(VIRGINIA BEACH – By David Todd, The Flagship Managing Editor) National Veteran Transition Services, Inc. (NVTSI), a non-profit organization who developed the no-cost 15-day, three-week REBOOT transition workshops, graduated 10 individuals from its first East Coast class at Tidewater Community College (TCC) campus in Virginia Beach, May 24.
The workshop included active duty service members from commands in Hampton Roads, and those recently retired from service. Two additional workshops are planned for July and October.
“The response from this first class has been phenomenal,” said Maurice D. Wilson, former Navy master chief and now president and executive director for NVTSI and the REBOOT Workshops, noting that he believes there is definitely a need for the workshops in Hampton Roads with the large population of military and retirees in the area.
“The class is something that TCC would have loved to have developed,” said Dr. Bruce Brunson, executive director for the Center for Military and Veterans Education at TCC, who is helping to host the first three workshops at the college. “It fits right with what most of my staff would have designed and how they would have designed it.”
The REBOOT Workshops were designed specifically for military service members who are retired or in the process of transitioning from the military to a civilian life. The workshops discuss a wide range of topics, including employment, resume building, dressing for success, education, adjusting to new social environments, living arrangements, among others, which can leave some service members and their families in an unfamiliar situation. The workshops are also open to military spouses.
“The response from this first class has been phenomenal,” said Wilson. “We’re not trying to duplicate anything that anybody is doing – we’re just looking at filling that gap. One of the things that was not being done by anybody is the whole reverse boot camp [concept], which is not about reversing a job – getting a job is not a reverse boot camp – it’s about changing a person on a subconscious level so they can go from the military mindset to the civilian world and begin to fill in gaps themselves.”
Although each of the attendees progress at different rates throughout the course, Wilson said he has seen individual change as early as day one, but most see a significant change by third day. On day two, individuals are given a rubber wristband and are asked to practice removing negative thoughts from their vocabulary. If they have a negative thought, they are told to snap the wristband. In essence, if they aren’t thinking negative, they become a positive individual, which creates a new energy source inside them.
“This course, from day one, focuses on what your mentality is and what your attitude is … your drive, your behavior, and really, what you do,” said REBOOT graduate Senior Chief Information Systems Technician John Hand, from Navy Cyber Defense Operations Command (NCDOC). “Transition is a scary time for a lot of people. You are so used to doing stuff and this course really takes a more holistic approach.”
“It’s an invaluable course,” said REBOOT graduate Chief Hospital Corpsman Jose A. Nicola, an independent corpsman for Seal Team 8. “It’s a course that everybody needs to go to. I didn’t know what to expect from the beginning, but after the first week of being in the class, it was a clear picture of what it was going to offer.”
Wilson hopes that he will be able to continue to offer the REBOOT Workshops in Hampton Roads after this initial trial. He also feels that there is a need for workshops such as these across the country.
“The number of veterans in America today is about 23.4 million veterans,” said Wilson. “My vision is for REBOOT to be offered to all of them.”
NVTSI is a San Diego-based 501 (c)(3) organization dedicated to assisting veterans in adjusting to civilian life and securing meaningful employment by combining evidence-based best-practice performance techniques.
The organization was established by a group of retired Navy and Marine Corps officers and workforce development professionals seeking to fill the tremendous gap in the continuum of veteran services.
Costs associated with providing the workshops are paid by contributions from local and national corporations, ensuring no cost to the service member or the U.S. government.
To register for upcoming classes or to learn more about the REBOOT Workshops, visit www.nvtsi.org.
Info box:
upcoming classes
July 15 (TCC Virginia Beach Campus)
October (TBD – TCC Suffolk Campus)
Visit www.nvtsi.org for more details