Being a student is not just something you do when you are completely unfamiliar with a subject. Many times we will find ourselves in a job that will require us to be RETRAINED or RECERTIFIED in something new or in something we already have used. Regardless of whether you know the material being taught, there is a method to learning that a lot of students completely ignore, to their own detriment. In this article, I am going to talk about aspects of learning that are relevant for people who are new to a subject, and especially those who are already familiar.

The US veteran community is on fire over pulling out of Afghanistan in the fashion that we are. I have been hearing a lot of different things about this situation from how we failed the country after 20 years to how we are leaving Americans and our allies behind in hostile country. I have my own opinion about this whole thing going on, but you must remember that I am writing this while everything is still unfolding. 

​To all out there who suffer from public anxiety due to PTSD from a combat environment, I wanted to share a method of handling crowds and how to manage yourself in public. As a combat veteran myself and someone who would not voluntarily or idly step into a crowd or a packed building, I have had to find ways to cope in order to accomplish certain tasks such as paying bills, assisting a family member, etc. Public anxiety is a real thing that I am challenged with on nearly a daily basis, and it never seems to get better. However, I have come up with a mental state of mind that morphs the anxiety into something chewable when you are in public or a crowd for a task. Unlike you were in the military, you are all alone, and there is not a bunch of likeminded and competent people to have your back. The unfortunate truth is that once you are out, you have to take care of yourself. You will learn quickly that the military did not actually train you to be independent, but it is actually quite easy. 

​Ammunition seems to be slowly getting back onto the shelves, but people still are not able to fully indulge as they once did. In turn, people have made the judgement that without enough ammunition, they can’t train. This comes from the assumption that “Range Time” is the only way in which skills are developed or maintained. In fact, I would go as far as to start this article off by saying that 99.99% of you reading this would perform better if you started training off the range and stopped thinking of the range as a primary training ground. This lack of ammo on the shelves can be a blessing in disguise if you are serious about advancing your skills.