Personal Courage: Stepping into the Unknown
I was highly trained for my deployment to Afghanistan. We spent a year and a half preparing with a focus on desert operations. Our mission was clear, we had the right equipment, personnel, and we were prepared to do whatever it takes to accomplish our mission successfully. My unit First Special Forces Group 3rd Battalion had extensive experience navigating this terrain. We were now just going to do it at scale. Everyone felt clear on the mission going in that they knew what they would be asked to do and who they could depend on when things escalated. What still sticks with me is that many of us had never been here before. We were being asked to live in a foreign country and successfully operate on missions that would test our teamwork, our ability to work under pressure, and lastly our personal courage. We stepped into the unknown and accomplished our mission with distinction. Transitioning from the military will require personal courage. Will you make that transition with distinction? I believe you can, but you must lay aside what you think you know and commit to preparing for the journey. This journey can be a lonely one. You are leaving behind women and men who have become as close to you as a family. For me, it meant leaving behind six years’ worth of relationships and stepping into the unknown. A commitment to personal courage is a requirement as you relearn what purposeful work will be in this season of your life. It required me letting go of time-tested military tools that worked and carefully choosing new tools that would serve me better as I transitioned. It meant me asking for help and admitting that I was no longer the expert. What I didn’t realize at the beginning of my journey was that many Business, Community, and Veteran Leaders were working hard to solve some of the gaps that existed in the military transitions process.
My MSSA Journey
I remember a conversation I had when preparing to exit the Army. One of my commanders called me into his office to listen to my transitions plan. As I shared with him, he stopped me and said. Bergan, you have been an asset to this unit, and we would love to support your transition, but none of us have transitioned before so we need you to not only transition, but we need you to do it well. That way those of us coming behind you will be able to follow the path you left. That realization challenged me. Before this conversation, I had only looked at transitioning as a process that involved my immediate family. I didn’t think of my transition as serving my military family. As I made the rounds to all my required military out briefings, my reservations compounded as I listened to the stories of the soldiers around me. For the first time in six years, I felt the weight of being on a mission without the support of a team. Transitioning well was my goal, but how would I do that. On top of that, I felt this ticking clock to accomplish my transition in the allotted time. I was making my rounds and submitting my resume to the vendors who were on base. My focus was transitioning to the IT industry as it not only peaked my interest, but my research had shown that it had many openings in the Greater Seattle area where I currently lived. As I continued to hand out my resume, one of the individuals called out to me SGT Bergan I turned and approached. After scanning over your resume, I think we have a good fit for your skill set. I listened with a healthy dose of skepticism as they shared their ideas about the Microsoft Software and Systems Academy (MSSA) and what they were trying to accomplish. Their goal was to train soldiers who are still on active duty in their last 16 weeks of military service culminating with a guaranteed interview at Microsoft. As I mulled it over two things were at war within me the guaranteed interview was a major positive, but the fact that this was a Pilot program was a major negative. Did I want to be in the test group? What did it mean if I did this and I failed? What would this mean if I spent the last 16 weeks of my transitions time putting all my eggs in the same basket and that basket this program couldn’t deliver on its promises? To say I was skeptical is an understatement. I did want to work within the IT industry, but I had never considered working at Microsoft. Lastly, could I commit to 16 weeks of the unknown in a space where no one had done this before?
Two things helped me solidify my decision around being a part of the MSSA pilot program. The first one was in my informational interview with one of the MSSA reps they asked me about my family. It wasn’t just a surface level question. We spent the next fifteen minutes discussing how my military transition would affect my family and how transitions programs like this one are designed to fill a gap that many families experience as their service member transitions. The fact that I would still be on active duty as I did my training with the MSSA was a unique benefit of this type of transitions program. The second major indicator that the MSSA was a good fit was when I met many of the women and men who had applied to be in the pilot program. We all had different backgrounds Special Forces Sniper, Marine Engineer Warrant Officer, Cyber Defense NCO; we were all here to try something different and attempt something that seemed impossible. Knowing that I was around people who cared deeply about military families and that I would be around service members who would dare to step into the unknown without looking back reignited my personal courage. I still remember the phone call letting me know that I was one of 21 individuals selected for the pilot program of the MSSA. I remember writing out my vision for the journey and the outcomes that I could control. I remember knowing that I only had sixteen weeks to make this work. I had to stay committed and fully engaged while remaining teachable, coachable, and disciplined. I promised myself that everything I had was what I had to give and the worse that could happen now is that I leave prepared for a career in the IT industry.
As I reflect on where I am today, I can say the hardest part of transitioning was getting started. The Personal courage it takes to close the door on one career and step into the unknown can surprise even the most prepared service member. All surprises are not the same, and the surprise of the Microsoft Software and Systems Academy was truly a blessing in disguise.
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