After the DD-214
A Practical Guide for Veterans Leaving Military Service and Building Life in the Civilian World
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About this book
The military prepares you to function inside the military. It does not prepare you for what comes after. That preparation happens in civilian life, and this guide is where it starts: money, benefits, work, community, and the identity question nobody hands you an answer to.
Written veteran to veteran, it follows Owen, a former Army medic, through his first years out, and teaches the rules as they stand today.
Inside this book
- 1The System You're Leaving (And What It Did to Your Brain)
- 2The Money Math Nobody Does for You
- 3Your VA Benefits Are Your Foundation, Not Your Safety Net
- 4The Resume Wall and How to Climb It
- 5Civilian Workplace Culture Is Not a Lower Standard
- 6Building Community from Scratch
- 7The Identity Question (And Why You Have to Answer It)
- 8The Long Game (Year One, Year Three, Year Five)
The book comes with a free field guide, Your First Year After the DD-214, a short step-by-step companion. It is a free download, no signup.
Pairs with
Free guides and worksheets need no signup and no book. Books and workbooks are coming soon.
Free guideFiling as You Leave Service
Free guideYour First Year After the DD-214
Free worksheetBuddy Statement Pack
Free worksheetFive Ten Twenty
Free worksheetThe Reason Underneath
Free worksheetTwo Boards
Free worksheetTwo Week Record
Free worksheetVA Math Worksheet
Free worksheetWhere You Were
Free worksheetWhich Door
Free worksheetWork History Record
J. Erickson
Author, educator, former veteran service officer.
J. Erickson is a service-disabled Air Force veteran. He served as a military firefighter and as a veteran service officer, where he spent years walking veterans through the same claims process he writes about now. He holds an MBA and writes plain-language guides for veterans who want to understand the system without a translator.
Read more about the author