Natosha Monroe

A potentially difficult and complex part of being a Reservist or National Guardsmen in the military is transitioning between the “military culture” and the “civilian culture.” For this group of Service Members, transitioning can be confusing and even frustrating as they move from the “military life” back to the “civilian life” and then back again. To complicate things, there are fewer clear pathways to assistance and accurate answers to questions about things such as medical or educational benefits. Some of us navigate these waters better than others, thanks to previous experience and the good fortune of having adequate, knowledgeable support personnel to turn to for assistance.

Political posturing? An actual intent to cease military paychecks? Empty threats? It doesn’t matter—it feels disrespectful any way it’s painted to me, a 2-time Veteran. I’m writing this as “Breaking News” is on regarding whether or not government officials will decide to basically spit in the face of myself and other Veterans and their Families or extend us the “favor” of giving us our earned paychecks. Today, I literally saw my April 15th paycheck cut in half—just imagine that feeling. I have friends actually in the line of fire overseas that saw the same thing. Talk about unnecessary stress upon our Troops and their Families. This goes much deeper than just the actual paycheck, folks.

This past weekend was the ACA Conference in New Orleans, so between Bourbon Street outings, hurricanes with friends at Pat O’Briens, and taking notes from Judith Beck I managed to squeeze in my first-ever conference presentation. My friend/classmate/fellow ACA member Otiz Porter and I co-presented our education session entitled, “It’s Not All Guns and PTSD: Military Culture and the Need for Therapeutic Connections.” We received great feedback from our attendees who seemed to appreciate our down-to-earth delivery and out-of-the-box approach to offering relevant information. We had so many people approach us afterward with compliments of our session and requests for copies of our materials (we ran out during the session) that I thought I would share the experience.

Even though I’d been a member for years, last year was the first time I attended an ACA conference. I had been so “busy” I hadn’t even thought about attending until my friend Brittne asked if I wanted to go with her to Pittsburgh. I’m so glad she asked, because going to that conference positively changed my perspective of my professional endeavors, increased my sense of involvement with ACA staff and fellow professionals, and gave me a weekend of enjoyable experiences. I learned a lot from my first experience at an ACA conference and here are some lessons I learned ranging from how to choose from the plethora of educational opportunities and activities to the all-so-important decision of what shoes to wear.

This week I attended a briefing at the Pentagon that drew so many attendees that the large auditorium was packed to the point of standing room only. The brief covered what we as Soldiers and Army Civilian employees should expect upon a repeal of what’s most commonly known as Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. As I sat and looked up at the PowerPoint slides projected onto the huge screens and listened to the words of the Lieutenant General giving the briefing, I couldn’t help but wonder if this step toward more equal rights for individuals in the military might lead to others outside the ranks as well in the United States.