| Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences veterans have had when transitioning from the military workforce to the civilian workforce; and to identify what has influenced the various stages of their transition.;Methods: This qualitative research design based in phenomenological theory utilized semi-structured interviews relating to the participant's occupational history in the military, experiences when transitioning and current employment endeavors. Five participants met the inclusion criteria: veterans from either Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom who had transitioned or attempted to transition from the military into the civilian workforce, 18 years of age or older, either male or female, and must have been deployed at least once in order to participate in the study. Data was analyzed using thematic coding and the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework-3 and Transition Theory to develop codes.;Results: After the codes were analyzed, six themes were discovered that were meaningful in the majority of the interviews. These consist of: values, military culture, resiliency, lack of resources, seeking new purpose, and altruism. Each theme was important and either directly stated or implied by more than one participant which highlighted their importance.;Conclusion: The research discovered the importance of examining employment status for veterans transitioning into the civilian work force. The study further identified the skills each of the participants gained from the military and how those skills transferred over to the civilian employment opportunities. |
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