for information about attending college, because for once in my younger years I was set on doing something, entering the military and following in my father's footsteps.

It's funny when people ask me what do I want to do as a career, because honestly there are so many jobs I would love to learn about and do. After completing my Associates degree in general studies, I decided I wanted to work towards a Bachelors degree that had something to do with psychology and sociology. I'm very outgoing and enjoy speaking to people, a little something I picked up from my mother who is a social butterfly and who has also inspired me watching her work as a teacher. I enjoyed many aspects of being a military police officer, but the greatest aspect besides shooting the heavy weapons, was being able to take a situation and work towards finding a way to resolve it. I found that I enjoyed my job the most when I had to work with someone in trouble, but someone who was more than willing to get help and make a change for the better in life so they wouldn't be back in the situation that got usMP's involved in the first place.

So when I separated from the service and completed my Associates degree I had taken up a bachelors degree in Human Relations, a degree that would allow me to go further into the psychology and sociology fields. I began to see that this is was more interesting, and that would put me in a better position to work with others who are looking for help. Learning about how brains works, what makes up our brains, how we think and behave as humans, caught my attention and I realized this is what I want to do as a career.

Four years later and I have completed my bachelors in Human Relations, a degree that brought me to a new world, a world that even taught me what I'm all about. I learned so much about myself completing psychological tests the teachers would have us conduct, on top of learning so much about how we think as humans and why we make the choices we make in life. The whole time I was attending classes I was still working for the government in the security field, though it was for another agency It was what motivated me to work hard in school, because I knew this was my ticket out of the security career field.

Having accomplished an Associates and Bachelors degree was such a great feeling, the long hours of studying, writing papers and working hard on a thirty page thesis finally came to an end in December of 2008. Though what I didn't know and wasn't prepared for was an economic crisis that would cause hundreds of thousands of Americans to find themselves without a job. After graduating I thought I was set, I had my military experience, my bachelors degree and thought for sure I will be able to continue onward working for the government in the new career field I had chosen to go to school for. Though I soon realized this would not be the case, and finding a job now would be harder than ever.

After eight months of being out of school and having exhausted all of my GI BILL, I heard about the new Post 9/11 GI BILL. Hearing how much it could help veterans who have served after 9/11 I began to look into it and once the Veterans Affairs spoke about a time frame to apply I knew I had to act. I didn't waste time and I realized once again my country is looking to help me and other veterans out in a huge way and I wasn't about to pass up this incredible opportunity. I knew this was my opportunity to head back to school, only this time to begin my Master's degree in Counseling and continue on the path to a new career.

Today I'm preparing myself to once again be back in the classroom, though I have mixed thoughts, I am looking forward to being back in a great environment where I will be along side others who are also looking to specialize in the new career field I have chosen. Though I would have liked to have been working in my new career field by now, I know it'll take a bit more time to find that job as now so many Americans are also looking to find a job as well. Completing all the paper work for the new Post 9/11 GI BILL and now just waiting to begin receiving payments, I know this will be another great decision in my life and when the economy starts coming around for the better, jobs will open up and I will be in a better position than before.

One thing that will be different than the other degree programs I have taken, is that this time around I will have to do an internship, something I could have done with with my bachelors, but something I did not do. Not the best move on my part, but now I know if you plan on changing career fields, either an internship or volunteer work that pertains to the field your looking to change into will make your resume look more appealing to companies and you will even get college credit for this. Where as back then when a Bachelors was good enough, today a Bachelors with Experience is what many companies and agencies want to see on a resume.

So in about a week I will be back in the classroom, only this time working towards my Master's degree. Take it from me, when looking to come out of the military and make a career change, school is the only option. Also be sure to look into an internship or volunteer work as soon as possible; It'll help when building your new resume and help you stand out from others who might just have school, but no experience. In a time like this with a bad economy, it makes even more sense to get back in school and use the Post 9/11 GI BILL, it will only benefit you and give you more options if you should ever decide to switch career fields.

A special Thank You to all who have worked and are working so hard to give us this Post 9/11 GI BILL, I cannot Thank You enough for what you have given me.

- STEVE

Americans Looking to Help the Military Community

People have asked me, what can they do to help men and women of the Armed Forces? This is a question I have been getting more and more often ever since I started my website Transitioning Veteran. Like I have said before, people are reaching out more than ever for those who have served and those currently serving in the U.S. Military. Even in a bad economy where you would expect people to worry about their own lives, people are looking to volunteer to help America's military.

With all the information I found using the Internet, I decided to create a website to make a simple site to go to where links and information were organized in a way that can easily be accessible. In no time I realized, this isn't just beneficial for me, but this can help out a lot of other veterans. So that's when I decided to begin a group page on Facebook and today with the incredible support of over 500 Fans my website is gaining attention in a way I never thought it would. Focusing on how can I make this a better website for myself has now turned into how can I make this a better website for all veterans.

With the increase of interest from people all over in what I have set out to do with transitioning Veteran, in the past month, I have added to MY WIKI page links to help military spouses, children, retired military, homeless veterans, disabled veterans and veterans looking to become an entrepreneur. By connecting with so many organizations through Facebook who are also looking to help transitioning veterans, I plan on setting up a section to help them promote their cause.

With all the emails and messages I receive from supporters asking how they can help veterans, I came up with some ideas and now I will share them with you all.

Business Owners

It's a huge help when business owners can give discounts to Military members, past and present. Whatever the discount is, make it reasonable, many of these men and women are finding themselves without a job when they return home after being deployed. Unfortunately some companies are finding ways to layoff these soldiers, when they are suppose to hold onto a military member's job while they serve their country. Though there's rules in place to protect a soldier from losing his job, companies know there are ways to get around it. So giving a soldier a nice discount who may be unemployed could help them in a big way.

However, some people try to abuse a military discount who aren't even military, so for companies looking to give a military discount, ask the person for proof. Either ask for a military id, form DD-214 or ask to see their dog tags, since they will have the persons name engraved.

- Reach out to Veterans who are in school to help them with doing an Internship and for volunteer work. An Internship will help them build their resume with experience many agencies seek, but if the company can make it a paid Internship this will be even better, cause us Veterans are known for our discipline and hard work ethic under stressful conditions. This can really benefit your company as us veterans who served learn one of the most important aspects in accomplishing a goal, which is Team Work.

- Take a certain percent of your companies profits and donate it to one of hundreds of Legit non-profit organizations setup to support Veterans. Use the money to even make care packages and send it to an organization that can either send it out to the troops in the battlefield or even donate to local veterans in your area. Anything donated is so appreciated among the military community and what many don't know is how much it affects our morale, knowing people are thinking of us and supporting us.

- Sponsor the many events that take place to raise money for Veteran, such as The Soldiers Ride conducted by the Wounded Warrior Project or the USO that puts on shows for the troops in the war zones. There are many events that take place and your sponsorship can contribute to helping Veteran's in so many ways, from raising money to help the individual soldier to helping the soldiers' family.

Professionals in certain fields (Teachers)

Teachers for example, be aware that you may have a student or students in your class that might have a family member in the military who is deployed. Be a little more understanding, understand that having someone deployed in a war zone can be very difficult for a child of any age. If problems arise with a child that you know has someone deployed, take the time to first speak to them to find out the difficulties they may be going through while their family member is deployed. Educate yourself about how you may be able to help a student of yours going through difficult times. Here is just one of the many great links out there, here is a PDF file Working With Military Children for educators.

- Use your professional skills to talk with veterans; when we separate from the service we many times need some guidance. For example, when I separated from the service I realized I wanted to get into another career field, something different from the law enforcement I had done while in. I was very fortunate to meet so many great people when I returned that took the time to talk to me, telling me what they do with their job, what a normal day was like and how they got to where they were with their career. It gave me such a great start to figure out what to study in school and how to work towards achieving the career I decided to choose to go for.

America

To all Americans who ask what can they do to help Veterans

- WRITE LETTERS to the soldiers deployed, about anything positive. Talk about sports, talk about a vacation you took and would recommend, write about a show you saw on tv, talk about anything. Children through out the U.S. write letters to troops all the time, its incredible and we take those letters seriously and take every minute we need to to read everything the kids have to say to us. this gives us a chance to get our mind off where we're deployed too.

- Welcome soldiers back - When you see them in an air port, say "Hey welcome back". When people said that to me or gave me a smile while I was in uniform, it was a great feeling.

- Support the Soldiers Family - Lend a hand to a Soldiers family who may have a loved one deployed. Many spouses are left alone with or without kids while thier husband or wife is deployed. Findout if there is anything you can do for them, maybe pickup some groceries for them while they are busy raising a newborn who hasn't been introduced to their parent because he or she was deployed before the baby was born. Maybe help take care of their landscaping so the parent left behind can focus more on the kids. There is so much you can do to help a military family out while a parent is deployed, and just by offering help is all you need to do to give that person a little bit of comfort knowing their community cares about them and is thinking about them while their spouse is deployed.

- Just support us - You may not believe in the wars we get involved in, but support the soldier who fights those who wish to take our freedom away and hurt our people and who also fight for the freedom of citizens of other nations who are being ruled by the most ruthless groups who take every bit of freedom away from not only men and women, but from innocent children of that nation.

Many people feel they have to go above and beyond when trying to help a veteran, but really you don't. Us who served and currently serve appreciate even the slightest bit of support. Recieving a letter from anyone while I was deployed to Saudi Arabia put me in such a great mood, knowing someone took the time to write this letter to share a part of thier life with me . Getting a magazine through a package that was donated from people back home I never met gave me a chance to get my mind off of being in the 120 degree desert far away from home.

What you believe could put a smile on a veteran's face, probably will and you should just go and do it.

There are so many great organizations out there along with the government agencies, where you can get information on how you can help the military community.

I'm sure I can speak for the military community when I say "THANK YOU".

Jobs Posted on USAJOBS

Since I have been applying for positions to work for the government, especially for the Veterans Affairs and Dept. of the Air Force, it has come to my attention that when a job is posted on USAJOBS, it doesn't necessarily mean there is an opening at that location. This is something I had no clue about for quite sometime, but after a few contacts I made while waiting to hear back on my application, I learned that some job openings are posted to continuously accept applications.

Just recently I had applied for a position to work at McChord AFB in Washington in the Airman/Family Readiness Center. This job opening states that there are few vacancies at numerous locations on Air Force bases, however if you missed the section that states

************IMPORTANT INFORMATION CONCERNING STANDING REGISTERS************

THIS IS A STANDING REGISTER AND WILL BE USED TO FILL ANTICIPATED VACANCIES (PERMANENT, TERM AND TEMPORARY) AT VARIOUS LOCATIONS AS OPENINGS OCCUR.

Your application will only be reviewed and a notice sent when an actual fill request is received. Salary may vary depending on your experience, education, etc. Your resume will remain on file 90 days after the closing date for consideration.

You would have sent your resume out with high hopes just like myself, not realizing that there's actually no jobs at the moment and none planned in the near future. I found this out when I emailed someone at the Airman/Family Readiness center. I never knew these types of postings existed; I would hit the main points of the job posting such as the location, salary, duties, qualifications and how to apply. Many times I wouldn't even scroll down on the first page where you will see this paragraph in bold lettering.

However when you see any job posting advertising a position saying there are numerous vacancies open, you are led to believe that possibly you will find out within a few months about whether you will get an interview or not, because it sounds like you have a great shot with all the openings they mention. Usually the jobs you apply for will get back to you within a few months at the most, though many have gotten back to me within a couple of weeks after the last day to apply.

Another recent email I received by a person in the Human Resource department, at my local Veterans Affairs, sent me an email explaining about an Internship that was posted through the Veterans Affairs Internship program. Once again I wrote to the person in the email to find out how I could go about applying for the internship. That's when I found out there are no positions open. Here's the email I received from the person about the internship.

Steve, all recruitment for Intern programs at Northport is done through Human Resources and we are not currently recruiting for any Interns in any field. The programs we have here are HR, Budget and Biomedical Engineering. Unfortunately, while preceptor names are listed on that we site, that means an office may participate in the Intern program but it is not necessarily recruiting at this point in time because there are no current vacancies. A bachelor's degree qualifies an individual at the GS-5 or 7 grade levels and Intern vacancies being filled at those grades must be announced in USAJOBS. Intern positions can also be filled at the GS-9 level, which requires a masters degree in a related field or specialized experience in the field. If you are looking nationwide at USAJOBS and see no Intern vacancies, then no one is actively recruiting at this point. Most Intern slots are filled starting in June and so it is possible that all recruitment has closed for any remaining vacancies. Unfortunately, listing the fact that a program exists at a particular medical center does not mean there is a current vacancy. It sounds like that listing gave the impression that all those sites are hiring an Intern, and that is not necessarily the case at this point.

Yes, the listing I was looking at did give me the impression that there were openings, and in the end there was none. Though I learned from her email that if there are openings for an internship position they will be posted on USAJOBS.

In the end I figured the best thing to do, is constantly check USAJOBS, apply for all kinds of positions you believe you are eligible for even for the continuous recruitment ones, because you never know when there is an opening and something may open up down the road, but don't sit and wait. Also I now learned to email someone in the human Resources dept. of the facility you plan on applying for, to make sure there is an actual opening and whether or not your taking the right steps to applying for the position. These people are very helpful and have no problems writing you back for the most part as you saw what the person at my local VA sent me within a day.

Checkout my WIKI page below, which has some great links to information pertaining to employment and internships.

MY WIKI - Jobs / Internships

Severe Clear

Severe Clear is a movie made by a LT of the Marine Core, showing real footage of the beginning of the Iraq war in 2001. First Lieutenant Mike Scotti records the trials the members of the 1st. Battalion, 4th Marines and himself go through as they push forward for Baghdad in the beginning of the Iraq war. I was fortunate to hear about this film which was produced by SIRK Production and can now be viewed throughout many venues across the U.S.

I’m 1hour into the film and it really is what the producers say it is, a film depicting the chaos and emotions of war. It’s a film that isn’t edited to portray a political meaning, nor is it a film to portray just the bad side of war. It’s a film that is as real as it can get for a viewer who has never seen war, a film that hides nothing from the viewer as I see images of death, destruction, happiness, loneliness, fear, courage among others. Chaos can be seen and heard, when filming is done during the night, tracers can be seen and screams can be heard as LT. Scotti and his comrades run face to face with the enemy.

This is a film for those who don’t care to support the Veterans, those who volunteered and those who were drafted to go fight not only for the United States, but for the well being of other citizens of other countries that they owed nothing too. This is a film for the politicians who dare to vote to decrease spending on benefits for these soldiers, this is a film for the protesters who dare to interfere with a soldiers funeral and this is a film for those who aren’t thankful for the freedoms we have, because if it’s not directly affecting them, then why should they care.

As I watch this film, I flashback to that day when 9/11 took place, that day when I was doing my duties as an entry controller at Elmendorf AFB. I remember after working extra hours that morning and returning back to my squadron, my squad and myself were briefed about being prepared to possibly being sent to war. However that day never came for me and in 2003 I separated from the Air Force while the Marines and Army were on stop loss, a word I never heard of until that day.

Till this day I still get the feelings of leaving my friends behind, friends that became family to me who still serve and deploy to the war zone. I sometimes think that I should be there alongside these guys and when the news came that two of our men from my squadron were K.I.A during a deployment in Iraq, that’s when it hit me. I started thinking to myself I had made a mistake by leaving the military during the time of war. Though it was a great feeling to have completed my enlistment with the Air Force and ready to start college, there was nothing tougher then getting on that plane to back home knowing I was leaving my friends behind who may find themselves in the war zone in the coming months.

When I arrived back home everyone welcomed me with open arms and smiles, even from people who I had never met before. The questions though began immediately, wondering if there was a possibility I could be called back in and what would I do. Well there was no thought to the answer for that question, as I watched the news on the war alongside my father (who has been to war). I knew if that day came to go back in to fight, I would be more than ready to fight alongside my friends.

Severe Clear shows its viewers the real images and sounds of war, from graphic images to sounds of gunfire and explosions. The film may not be for everyone and I can understand, though I feel it’s my duty to watch films like Severe Clear, because how could I not, I was in when the war began and yet I wasn’t chosen to deploy with my friends.

WARNING: This film does have graphic images and profanity (cause it’s real footage of the war in Iraq)

SEVERE CLEAR trailer