Increases in the number of enlisted veterans transitioning from active duty to the civilian world have drawn attention to a need for research in terms of unemployment to examine how separated service members experience transition from their perspective. Fifteen separated enlisted veterans from four of the five military branches were selected and interviewed in this study. The focus was to understand better the complexities of reintegrating into the civilian workforce, as experienced by veterans from the enlisted military population. By using qualitative methodologies including exploratory interviews and a focus group, the findings revealed four major themes on how service members described their transition experience: (a) perception that military leadership does not provide adequate support when transitioning and the need to become more self-directed in one’s own learning; (b) belief that the military TAP class is helpful but needs major changes to truly be effective; (c) description of a battle buddy or a family member as a positive influence in helping with the transition process; and (d) experiencing significant challenges with civilian employers when transitioning out of the military. An analysis of the findings led the researcher to conclude that transitioning veterans must become self-directed in their learning in order to transition successfully. Moreover, because they are at varying levels of being self-directed when they transition, additional guidance is needed from military leadership, family, and other veterans for the purpose of their development. The analysis also yielded a principal recommendation for military leadership to advocate for quality training programs that are specified from the separated enlisted population for what resources they need to assist with transition to the civilian sector. Additional recommendations were presented to transitioning service members on the importance of managing their own success and believing in their abilities to be resilient, valuable members of the civilian community.

Business managers lack knowledge and understanding of the transferability of Army veterans' individual work performance (IWP) in the private sector, which results in organizations' failure to hire Army veterans who possess strong IWPs. The purpose of this nonexperimental, cross-sectional study was to compare Army veterans' and nonveterans' transferable IWP as defined by task performance (TP), contextual performance (CP), and counter-productive work behavior (CWB). The IWP framework provided the theoretical foundation for this study. The research question examined how veterans' IWPs compared to those of nonveterans. The sample frame included U.S. Army civilian veterans and nonveterans at a large military installation in the United States. Data were collected from the IWP questionnaire with 210 participants (105 veterans and 105 nonveterans). Independent-sample t tests were used to analyze the data based on an alpha of 0.05 and a medium effect size of 0.50. Rejection of null hypotheses provided evidence to indicate differences between veterans' and nonveterans' TP, CP, CWB, and the composite index of IWP. Veterans measured higher compared to nonveterans for all hypotheses tested. The results of the study have several implications for positive social change. Business managers, veterans, and society benefit by improving understanding of veterans' transferable IWPs. Results of this study could lead to an improvement in perceptions of veterans as possessing positive and sought-after work attributes and with a competitive advantage in the workplace, leading to lower unemployment of veterans and higher productivity of companies that hire veterans.

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