Adrian H.

Not everyone who leaves the Military does so by choice…

When peak physical fitness is required to do your job, an injury or health change can bench a lifetime of work and dreams. Adrian, a US Marine rifleman, learned this the hard way when he was medically discharged in 2018. There is no way to prepare for this shock, but connecting with other Veterans who can relate and offer encouragement, is a good start.  

Adrian enlisted in the Marines after high school and planned to devote his life to serving his country. For several years he perfected his skills on the battlefields in the War on Terror.  But after his medical discharge and separation, he found that many of his skills did not transfer to the civilian workforce. For almost four years he searched for “a new career that fit me well.”

“I was lost in my job search until I connected with SSV, if it were not for them, I would still be kicking rocks, frustrated about being underemployed.” - Adrian

Still Serving Veterans’ Career Counselors are all Veterans who know where you are coming from. We know that less than one percent of all American men & women are currently serving in our all-volunteer Military. This very small group of Americans faces a unique set of problems when transitioning to a civilian career, and only a small fraction of these Service Members face the challenge of navigating the Medical Board process. SSV’s counselors understand, with almost one in every five of our current Transitioning Service Member clients pending medical boards.

When a Military Member leaves the Service due to medical reasons, it is often unplanned and unexpected. They must go through the lengthy Disability Evaluation System (DES) process which includes medical and physical evaluation boards, transition assistance, and a VA disability benefits phase. This can be a very stressful time for Service Members. Their Military career has been abruptly halted, the time it takes to separate is out of their control, and sometimes they have very limited support. The whole DES process can take up to an entire year, during which time the service member is often stuck in limbo, not knowing when they will be out of the military and able to start a civilian job. This is challenging to say the least.

When Adrian came to SSV he felt lost, having unsuccessfully searched for years for a rewarding career. He didn’t know what options were available to him professionally or how to effectively network and translate the skills he acquired from his time in the Marines. He had worked hard as a Rifleman, but these skills were hard to apply to the in-demand civilian job requirements. Adrian worked with several members of the career team at SSV but found a special connection with Steve, a fellow medically discharged service member. 

“Steve has been there for me every step of the way on this journey to finding a fulfilling career. He helped me narrow down my choices and find out what I value most in a career. He helped me rewrite my resume and showed me the key things employers look for when hiring. He then connected me with a ton of different contacts that have assisted to their best ability in helping me find a job.”

Having a mentor that had been through the same struggles really helped Adrian see that he could overcome the obstacles he was facing.  He took the tools and counseling he received and used them to land the job that he wanted, and start to build a new future.

“I am currently working as an account executive for a software company based in Denver. I have a lot of control over the work that I do, and the work-life balance has been great so far. I see myself using this position as a stepping-stone into bigger and better future roles as well.” - Adrian

#VeteransHelpingVeterans

Still Serving Veterans' primary mission is to offer no-cost career and transition counseling services that help Veterans build rewarding careers and meaningful lives. This is done by meeting the Veteran where they are on their journey. It’s easy to connect with the Counselors because they are also Veterans themselves and know the challenges of transitioning into the civilian world.