Lloyd Shisler
Staff Writer
Pierce College is a school that facilitates a lot of military vets. We owe our lives to the sacrifices that these people have made for the U.S. population. There are a lot of questions that come to mind when it comes to being a vet. Being prior Air Force myself, I know a civilian can only imagine what it’s like being a vet. I’m including dependents of course. If you have ever been a dependent of military personnel, I know you can relate to the kind of sacrifice that is made. Dependents sacrifice as well.
A question was asked about how vets felt when making the switch from active military to going to school. One thing you should understand about being active military is, you’re always on the go. From your everyday job, the saying goes, “Never expect a day off.” From your job, Commander calls, briefs, CBT’s, QTP’s, WBT’s, upgrade training, job training, rank training, volunteering, PT, extra duties and the list goes on. You can see how just with this little bit, military members are always on the go.
I asked a few vets what the transition was like for them from stars and stripes to raiders and why they chose to do college. Vet J. Braylock said, “Financial transition was difficult because I have six kids and a mortgage. Therefore it was very scary not knowing how everything financially was going to work out. I went from making $66,000 a year to almost nothing, but due to my disability and limitation, I had no other choice but to go back to school. School was a blessing from god and the knowledge was empowering.”
Vet Brian Joeseph said, “After being out of the military for over twenty years, there was not much transition. When work got slow, I needed to get more training and being unemployed, the vet benefits was still there even after all these years to help get me back into school.”
Vet Carmen Wesseling said, “Hectic, nervous, excited, motivated, I did not want to waste time to go to school so that’s why I started right away. One of the main reasons why I got out of active duty was, so I can go to school and pursue my career.”
There are many reasons why vets pursue their college education. In ways, some of these reasons are not so different from civilians and why civilians go to school. Many people who have never been affiliated with the military in anyway have a tough time trying to understand were vets come from. A lot of times when vets get out of the military, there is no more structure for them. Vets have to create their own structure for themselves. This transition can be very disorienting.
When a vet is out of the military, they don’t know what to do with themselves. Something like college is a “blessing” in disguise, a structural transition from the military to the civilian world. So when you see a vet, thank them for their service and sacrifice. We wouldn’t have freedom if it wasn’t for our troops.
