For transitioning Veterans, two things are needed: re-skilling and re-connecting.

While re-skilling may seem obvious, reconnecting can be less so.

In his book Tribe: On Homecoming And Belonging, #1 New York Times best-selling author Sebastian Junger masterfully lays out a compelling argument for the deep need for all human beings to cultivate a mentality of responsibility for one another. In the military, we belong to a unique “tribe,” and that sense of belonging can be lost as we shed the uniform. The loss leaves many disillusioned, grasping for a new identity, or mourning their old one.

How can we get connected to our larger human tribe before our post-military world crystallizes?

Engagement in the arts, particularly improvisation or “improv” training, can help us to develop a sense a meaningful connection with other human beings and happens to provide relevant social skills for success in the industry.

“The improv training forced me to perform outside of my comfort zone.”–US Marine Corps Non-Commissioned Officer

There are only four rules in improv:

1. Agree
2. Say “yes, and”
3. Make a statement
4. There are no mistakes, only opportunities

The rest is listening and flowing with your partners, or “troupe.” It’s that simple.

According to Sam Pressler, Founder of the of Armed Services Arts Partnership (ASAP), improv is the simplest performing art to unpack. It’s very natural because you’re performing as part of a team, not alone. You also have agency over your words, actions, and leading the scene. Improv rewards initiative and everyone’s contribution is accepted. He also shares an added benefit, “People are so

used to being serious all the time, so it’s good to just break through and be yourself with no repercussions.” To sign up for ASAP classes, fill out a form here.

BJ Lange, an Air Force veteran, comedy helped him to hyperfocus in his work as a medic. It also brought him through a traumatizing cancer scare.

He now teaches a veterans-only improvisation class at The Second City in Los Angeles. He reports that his veteran cohorts learn to trust each other and build lasting friendships even after the class ends.

One of my close friends and Infantry Marine stepped on an IED and was immediately shot in Afghanistan. After his long and painful recovery, what did he do with the vertical striped scar down the center of his stomach? He tattooed a corkscrew handle at the top. He’s still one of the funniest people I know, and I hope he goes into stand-up one day.

Improv training provided by the Dallas Comedy House remains part of the Tech Qualled Launchpad Academy, both for building camaraderie and for sharpening sales skills like listening, thinking fast, and responding with mental agility. Here are some of our veteran candidates’ reactions:

“Improv does an excellent job of breaking down the barriers that exist between people who have never met in person before.”  – Air Force Officer

“The improv training was incredibly uncomfortable but really very helpful in the end. “ – Army Officer

If you’re still in the active duty military, you can still benefit from the arts through organizations like Adam Driver’s Arts In The Armed Forces (AITAF). Clare McLaughlin, AITF’s Executive Director,

explains that we all have a shared human experience that goes beyond what culture or job we are engaged in. As the AITF performers travel around the world to various military bases, they arrive early, learn about military culture and life, and develop relationships with their soon-to-be audience. If you want to book a performance at your base, you can fill out a request here.

And if these things don’t float your boat, you can at least follow David Gale’s veteran-centric media group We Are The Mighty for some laughs in between your daily digest of the Duffel Blog and/or Terminal Lance.

So here’s to not taking yourself too seriously. As testicular cancer survivor  BJ Langue likes to say, “When life takes one of your lemons, you make jokes.”

Do you have stories of how the arts and/or comedy helped you cope in your military career or transition? Let us know so we can all laugh!

You wouldn’t expect someone who spent the last ten years flying helicopters in the Navy to make a good salesperson, but I’ve found that many of the skills and experiences I’ve had in my last ten years with the Navy are the same skills and experiences your top salesmen have.

This was my opening line whenever an interviewer asked me to talk about myself. Like you, my identity for the past ten years revolved around my military service. There were many things I expected to struggle with going into my transition out of the Navy. How would I find my new identity? How would I regain confidence in my work that I had spent ten years developing? How would I continue to support my family? I knew it was going to be a challenging and daunting process. Luckily, one of the things I had decided on was Tech Qualled. Through my training, I learned all about the technology space; the difference between a server and a switch, cybersecurity, data center solutions, cloud, and IOT. Additionally, the program taught me how to get started in a sales role, and how to find my voice in a new role.

Learning How to Fish

Tech Qualled’s Launchpad Academy program can be described in many ways, but the best summary for me is that they ‘teach you how to fish’. This model works in high tech sales training because you learn the material through your own efforts; through trial and error. You can read all the sales training books out there, but all of that is more or less academic. We all know that practice makes perfect, but most of us hate to practice. TQ takes a practicum-based approach, leveraging their connections within the tech industry to assign respected sales leaders as role players. This is when the training started to pay off for me. The scenario-driven role-playing exercises and interview training in Fort Worth, TX was excellent; and challenging. I was able to find my voice and to identify the skills I had developed during my time as a helicopter pilot that would translate nicely into a sales role.

Top Salesmen Beginnings:

When I finally began garnering interest from various high tech companies shortly after graduation, I was expected to conduct ad hoc sales pitches with limited information and to answer questions such as ‘how I planned to succeed in a sales role with no experience’. Tech Qualled had prepared me and I was ready to ace any interview. Now, I didn’t become the world’s top salesmen or the best public speaker in my time at Tech Qualled. The program is good, but no program is that good. Conversely, Tech Qualled made what is notoriously a difficult transition more manageable and gave me the tools to succeed in my new role in tech sales. It provided me the blueprint for how to be ready for an interview, how to prepare for a sales call, and how to close both. These skills coalesced from the online training and the completion of the in-person boot camp and came together just in time to weather the strain of literally moving my family across the country, missing a connecting flight but still getting to my interview on time.

If finding comfort and clarity despite chaos sounds like your kind of challenge and you’re interested in a rewarding and exciting career in tech sales, then you should be applying to Tech Qualled right now. For those who have served, being a veteran will always be a part of our identities. As for me, my suit’s hanging bag is now my carry-on; but more importantly, I have an opportunity to work for an amazing and exciting company. I now have a plan for the next year to forge my identity, voice, and confidence in my new role at an exciting FinTech company while becoming top salesmen.

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Mark Rothschild is a former Navy helicopter pilot, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and recent Tech Qualled candidate. He transitioned out of the Navy in August and is launching his sales career at nCino, a North Carolina based FinTech company and worldwide leader in cloud banking.