Marines REBOOT! their lives

Photo By Sgt. Ned Johnson | Members with National Transition Veterans Services Inc., visited Wounded Warrior Battalion West and talk about REBOOT!, a three-week transitioning course to the Marines and sailors of the battalion, April 28. The program is designed to help Marines cope with the day-to-day situations often associated with transitioning from a military to civilian status and locate the necessary tools to find and maintain a job.  

CAMP PENDLETON, CA, UNITED STATES

04.28.2011

Story by Cpl. Eugenio Montanez 

1st Marine Division

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – Members with National Transition Veterans Services Inc., visited Wounded Warrior Battalion West, and offered their services to the Marines and sailors of the battalion, April 28.

During the visit, NTVSI representatives spoke about REBOOT!, a three-week transitioning program they developed to prepare service members for the transition to civilian life.

The program is designed to help Marines cope with the day-to-day situations often associated with transitioning from a military to civilian status, and locate the necessary tools to find and maintain a job.

During the course, Marines interact with their instructors in discussions and exercises to identify and hone their skills, and create a plan for when the transition is complete.

"In all the other transition programs available to Marines, you can't learn what you learn here," said Obom Bowen, a facilitator with NVTSI and a retired Marine staff sergeant. "A day or a week isn't enough time to transition. You need time to learn who you are, where you come from, and what you want to do and how to do it."

Former Navy and Marine Corps service members created NTVSI and all class instructors are former or retired military.

"Being a Marine helps me understand and relate to the position in which Marines find themselves in,” said Bowen, from Brooklyn, N.Y. “I can then better help them get to where they need to be.”

Now Marines and sailors have the opportunity to receive more assistance from former Marines like Bowen, who are assigned to offices located near Marine Corps bases.

"It helped us a lot to have an instructor who knows what we were going through," said Lance Cpl. Casey Nowlin, a machine gunner with Baker Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment. "We didn't have to struggle trying to explain something they don't know, because they knew exactly what we meant."

The program also helps all military members who still have ties to their service, whether they are active duty, reserve or retired.

"As a civilian, there is a program to convert you into a Marine, which is boot camp, but there wasn't a program to transition you back into civilian life, and now there is. This is your boot camp to switch back,” Bowen said.

Like all boot camps, this one instructs the service members how to set a goal and the course of action to accomplishing it, Bowen added.

"The course helped me better visualize and set specific goals to adjust my mindset toward the future, instead of the present," said Nowlin, from Tucson, Ariz. "I think it helps out a lot for infantry Marines, because in my case, I don't have all the typical job skills.”

With former service members willing to help Division Marines, they can now look forward to having a smoother transition back to civilian life.

• Date Taken: 04.28.2011
• Date Posted: 05.05.2011 13:17
• Story ID: 69900
• Location: CAMP PENDLETON, CA, US