Transitioning Soldiers have options, available assistance programs

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — For transitioning Soldiers, the decision on their future careers can be complex, and having as much information as possible on the variety of available options helps set those Soldiers up for success, said Master Sgt. David Shono, the senior Reserve Component career counselor with Fort Leonard Wood’s Reserve Component Transition Office.

One of the options some transitioning Soldiers may have is to continue serving, part time, with the National Guard or Reserve, and Shono said there are a number of incentives that make this option advantageous for many. He said his goal, however, is to ensure Soldiers leave his office with enough information to make “an informed decision” on their future.

“The main goal is to make sure they have the information on the options they have coming from active duty,” Shono said.

Chris York works alongside Shono as a transition support counselor. After 12 years in the active-duty Army, he was involuntarily separated due to a force reduction, and he ended up transitioning into the Louisiana Army National Guard. York said he wants Soldiers to know “what they might be leaving on the table” if they make a decision without all of the information — all in an effort to make the transition to civilian life smoother.

“The opportunities that we can offer to those separating from the Army will still allow Soldiers to complete the plans and meet the goals that they’ve set,” York said. “No matter if the Soldier is planning to be a full-time student or go straight into the workforce, they can do it while maintaining their benefits status, gaining additional benefits, incentives or training, and without sacrificing the familiarity and support that they’ve had throughout their Army career.”

One Fort Leonard Wood Soldier, who transitioned from active duty to the Reserve Component, was Sgt. 1st Class James Yeakey, who now works as a liaison NCO for National Guard trainees on the installation — he was also recently named U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command’s fiscal year 2023 Army National Guard Liaison NCO of the Year.

Yeakey, from Quincy, Illinois, served on active duty from 2009 to 2012, before moving over to the Illinois National Guard.

At the time, Yeakey and his spouse were starting a family — he said they had a child as he was getting ready to transition from active duty.

“That was kind of my main motivator: medical benefits, making sure I still had my foot in the door,” he said of transitioning to the National Guard. “There were still parts of the military that I enjoyed.”

Yeakey eventually ended up working as a recruiter in the Illinois Army National Guard for 10 years, where he said he “learned everything there was to learn about enlistment options.”

He said if he could go back and do it again, he would’ve started looking at options “early and often.”

“I didn’t know much about the transition program, I just knew it was a requirement to clear post,” Yeakey said. “Knowing what I know now, at 12 months, I’d start looking at my options, because you don’t know what you don’t know. And then, between six months and four months out, that’s when I’m really trying to make a decision. Then, you’re not doing it last minute. It gives you a lot of time to really mull over these decisions, especially if you’re married, especially if you have kids. There’s going to be a lot of different factors.”

The Fort Leonard Wood Reserve Component Transition Office is located in Bldg. 470, Room 2112. Call 573.596.3061 for more information.

Whether or not a Soldier decides to continue serving in the Reserve or National Guard, one way they can get their foot in the door with a potential future employer is through the Army’s Career Skills Program.

The program, which started in 2013, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, provides transitioning Soldiers the opportunity to participate in employment-skills training, on-the-job training, pre-apprenticeships and internships — all while the service member retains their pay and allowances, according to the CSP website.

Dwight Wilson is the Human Resources Services Branch chief for Fort Leonard Wood’s Directorate of Human Resources, and he used the CSP a few years ago, when he was getting ready to retire from the Army after 23 years as a combat engineer.

“I did CSP from June to August of 2021, in the (DHR) in- and out-processing section,” Wilson said. “I was an operations sergeant for four years in the Army, and I thought, ‘I’m pretty good at this office stuff, so let’s see.’ They trained me on the different functions of HR. I was familiar with some of the systems from my time in the Army, but they dug a little bit deeper.”

Wilson said he chose to retire near Fort Leonard Wood — he’s originally from Virginia — because of the natural beauty of the area and the lower cost of living. When a General Schedule Army civilian job opened up in DHR, he applied and hasn’t looked back.

“I got my first GS job as human resources assistant in May 2022,” Wilson said, adding he wanted to be an Army civilian to continue to share his experience and knowledge with Soldiers. “They’re the future leaders — the future generals, sergeants major, who are going to be leading our children, grandchildren, into combat. It’s important to pass that knowledge to them, so they have it in their toolkits as they move forward in their careers.”

Wilson said the biggest benefit to CSP is the time element to the program — Soldiers are allowed to enroll for up to 180 days, which gives both the Soldier and their potential employer plenty of time to figure out if everything is a good fit.

“For those agencies that are able to hire you as soon as your time is up, you build that working relationship already with them and they know your work ethic already,” Wilson said. “And it gives the employer a better look at the employee as well.”

Another strength to CSP, Wilson said, is it is not confined to the local area.

“I had a Soldier — he did the entire six months in Wisconsin, at a cheese factory, and they offered him a job,” Wilson said. “When he came back and got out, he went back to Wisconsin, worked at that factory.”

Wilson advised Soldiers interested in the CSP not to wait.

“If you know you want to do it, don’t procrastinate; take full advantage of it,” he said. “It helps prepare you for that transition. Some of the Army lingo doesn’t translate to the civilian world. It takes time, and CSP helps give you that time.”

If a Soldier does not find what they are looking for in the CSP, the Department of Defense also offers a similar program called SkillBridge. More information on both programs — and other options for transitioning Soldiers — is available through Fort Leonard Wood’s Transition Assistance Program, located in Bldg. 470. Call 573.596.0719 for details.