Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve loved the military and the image of strength, purpose and justice it inspires. I had a massive collection of little green army men and I would set up and reenact historical battles. I watched G.I. Joe all the time! My Dad was in the Marine Corps, so right out of high school, I marched down the recruitment office and signed up! It made my Dad proud and I never looked back. The transition from High School was extreme, but surprisingly easy to adjust to. I went from algebra and PE to combat training and PT. I learned so much about myself and gained tons of skills surrounding combat and leadership. I can survive under fire for weeks at a time with minimal support. I know how to ration my food and water to last me on extended patrols. Anybody who’s ever been through military training will know this one: I know how to clean something that is already clean.
A while back I returned home from my third deployment, my second term was coming to an end and I finally decided it’s time to take my life in another direction. I’ve got a wife and baby to support and I wanted to enter the civilian business world but I ruthlessly discouraged myself, thinking “What am I going to do with these skills?” I was a rifleman. How does that translate into corporate America? The answer is, it doesn’t – and that scared me. I was 26 years old and I had risen to the rank of Staff Sergeant in the Marine Corps., did I really have to start at the bottom rung again?
Absolutely not. Given, my combat and survival skills weren’t going to aid me in the white-collar battlefield. That said, what I have to do now is concentrate on my strengths. I’m a strong leader and I have loads of attributes that were beaten into me during my time of service that flawlessly translate into the civilian corporate world. Values like concise, efficient communication, strong leadership, and an enhanced sense of awareness in general. It’s very easy to become discouraged and want to procrastinate while looking for a job – especially in today’s job market – but I used the skills I picked up in my time of service to persevere to become successful and complete Operation: Get Hired.
I had dedication to my mission. This helped me push through when the scent went cold and the hunt seemed hopeless. I never gave up my search or faltered in my steps toward becoming a successful civilian, no matter how difficult the process. After I successfully got a job, I utilized this same value and never gave up a promising lead as a marketing manager. I am an unshakable, impervious marketing machine now thanks to some marketing seminars and the man I became through good old boot camp.
My sense of discipline is something I’ve been to lucky to always have. However my time in the military definitely enhanced it. This enhanced value helped me to stay on task and get things done in an efficient and timely matter. There were tons of distractions along the way. After a few days, cleaning the bathroom seemed preferable to job searching, but just like I was taught to – I kept with it. Just like combat or even PT, you just don’t stop going till it’s done because my squad (or in this case my family) are depending on me. Now that I’ve secured my objective and landed a job, this translates into the discipline of years of military drilling to follow my chain of command and lead an efficient work place.
All in all, I’m a bigger, better man because I served and that will always be a leg up on competition, whether my extensive experience in combat is important to the job or not. God bless our troops.
John Durfee is an Operation Freedom War veteran and a manager for Airsplat, the nation’s largest retailer of Airsoft Guns including Spring Airsoft Rifles.
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