18SeriesBags

Good times!

I was interviewed by the Government Accountability Office this week. They wanted to know about my experience transitioning from the Army.

As per SOP, I was brutally honest.

During my one-hour interview, the interviewer asked about TAP, the Command Skills Program (CSP) Internship, and my overall experience.

I told them that TAP was an absolute joke. In true Army fashion, it checks the block for the bureaucracy but does little for the soldier. My heart breaks for the first-enlistment junior soldiers that receive this product. They need to do better, and I offered a few suggestions.

I created my own CSP entrepreneurial internship, the 18 Series Bag Company, after convincing an O-6 that it was worth his signature. I decided that I’d work on my own to find a job but only had one shot to build a dream. Looking back, I made the right decision.

Overall, I pulled through as a result of staying in the driver seat the entire time rather than giving the wheel to some rando at transitions.

Bottom line, dream your plan and then plan your dream. When it’s time to tell the army deuces, drive your plan and stay on the pedal, and do NOT let anyone get in your way. - Matt