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Moving from a Military Life to a Civilian Life
Part I in a White Paper Series
Toward Closing the Gap: Re-Entry for Women Veterans into Cybersecurity Careers
Rachelle S. Heller, Costis Toregas, Taly Walsh
January 2021
Closing the Gap: A DoD Conference on Re-entry for Women Veterans into Cybersecurity
Careers addresses two crucial needs: To fill the exponentially growing cybersecurity talent gap
in the U.S., and to harness the potential of female U.S. veterans, as well as military spouses, to
fill that gap.
In addressing these needs, the George Washington University organizers have assembled a
diverse group of advisors from government, the military, academia and industry to help frame
the conversation and the initiative toward meaningful action, before and during and beyond the
May 25, 2021 Conference date.
“Moving from a Military Life to a Civilian Life” is the first in a series of white papers designed to
summarize the available knowledge on challenges, best practices and potential solutions
moving forward.
A former soldier describes the transition from military life to civilian life as follows: “One of the
striking things I experienced was the lack of community. In the military, depending on time of
service, everybody had a mini-van, two kids, and a dog. And we all knew that during an
emergency, I could hand off my kid to the mom down the street that I didn't know and she would
watch over her like it was her own until I got back. You don't have that in the civilian world. You
can build it, but you don't have it out of the box.”
What are the challenges for a female veteran or military spouse in moving from a military life to
a civilian life, either as a student or a member in industry? What defines each culture, and how
do different women view the change, identify a path forward, and avail themselves of resources
and support structures? Finally, what role should be played by supportive organizations, the
military, and the government to address the challenges?
Examining hallmarks of military culture compared to civilian life
As Wertsch (1991) notes, it is “next to impossible to grow up in the warrior society without
absorbing the notion that civilians are very different and sometimes incomprehensible.” Military
society is governed by a rather unique set of laws, regulations, traditions and even values.
“During their career, military personnel adapt to the collectivist and hierarchical society of the
military culture after having little to no experience as a civilian adult or employee. Many veterans
had never completed a job application prior to their first job post service” (McNamara, 2018) . It
would be an overstatement to say that this is an exact and bounded military culture, as culture is
not monolithic. Moreover, while each branch of the military has nuanced aspects of the culture,
a set of values, and a program that introduces those values from the day a recruit enters the
service, there are common features shared across the military. These include honor, courage,
loyalty, integrity, commitment, peacefulness, restraint, and obedience.
