Premise PEOPLE OFTEN ASK HOW I CAME TO BE SO INTERESTED and involved in the subject of military transition, given that I myself have never served. In fact, I once had a senior military officer ask why he should take the time to meet with me, since I wasn't military and hadn't experienced the transition personally. My response to him was, ``Sir, is there any- thing you need to know about the military that anyone could tell you at this point, given your seniority? On the other hand, are there per- haps a few things you'd like to know about the civilian workplace before your upcoming retirement?'' I believe his response was along the lines of, ``Fair enough, get on my calendar.'' As for how I came to this field of study, it's kind of a funny story and generally a bit unexpected. I'll take a moment to share it with you. Many years ago, in my role as an organizational development consultant, I was asked by a large defense contracting firm to figure