Marketing Guide for Veterans

By Robert Kennedy

There are many opportunities open only to U.S. vets that you may not know about. As you're looking for career options why not explore all the options?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert Kennedy
• Release date: Jul 14, 2012

Robert Kennedy

Robert J. Kennedy teaches theology at St. Peter's College, is a psychotherapist in private practice, and conducts Zen retreats at various centers in the United States and Mexico. He is the author of Zen Spirit/Christian Spirit.

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MARKETING GUIDE

FOR VETERANS

BY

ROBERT KENNEDY

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

Marketing Guide for Veterans

By Robert Kennedy

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2012 Robert Kennedy

ISBN: 978-1-62298-030-7

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER ONE

We’ve all heard the expression, You have to walk a mile in another man’s shoes… and while that may seem very simplistic, it is the truth. When that man’s shoes are military issued, that mile is very long, indeed.

The military family is made up of many members; all of whom come from different walks of life. Each man and woman has his or her own set of unique qualities, skills, learning abilities, fitness, discipline, social standing, religious conviction and family circumstance that they bring to service. Their reasons for volunteering to serve are equally varied, as are their goals when they return to the private sector.

The military is very good at delegation and assignment. They know how to evaluate an individual and train them for maximized functionality. At the same time, each individual is at times called upon to substitute for one another, to support the weakest leak at their own expense and safety. This is the sort of selfless behavior that allows service people to work together for a common goal. They establish a camaraderie and inter-dependence that pulls them through the most dangerous challenges they encounter while in service.

It is this shared experience that is not understood outside the military family. Most people cannot relate to putting their life and family on hold for a prolonged period of time, leaving jobs and educations, leaving communities and friends—all in the name of defending their nation while putting their life in constant danger. There is no like example of this sacrifice in the day-to-day, Hollywood to Wall Street routine.

Thus, it is no small challenge to resurrect a normal life once military service ends. There is little or no transition of the camaraderie that follows you back to Dayton or Hill Valley to support you. Each man or woman must face that next level of challenges individually.

Even so, this is nothing new to the American soldier. Consider the wars that have been fought on American soil—the Civil War, for one. Not only did soldiers have to return home to the realization that their lives were forever altered, the South had little in the way of resources with which to rebuild. The incidence of permanent disability was very high and those flowers of the south, its women, had not kept the factories running or the crops growing in the fields.

During World Wars I & II, America had converted their manufacturing to war-time goods. Soldiers returned home to find jobs evaporated; food and other goods were being rationed. Governments were in turmoil and the dollars that had been dedicated to funding the war efforts were spent with little tax base to replenish the coffers. The country was in havoc.

Those who served in Viet Nam returned to something even worse. Anger and resentment by the American people twisted the horror of the jungle into an ongoing nightmare with accusations of baby-killer and murderer. For the first time in history, live reporting allowed the American people to sit calmly in their living rooms and be spectators of the carnage without understanding the futility of the soldiers’ positions and the demands upon their own morals and ethics. They did not, even remotely, walk in those other men’s shoes.

There is an expression that ghosts restricted rooms, hosting top-secret meetings in the halls of the Pentagon; acceptable loss. It suggests that to win a battle it is inevitable that some people will die; they will be known as heroes. It has been said that this is the sort of convenient phrase that absolves those who make the hard decisions from the guilt of knowing those decisions invite loss of life. Then comes another phrase; collateral damage. It means that the losses will not be restricted to fatalities, but will extend beyond the intended targets to include human injury, equipment, infrastructure, resources and even political ramifications. Bluntly put, they must ask themselves, Is this worth it? Does a successful outcome outweigh the calculated risks?

The mere fact that the American military asks this hard question separates this country from many others. We regard military lives as precious, and to sacrifice even one must guarantee that Americans, military or not, will live. American men and women join the military with the confidence that this will be a hard question; they must understand that they are precious. Thus, they take part in making those critical decisions by offering to be the difference between death and life, tyranny and freedom for those they leave at home. It is imperative that Americans never lose respect for this sacrifice, else all will be lost. We must keep our military strong by exercising extraordinary consideration of each life involved. We must protect against the collateral damage of apathy and disrespect for those who serve. This is crucial to national security.

What happens when that man or woman leaves the military