Transitioning out of the military is not just a job change, it’s a shift in identity.
For many new Veterans, this identity change on top of all the challenging logistics of leaving active duty can be overwhelming. Unfortunately, for far too many Veterans, that overwhelm can have devastating consequences.
But – what if there was someone there to help lead these Veterans out onto the other side? To reduce the overwhelm and provide a playbook for successfully integrating into the civilian world?
Onward Ops was created to do just that.
Onward Ops Mission
Onward Ops mission is to empower every transitioning service member with the support and information needed to achieve success as Veterans.
“When we started this organization, our theory was that there are problems with transition that are not addressed by the existing system,” said Brig. Gen. (ret) Mike Eastman, Executive Director for Onward Ops. “When you peel the onion back on transitioning, you never stop peeling. As you dig deeper, you realize how many layers there are to these issues.”
Through their research, Onward Ops discovered that the risk of someone committing suicide was 3x higher in the first 12 months after leaving the military versus any other time of their life.
Gaps in the Veteran Transition System
Unfortunately, the Certificate of Release from active-duty, referred to as the DD-214, takes almost three months to populate in state Veteran Affairs systems. That means these men and women are separating or retiring, moving to a new location, and there is no one tracking that data.
Through good stewardship and community, Onward Ops has developed a technology system to share Veteran information and arrivals with destination communities and line those individuals up with a local support system immediately following separation.
With Onward Ops, Veterans can get support up to a year before leaving active service.
Becoming a National Presence
“After 13 academic reviews of the system Onward Ops has created, we feel validated that what we are doing is working,” said Eastman. “I joined this team to help take this organization from the local level and broaden it nationally, and now we are in over 16 states with new Veterans moving to all 50 states while having a volunteer sponsor help them along the way.”
“We’re on track to get to 100,000 Veterans a year by 2026, which represents about half of the folks separating from military service,” said Eastman. “We have the glide path we want to be on, creating new programs like employment and disability tools, making sure our Veterans have every possible resource they can to make transition easier than it has been in the past.”
Eastman described the challenges they have faced as an organization. He wants to occupy a space that is currently empty and help bridge the gap between the Department of Defense and the VA, and between Federal and Local entities.
“With more than 45,000 Veteran Service Organizations nationally, there are a lot of good people out there trying to do good things. We’re trying to get information out early, be proactive, and be collaborative with other nonprofits.”
Join or Support Onward Ops Programs
If you are separating from any branch of service, you can sign-up for free assistance through Onward Ops at onwardops.org. You can choose to have a solo account in which Onward Ops provides you tools and resources, or you can choose to join with a group or sponsor.
If you’re not a Veteran but would like to be a part of Onward Ops, there is a place for you! Anyone who feels called to help our service members and Veterans can volunteer as a sponsor. Although financial donations are helpful, just one 10-minute phone call a month can make a more impactful difference in the life of a new Veteran.
You can sign-up to be a sponsor on the Onward Ops website and choose self-paced online training modules, or a live virtual session.
To learn more about Onward Ops and their incredible military transition support mission, check out this 2-minute explanation video or find them on Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn.
