Robert Hastings

Principal, Robert Hastings & Associates

BG Robert Hastings

JOB: Brigade Commander, Texas State Guard First Brigade

Transitioning to Civilian Life: Lessons from a Former Army Attack Pilot and Executive

"Anxious, deliberate, planned, assisted, smooth and successful."

Those are the five words Robert Hastings used to summarize his transition from a 22-year military career to the civilian workforce. Hastings, a former Army attack helicopter pilot and public affairs officer who later became Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Bell, shared insights from his own journey during an interview with Veteran CEO Magazine.

Describing the transition as "anxious" is understandable given the magnitude of the change. "It's a significant change. In fact, the longer you serve, it's probably even harder," Hastings said. After over two decades in uniform, the military was the only career he had known since shortly after high school.

Extensive Planning Helped Him Achieve What He Want

However, that anxiety motivated him to be "deliberate" in planning his next steps three years before retiring. Hastings got an assignment to the national capital region. Along with that, he networked extensively and decided his best path was leveraging his public affairs background. "I ruled that out," he explained. "Pilots are one flight physical away from being unemployed."

The "assisted" part involved joining professional associations and finding mentors who had transitioned before him. He was also connecting with veteran-friendly contacts to learn about potential career paths. "People want to help veterans," Hastings noted, saying he had around a 50% success rate simply by cold-calling leaders in his desired field.

Seeking Assistance When Needed

With proper planning and support, Hastings' transition was "smooth". That’s because he quickly landed his desired role after a handful of interviews. Making that transition "successful" required being very intentional, especially about the position level he pursued.

"I'm not a fan of getting in the door," Hastings cautioned about taking a job too junior for one's experience level. "Where you are on that ladder is where you start your climb." Resumes, cover letters, and interviews must clearly convey relevant management skills without embellishing military roles.

Developing Leaders and Teams

Hastings advocates tailoring professional development, whether certifications or advanced degrees, based on one's goals. For corporate leadership tracks, he encourages business over specialized credentials like an MBA rather than a communications master's degree.

Throughout the discussion, Hastings emphasized empowering teams over individual superstars. As a leader, he focuses on developing those around him and creating an environment where "the team gets stuff done." He tries to extract lessons from failures and views them as growth opportunities.

Drawing from an impactful experience early in his civilian career, Hastings recalled a CEO's reaction when an intern's mistake led to mailing 300 solicitation letters with incorrect information. Rather than firing people, the CEO had the team identify what went wrong, took responsibility himself by hand-writing a corrected letter to each recipient, and used it as a teachable moment.

For those about to transition, Hastings' parting advice was: "Embrace the anxiety. Put together a deliberate plan of where you want to go. Reach out and get assistance. Network and listen to people. If you do that, then you have every reason to expect a smooth and successful transition."