No description available.

No description available.

Closing England Air Force Base (AFB) emerged as a possibility following the first Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round in 1988. The central Louisiana community responded with a dual strategy: defense, implemented by a highly visible group of mostly elected officials who fought to save the base; and offense, implemented by a small group of professionals working in the background to develop a contingency plan. Together, they managed both sides of the change equation, political and technical, and produced a military to civilian conversion. This thesis focuses on policy issues of base closure and ingredients for success and failure among communities affected by such disruption. The main research question is: Was the military to civilian conversion of England AFB successful; and if so, how and why? In answering this question, hopefully, the work also illuminates how success is defined and identifies some of the strategies adopted to produce a successful conversion.

A task force commissioned by President Obama overhauled the U.S. Military Transitioning Program (MTP) in 2012-2013. U.S. veterans have continued to struggle with military transitions following the MTP restructuring. The purpose of this phenomenological inquiry was to explore the critical success factors of the MTP after the redesign based on perceptions of 20 military officers intending to transition to the civilian sector in the National Capital Region. The problem studied was that there was no indication that the redesigned MTP was effective in helping officers transition to the civilian workforce. The study included 3 research questions and semistructured interviews were the primary means to collect data. Schlossberg's 4S transition theory, identity theory, and work-role transition theory comprised the conceptual framework. Data analysis included content analysis and the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen Method. The findings in this study emphasized the importance of several critical success factors of the redesigned MTP: its focus on transition preparedness, its practical applications, individual counseling, and the knowledge and education obtained while attending the MTP. Senior leaders responsible for the MTP can benefit from this study by understanding the challenges the participants encountered while attending the MTP. Implications for social change include informing U.S. government leaders of the MTP of the need for continued improvements to MTP processes, services, and programs to aid transitioning veterans seeking civilian employment.

A task force commissioned by President Obama overhauled the U.S. Military Transitioning Program (MTP) in 2012-2013. U.S. veterans have continued to struggle with military transitions following the MTP restructuring. The purpose of this phenomenological inquiry was to explore the critical success factors of the MTP after the redesign based on perceptions of 20 military officers intending to transition to the civilian sector in the National Capital Region. The problem studied was that there was no indication that the redesigned MTP was effective in helping officers transition to the civilian workforce. The study included 3 research questions and semistructured interviews were the primary means to collect data. Schlossberg's 4S transition theory, identity theory, and work-role transition theory comprised the conceptual framework. Data analysis included content analysis and the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen Method. The findings in this study emphasized the importance of several critical success factors of the redesigned MTP: its focus on transition preparedness, its practical applications, individual counseling, and the knowledge and education obtained while attending the MTP. Senior leaders responsible for the MTP can benefit from this study by understanding the challenges the participants encountered while attending the MTP. Implications for social change include informing U.S. government leaders of the MTP of the need for continued improvements to MTP processes, services, and programs to aid transitioning veterans seeking civilian employment.