• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

US Military

  • Branches
    • Army
    • Navy
    • Air Force
    • Marine Corps
    • Coast Guard
    • National Guard
    • Air National Guard
    • Find A Recruiter
  • Find A Recruiter
  • Military Benefits
    • GI Bill
    • VA Loans
    • Military Scholarships
    • Military Friendly Colleges
    • Money
  • Jobs
    • Military Pay Chart
    • Veteran Jobs
    • Civilian Jobs
  • VA Loan Rates
  • Military News
    • Top News
    • Benefits
    • Careers
    • Education
    • Featured Columnists
      • Larry Fowler
      • Scott Ostrow
      • Kim Lengling
      • Dr. Sasha Toperich
      • Rick Stewart
  • USM Shop
  • GI Bill
  • VA Loans
  • Military Scholarships
  • Top Military-Friendly Colleges and Universities in America

‘Six-Month Window’ Critical For Transitioning Veterans

May 13, 2015 By admin

MAY 13, 2015, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. (NNS) – Six months. That’s the timeframe retired U.S. Marine Corps Master Sgt. Ken Cadena says injured veterans have to find meaningful employment following their discharge. The alternative, becoming dependent on government assistance, is a path that once traveled, “involves too many variables hindering your ability to turn back.”

Cadena bases that six-month period on his own experience as a wounded warrior and subsequent transition to a job at Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), where he works as an operations officer in the H-60 Multi-Mission Helicopters program office.

Cadena is one of several veterans who will share their transition experiences at the 2015 Wounded Warrior and Veteran Hiring and Support Conference May 19-20 in San Antonio, Texas. The conference will connect employers from DoD, federal agencies and the private sector with qualified wounded warriors and veterans. To learn more, visit www.HireAVet.navy.mil.

For Cadena, the end of that critical six-month window is when wounded warriors tend to reach their proverbial fork in the road, at which point they’ve found meaningful employment or potentially are headed down a spiral of depression that too often ends in suicide.

“They just want to isolate themselves, get away from people,” Cadena said. “After everything they have been through with their rehabilitation, both physically and socially, they are hesitant about what the future looks like for them and are very intimidated by the next step.”

A veteran of multiple combat deployments, Cadena continues to deal with pain from singed retinas and spinal injuries that require regular pain injections. On his days off, he undergoes cognitive maintenance training and physical therapy at the Veterans Administration Medical Center, in Washington, D.C.

“This is the life of a veteran with disabilities. There is no reprieve,” he said. “You just have to accept yourself, realize that you are okay, and decide you will not let this take over your life and beat you down.”

Cadena isn’t sure he would have taken “that next step” following his retirement had fate not intervened in the form of NAVAIR recruiter Nancy Starks who asked Cadena “Do you want a job?” when he walked past her booth at a 2012 veterans recruiting event at Brooks Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.

“I might need one eventually,” Cadena replied, and the two started talking.

Cadena was merely passing through the event on his way to another appointment and lacked the motivation he needed in finding a new career. Like many injured veterans, he bore “invisible scars” and feared he might fail in the civilian sector as he felt he had in the military.

“I was on the ropes of doing what everybody else was going to do, just going home and getting away from everything,” Cadena said. “You’re already depressed. You’re on medication. You already feel that you failed your military because you got hurt. The last thing you want to do is take another chance and maybe fail at something else.”

But Starks’ “kindness and perseverance were too overwhelming to ignore,” he said. “She was different from everyone else. She didn’t ask for a resume; she actually wanted to talk and hear your story. It’s a 99 percent chance I would not be where I am now were it not for her.”

It was precisely the push Cadena needed. Months later, he followed up with Starks and, once it was determined he met the requirements, was soon offered a position at Pax River.

“It wasn’t a given,” Cadena said, but Starks emphasized that NAVAIR would teach and work with him in his new job.

“It was the fact that I was given hope. I thought, ‘Hey, maybe I can do it,'” Cadena said.

But not all veterans receive that added push. Cadena said more needs to be done to ensure wounded veterans successfully make the transition from military to civilian life.

“You have to focus on the transition, where wounded warriors go from a position where they’re in charge and have a lot of responsibility to suddenly having nothing,” Cadena said.

While wounded warriors must be willing to help themselves, Cadena said employers must also be willing to work with veterans as they transition into civilian life.

“Patience is the key when it comes to these veterans,” he said. “I remember the first day coming [to Pax River], I was so terrified. I would look at the computer for the first time and I remember my hand shaking. I thought, ‘How am I going to do this?'”

Cadena credits his coworkers and supervisors at Pax River with helping him through the process and allowing him the time to adapt to his new career.

“It really is about loyalty and commitment to the vets. If you show a veteran that you are committed to his excellence and development, in return he will show devotion, gratitude and loyalty forever. That is the key to their transitional success,” Cadena said.

If he could give back anything to fellow wounded warriors, it would be to impress on them the importance of that initial six-month window.

“You’ve got to try. When everything tells you to give up and just go home and sleep, you can’t do that. You’ve got to get up on your feet and make it work for you,” he said.

Cadena is glad he took that path.

“When you are physically or mentally hurt, you lose the four most important aspects a human needs to function – self-esteem, self-confidence, self-respect, and lastly, self-motivation. I am forever grateful that the people of NAVAIR gave me that opportunity to prove to myself that I can succeed again, and that I can still make a difference in this world.”

Filed Under: daniel articles, Navy, Top News

[related_posts_by_tax format="thumbnails" limit_posts="100" image_size="sidebar-thumbnail" public_only="true" posts_per_page="6"]

Primary Sidebar

USMilitary.com Career Guide

Sign up to receive USMilitary.com email updates and to hear what's going on with all military branches!

Featured Columnists

Larry Fowler

Larry Fowler is the publisher of USMilitary.com Network one of America's premier privately owned

Autobiography Compares Living Faithfully With Navy SEAL Training (BUD/S).

Scott Ostrow

Lt Col (Dr.) Scott A. Ostrow retired from the Air Force in September 2005 and has been teaching

Must Read: The Truth About The ASVAB Test Prep From The Man Who Wrote The Book

Kim Lengling

Kim Lengling is a Air Force Veteran whose passion is to help support veterans and their

The Moving Wall: Women Who Paid The Ultimate Price For Their Country

Dr. Sasha Toperich

Dr. Sasha Toperich is the Senior Executive Vice President at Transatlantic Leadership

Sarraj’s Dangerous Dance With Power

Rick Stewart

Rick Stewart is a former United States Air Force Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE)

Announcing American Patriots Unsung Magazine

Nathan B. Nelson

Capt (ret) Nathan B. Nelson is the Director of Military Affairs for the 1st Congressional district

Three Critical Considerations for Every Veteran Prior to Leaving Active Duty

Laquan Daniels

Laquan Daniel is a military recruiting expert with over 17 years of specialized experience in the

Important News For Military Transitioning Veterans

Veteran Buzz

Hire Military Veterans

Which Companies Are Most Likely to Hire Military Veterans?

July 30, 2018 By Ben Ehinger

High-Paying Jobs for Military Veterans

5 High-Paying Jobs for Military Veterans

July 2, 2018 By Ben Ehinger

High Paying Jobs Not Requiring a Degree

June 28, 2018 By Ben Ehinger

Footer

  • Advertise With Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Write For US
  • Link to Us

Recent

  • A Few Benefits You May Not be Aware of As a Military Child
  • Experts Predict Artificial Intelligence Will Transform Warfare
  • Autobiography Compares Living Faithfully With Navy SEAL Training (BUD/S).
  • The Unraveled Pandemic Of Navy SEAL Posers
  • Apache Attack Helicopter Pilot: To Maintain a Watchful Eye, “Above the Best”

Search

© Copyright 2021 USMillitary
Web Design by Goebel Media Group


THIS IS A PRIVATE WEBSITE THAT IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE U.S. GOVERNMENT, U.S. ARMED FORCES, OR DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. U.S. GOVERNMENT AGENCIES HAVE NOT REVIEWED THIS INFORMATION. THIS SITE IS NOT CONNECTED WITH ANY GOVERNMENT AGENCY.

​Tips
Discounts
News

​

​

Join the USMilitary.com Newsletter Today!

By subscribing you agree to our terms & conditions

x