"....Then what the hell are you doing here?"

I was asked this question of a member of our armed forces just yesterday. When i told him what i did while i was in the service, his mouth dropped open and he surveyed my surroundings at work. We were far away from the closest thing resembling the F-18 Super Hornet that i used to work on and the kind of money that i used to make.

He had a look on his face that was filled with his own ensuing fears of leaving the service. I suppose he thought the rudimentary and useless training that he had received as a special weapons operator would suffice in the "real world."

Ha!

Our military is too large (don't get me started) to give our soldiers, Marines, Airman, and sailors the kind of training that they need to actually perform their job. Not only that, but veterans who think that they can waltz into public jobs with experience alone will suffer deeply. Members of our service are lucky to find a job when they exit the military, let alone in the same field, not counting commissioned officers who are actually trained properly. (Some pilots that i've spoken with aren't even licensed to fly by the FAA, and they will suffer the same fate).

Case in point: Myself. When i was in the service as an aircraft mechanic, i was told that the Navy would do what it could to get me my certification in Powerplants and Airframes. But they did nothing. The letters that i wrote and the certification that i fought for came to naught. And only after months of trying did the FAA recognize that i was eligible to begin their extensive examination. When i told my command this, they did absolutely nothing to help me prepare and once more, i had to scrape and fight and scour to find the right people. Even then, it was a disaster!

So after 8 years of extensive work with turbine engines and aircraft fuel systems, i have nothing more to show for it than a few worthless certificates that are only good if you are in the service. I couldn't get hired on as a mechanic unless i went through two more years of school for something that i have already done for almost a decade. Note: I was also a Quality Assurance Representative, aircraft operator, and a Collateral Duty Inspector for the aircraft's engine itself.

In the end, 90% of our honored soldiers can not even keep their heads afloat in today's world and more than half try to re-enter the only thing that gives them solace: The empires military.

Sure, our empire thoroughly abuses the military by shoving it up every countries backsides, but shouldn't the people who give their lives without pause receive something that will help them to transition back to the life of an earning civilian? It is after all, not the fault of the service member that he/she is being used to create hatred for the empire around the world.