Every year more than 200,000 US service members leave the military and begin the process of transitioning to the civilian world. No matter how much you loved your time in service, the initial rush of freedom is electrifying. No more long training days, combat deployments and dress right dress. The future is bright and the opportunities are endless. As you run through all of your options, anxiety sets in because you realize that you are heading into un-charted territory without a map or a compass. That’s where Louis Fernandez and his book Conus Battle Drills comes into play.

After deploying to Afghanistan as an infantry officer and Iraq as an intelligence officer, Louis made the difficult decision to leave the Army. Like myself, at times Louis struggled with his transition. He had difficulty integrating back into society and adjusting to a new work environment.  He missed the camaraderie and purpose the military gave him. He made mistakes and learned valuable lessons along the way. For the benefit of every transitioning veteran, he recorded his journey in Conus Battle Drills: A Guide for Combat Veterans to Corporate Life, Parenthood, and Caging the Beast Inside.

Throughout the book, Louis effortlessly transitions back and forth from his time in Afghanistan and Iraq to the present day. He uses his military experiences to frame the lessons he learned during his transition. In addition to these illustrations, Louis also provides a workbook and exercises to help you create a personal roadmap for your transition.

I could never fully appreciate how one event could change the trajectory of your life until I was 27 years old and a single bullet taught me this lesson. On September 25th, 2011 my Special Forces team, better known as the Green Berets and our counter parts, the elite Afghan Commandos, were engaged in an intense firefight with hardened Taliban fighters in the mountains of northwest AFG. In the 10th hour of the firefight, while going around the corner of a building, it felt as if I had been hit in the stomach with a sledge hammer. While I was suspended in mid air, I thought to my self, “I think I have just been shot” as my body slammed off the ground, I realized that I had indeed been shot. The pain was so great I had to summon what little energy I had left just to remain conscious. I crawled back to my radio and called my teammates to let them know that I had been shot. While they desperately maneuvered under heavy fire to my position, I began trying to medically treat myself, but there was nothing I could do. Minutes felt like years while the pain pulsated through my body and I lay exposed to enemy fire. I called my teammates again to let them know how dire the situation was, but they were pinned down by heavy volumes of fire.… Read More New England Center and Home for Veterans Speech

“My Fellow Americans, Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You, Ask What You Can Do For Your Country.” President John F. Kennedy

“Thank you for your service.” These are usually the words I hear once someone learns I served in the US Army. While I am grateful that the majority of our country appreciates the sacrifice of military service members, this statement always makes me wonder if we appreciate the service and sacrifice to our country of those outside of the US military.

My wife is a Registered Nurse and for the past three years has chosen to work at a women’s homeless shelter. Not because the pay is great, but because the women need her. After family members, friends and society have given up on these women, my wife stands ready to help them.

After graduating from a Top-25 law school, my younger brother turned down six-figure salaries at the nation’s top law firms to become an assistant-district attorney. He routinely works 80+ hours a week to ensure the law is upheld.   If there is a murder or a child-pornography case, he has to examine every piece of evidence and interview each person involved. After experiencing the horrors of war, I know that these are things that you cannot un-see and will stay with you the rest of your life.

Two of my best friends are high school math teachers. When I think about it, I would much rather be back in Afghanistan,

My excitement was palpable as I hobbled from my car to the 1st Special Forces Group Rehabilitation Center. My clunky full leg brace squeaked with each awkward step. After spending the last two months on crutches to allow my fractured hip to heal, I was finally cleared to put pressure on my left leg. Nothing could dampen my spirits on this day, not even the gloomy November overcast that is endemic to the Pacific Northwest.

I quickly downloaded my gear, took off my leg brace, popped in my headphones and mentally prepared myself to have the most intense workout of my life. When I took the first step without my leg brace, my body crumpled to the floor. The nerve damage I had sustained from the gunshot wound to my abdomen two months prior caused my quadriceps muscles to wither away, leaving my leg just barely bigger than my arm. Sprawled out on the floor, I took a few deep breaths and asked myself “how badly do you want this…how badly do you want to walk again?”

Over the course of the following two years, it was not uncommon for me to fall while working out or simply walking down the aisle at the grocery store. Every time I fell, I was embarrassed and had to ask myself, “how bad do you want this?” This process occurred a thousand times. However, each time that I picked myself up, my resolve to heal was greater. The process of literally having to pick myself up off the ground served as great practice for my transition from the military to the civilian world.