Charting Your Own Map (Episode 223)

<p>Today’s episode is an interview Charlie gave to the founder of Record the Journey, a non-profit that provides outdoor adventures and photography training to military veterans and their families to make the process of transition easier. Charlie wanted to share this interview to bring light to challenges transitioning veterans face and to amplify Rachael’s great work. </p><p> </p><p>Key Takeaways:</p><p>[1:50] - Charlie talks about his history with military service, and how he juggled active duty and working towards his PhD at the same time. </p><p>[5:48] - He came back healthy - both mentally and physically, which made the transition back to civilian life a little easier. </p><p>[8:02] - Charlie’s experience transitioning back to grad school actually shed light on his own mission. The operating system he was using in the military wasn’t going to help him build his career and life here. It is a different skill set than responding to missions from his commanders and leaders. </p><p>[11:30] - Charlie talks about some of the differences between military and civilian life, specifically community and routine. The focus was more single-minded when Charlie was deployed, and coming home, there are a lot of different things to worry about and make time for.</p><p>[15:57] - One of the difficult things about making the transition is that how you orient fundamentally to other people changes. One of the main goals of Record the Journey is to share the stories of successful transition with other military members.</p><p>[17:10] - One of the adjustments Rachael is making is getting comfortable with the label of being a creative or being an artist. For her, the tension was between being creative and being in active duty, and for Charlie, the tension was actually between being academic and being in active duty. </p><p>[21:20] - One of the strengths the military brings into the civilian community is the “can-doisms.” As veterans transition back to the workforce, the focus is more on whether they can or can’t get the job done. This