Hi, I’m Sarah Maples. Recovering secret squirrel. Afghanistan veteran. Research addict. Word nerd. Veteran advocate and ally. And Founder of After the DD-214.
I left the service in 2007 after seven years as an Air Force intelligence officer and, let me tell you, I was not prepared for my transition. Not for the resume writing or the salary negotiations. Not for the culture shock and the accompanying identity crisis. Not for any of it.
In 2011, I took a job working with student veterans and quickly realized that I wasn’t the only one whose transition to the civilian world was, shall we say, less than ideal.
I decided then and there not to just assist my students with using their GI Bill. Instead, I made it my mission to help them figure out what they really wanted out of their civilian lives and then connect them with the knowledge and resources they needed to make that desire a reality.
And that’s what I do here, on this site. I started After the DD-214 to help as many veterans as I could lead successful civilian lives. Each post I write is designed to share “intel” that I hope will help my fellow veterans, transitioning service members, and their families have a smoother and more successful transition and optimize their post-military lives.
I combine my experience as a former VA School Certifying Official, Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration employee, and National Security and Foreign Affairs Director for the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Washington, D.C. with some plain old-fashioned research to tackle transition issues, provide resources, and find and interview veterans who have already successfully transitioned and are willing to pass on what they’ve learned.
I hope what you find on this site is useful. If it isn’t, well, let me know—I may have been an officer, but I know how to take feedback. (Really!)
Afghanistan Refugee Camp, Kabul, 2006