{"id":47734,"date":"2021-09-16T17:24:27","date_gmt":"2021-09-16T17:24:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/09\/16\/only-29-percent-of-sof-troops-find-military-transition-program-helpful-survey\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:08:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:08:01","slug":"only-29-percent-of-sof-troops-find-military-transition-program-helpful-survey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/education-transition\/2021\/09\/16\/only-29-percent-of-sof-troops-find-military-transition-program-helpful-survey\/","title":{"rendered":"Only 29 percent of SOF troops find military transition program \u2018helpful\u2019: survey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A recent <a href=\"https:\/\/gsof.org\/sof-for-life-2020-2021-survey-results-are-here\/\" target=\"_blank\">survey<\/a> suggests that U.S. Special Operations Forces members <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans-transition-survival-guide-feature\/\" target=\"_blank\">transitioning<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/education-transition\/2021\/08\/19\/change-of-mission-advice-for-getting-on-with-life-after-the-military\/\" target=\"_blank\">civilian<\/a> life are still not receiving adequate transition <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/education-transition\/2021\/04\/19\/separating-troops-with-uncertain-career-plans-to-be-targeted-for-extra-employment-help\/\" target=\"_blank\">assistance<\/a>. The SOF for Life survey, conducted by the Global SOF Foundation, found that only 29 percent of respondents find the Defense Department\u2019s Transition Assistance Program \u201chelpful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe whole transition piece wasn\u2019t really clear to them,\u201d retired Army Command Sgt. Maj. Richard Lamb, and current Director of Government Relations for the Global SOF Foundation, told Military Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During his career, Lamb spent more than 12 years overseas conducting operations in 37 countries, five continents, and six geographic combatant commands. These experiences have made Lamb intimately familiar with the unique challenges SOF members face both operationally and when leaving the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to Lamb, of paramount importance are elevated \u201cstress levels\u201d caused by the uncertainty surrounding shifting from military to civilian life. That, combined with years of stress endured from combat, amplifies the problems<b>.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c[When] you live on base, it\u2019s very secure. You\u2019ve got your own schools, you got your own place to shop, you have the bowling alley,\u201d Lamb said. \u201cAnd then \u2018bam\u2019 you\u2019re out among the English, and it\u2019s a totally different lifestyle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A little more than 60 percent of those surveyed reported experiencing anxiety in the year before separation. Additionally, 49 percent said leaving the military caused marital issues, with 53 percent stating that marital stress during a transition stemmed from financial strain, which according to the report, is second only to infidelity as a cause for divorce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Throughout the Global War on Terror, SOF has endured a crushing operational tempo. It is evident in the survey results, with 65 percent<b> <\/b>of respondents stating that they had six or more deployments during their military service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These frequent deployments, which research suggests result in higher rates of PTSD, also leads to what Lamb calls \u201coperator syndrome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine<b> <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/0091217420906659\" target=\"_blank\">states<\/a> that operator syndrome \u201cmay be understood as the natural consequences of an extraordinarily high allostatic load.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Or, in other words, the cumulative burden of chronic stress caused by life events. Ultimately, operator syndrome manifests itself with endocrine dysfunction, sleep disturbance, orthopedic problems, and being \u201con guard\u201d or hypervigilant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Additionally, cognitive issues with memory and concentration are also apparently caused by a mixture of effects caused by TBI and PTSD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEverybody has shortened fight or flight response,\u201d Lamb said. \u201cIt\u2019s been short-circuited over the years. You get an adrenaline rush, and then a crash, and then an adrenaline rush and a crash,\u201d Lamb said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This cycle leads to a spike in cortisol or the \u201cstress hormone.\u201d In turn, which, Lamb said, \u201ceats\u201d testosterone, leading directly to a lack of sleep, and in turn, a series of potentially compounding physical and mental issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWithout sleep, your body can\u2019t repair itself. And so it just continually breaks down,\u201d Lamb said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With 65 percent of respondents reporting pain daily, 83 percent reporting issues with cognitive function, and 93 percent indicating problems with sleep as a result of serving in SOF, minimizing stress on a transitioning member of SOF is critical, as \u201cfitness\u201d represents one of the \u201cfive pillars of resilience.\u201d The other four being family, faith, friends, and finances. All five are prone to disruption when someone leaves the military, so minimizing stress and preventing disruption is vital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe think you can lose two of those fives and probably still make it,\u201d Lamb said. \u201cIf you lose three of those five, you\u2019re probably going to commit suicide.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both Lamb, and those surveyed, have suggestions they believe would reduce the stress on SOF members leaving the military while improving their civilian prospects. The most common suggestions, by 90 percent of those surveyed, said that there should be a TAP specifically designed for members of SOF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lamb took that a step further and told Military Times that he believes that preparing to leave the military should begin once a service member joins and be part of regular counseling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf we can, if Rick was the sergeant major of the Army, it would be on the initial counseling form,\u201d Lamb said. There should be a block in there somewhere to where is talking to a transition person.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lamb said that, ideally<b>,<\/b> this would occur as part of the regular counseling which SOF members receive. But, instead of purely looking at job performance, someone outside the chain of command would regularly check on the servicemember\u2019s finances, investments, and health the entire time they\u2019re in the service, and not just when they\u2019re about to separate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBecause if you wait till the guy\u2019s 24 months out [to begin TAP],\u201d Lamb said, [The servicemember] may decide tomorrow, I\u2019m getting out in 90 days, then you\u2019re way behind the power curve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to Lamb, reducing the stress on and improving the civilian prospects of SOF members leaving the military is paramount. Not only would it reduce the number of suicides, but it could also provide a valuable recruiting tool for those looking to join the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat soldier, sailor, airman Marine, needs and to make sure that that transition is a smooth one,\u201d Lamb said. \u201cI think it helps recruiting retention, it cuts down on the divorce rate, and it also means that guy or gal gets meaningful employment.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Retired Army CSM Richard Lamb says a possible solution is to begin transition assistance on day one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":88066,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":12,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,12,24,89,26,21],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3247],"class_list":["post-47734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-education-transition","category-home","category-middle-column","category-newsletters","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"53DQ76E7AJBPVJJ3KNE4L7YS7E","arc_canonical_url":"\/education-transition\/2021\/09\/16\/only-29-percent-of-sof-troops-find-military-transition-program-helpful-survey\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Only 29 percent of SOF troops find military transition program \u2018helpful\u2019: survey - Air Force TImes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Retired Army CSM Richard Lamb says a possible solution is to begin transition assistance on day one.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Only 29 percent of SOF troops find military transition program \u2018helpful\u2019: survey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Retired Army CSM Richard Lamb says a possible solution is to begin transition assistance on day one.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/education-transition\/2021\/09\/16\/only-29-percent-of-sof-troops-find-military-transition-program-helpful-survey\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Air Force TImes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-09-16T17:24:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T04:08:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James R. 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