Podcast: Download
Our guests today are Dr. Paul Blumsack and retired USMC Major John Forrest.
We’re discussing some important factors relative to Re-Entering Civilian Life after transitioning out of active military duty.
Dr. Paul Blumsack is originally from Boston, Massachusetts and a veteran of the United States Air Force. He has been married to his high school sweetheart, Paula, for the past 28 years and together they have raised 5 healthy, medication free children. Dr. Blumsack graduated from Life College of Chiropractic in 1994.
Dr. Blumsack has developed a unique approach to care that has been simple and effective in helping get sick people well, improve their overall quality of life and then help them stay well. He is committed to helping his community Live Better and Live Longer through specific scientific chiropractic care. Paul is also dedicated to helping his fellow military veterans regain their health, reduce stress and reintegrate back into society. He is a strong proponent and promoter of the ICA Cares Program offering free chiropratic care to Iraq and Afganistan military veterans.
John Forrest retired from the United States Marine Corps as a Major after serving over 20 years in active and reserve duty. He served in Southwestern Asia for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and was mobilized and deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. In 1986, John enlisted in the Marines and graduated from Recruit Training, aka Boot Camp, advancing to the School of Infantry, then serving his reserve unit until accepting a commision as a Marine Corps officer in 1989. John’s military career included a wide range of responsibilites in command and staff positions and is distinguished by many commendations and awards including the Bronze Star.
Currently, John heads up the Forrest Consulting Group and an Aflac practice while, in his spare time, he is pursuing a masters degree at the Keller Graduate School of Management in Atlanta, Georgia.
2 comments on “Re-Entering Civilian Life”
Great article! I’ve been told 1st hand by many vets returning from Iraq, that they’ve felt a bit “disconnected”, mainly due to the culture changing so fast due to technology and social media.
They have ALL told me the same thing: “I wish we could have had a 30-day decompression (cooling off) period to get re-socialized back into society”. And look at what happens now: CULTURE SHOCK when they return, in their HOME COUNTRY. We can simply add a 30-day “Transitional Phase”, where we proactively counsel just to probe for signs of PSTD that may be repressed, and provide real-world hands-on training so they are up to speed on ALL social media platforms, including LinkedIn for career goals, which BTW, is how people get jobs now days, and it’s so new, many of them may not even know what it is, much less, how to setup a profile properly, and get “endorsed” by their peers.
There are books they can read, even on audio, such as “The Shallows”,http://www.theshallowsbook.com/nicholascarr/Nicholas_Carrs_The_Shallows.html. And we could even utilize high-school programs, and let kids, who, face it, are smarter than us when it comes to technology, train these vets on the latest tricks. We can work with the Humane Society, and utilize some of the dogs they must put down by pairing them up with vets, and let them train them to become therapy dogs for kids going through cancer treatment, like at Children’s Hospital. In doing so, some of the vets facing PSTD can actually heal themselves in the process.
There are many things we can do without going to a great deal of effort that true “win-win” partnerships.
Cheers!
Tommy