From Airman to Officer to Writer

What follows is based on my response to Helena Kaufman of militarysuccessnetwork.com to questions about my transition from military to civilian life, and the process of writing my books.



My transition from the Air Force to civilian life occurred many years ago in April 1984 after a nearly uneventful peacetime enlistment. Please understand that I am fully aware that my transition was quite easy when compared to the difficulty experienced by wartime veterans, especially those with physical injuries or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

At the time of my military separation I was 22 and married with a little girl. As I look back on it, I really had it made as an aircraft loadmaster, traveling the world for free. But, at the time, I missed my hometown and felt like all the practice missions we flew weren't "real life" like back home. So, I made a stupid decision that turned out OK. I decided to leave the Air Force after four years and head back to Indiana. The only job I had waiting for me was at the drugstore where I'd worked as a clerk before I left home. Although I was thankful to have a job, it certainly wasn't a career and wasn't even sufficient for supporting my family, hence a "stupid decision." But, after about a month, a friend helped me get a job in a factory and then, after another year, I was hired as a police officer in my hometown.

As I made the transition from the military to life at home, I encountered problems in my two and a half year old marriage. While in South Carolina, where I had been stationed, all my friends were her friends and vice versa. But, once we got home, which was her home as well, we had separate sets of friends. When we would have a dispute, it seemed that her friends validated her feelings while my friends supported me, thus making compromise difficult. After we were home for about a year, we divorced.



Another issue related to my transition was in my expectations of fellow police officers and the department as a whole. As a paramilitary institution, I expected that it would operate much like the military with the same respect for superiors and mission, etc... I was wrong. There were, and are, some very good officers, but nearly all of them were type A personalities and could be difficult to work with. The ranking officers carried much more responsibility than the others without the necessary respect that should have come with it. In addition, it seemed there were several officers just there for the paycheck, which wasn't an issue in the military because we were paid so little. Now, after 26 years of police work, I've found that the way I do my job has changed, with much more emphasis on people and their problems than on their compliance with the law. I wonder if I would look on those officers of many years ago differently if I worked with them today. Maybe they weren't just there for the paycheck after all. Maybe they just did their jobs differently.

In the end I became accustomed to civilian life. I married a wonderful lady after I'd been divorced for three and half years and we're still happy together. We have four children, including the little girl born in South Carolina, plus the four grandchildren she and her husband have given us. It's a wonderful life.


Harrison Davis: Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt




Gunar Hamilton: Vigilante on the Lam



As for my writing, I started in 2004 and, after about two years, my first novel; "Harrison Davis," was published. The second, "Gunar Hamilton," also took about two years and was published in 2011, the same year I started this blog. The inspiration for the books has come from my time in law enforcement. But, my purpose for writing was to share my faith in a non-confrontational way. I'm not an in-your-face kind of guy and I don't appreciate it when people try to push their beliefs on me. Even so, I think it's necessary to share what is so important to me and, in this way, people can read it or not. And, like many writers, I'd always had a story inside just waiting to get out. One day I just sat down and started writing. I wrote the story from beginning to end before any editing, but it was only about 18 pages long. Then I started the process of fleshing it out with the final product still on the short side at 118 pages.

The scariest part of being published is putting my work out in the public eye and hoping not to embarrass myself. It's difficult to know if the books are good because no one tells me when they think they're bad. Thank you for being concerned about my self-image but, (gulp) I'm ready to hear the truth if any of you would like to share.