Tactical Transition Tips: Round 80 | Two is One and One is None
- Paul Pantani
- Jul 17
- 12 min read
There is a saying that echoes across military units and first responder teams: redundancy or being redundant. It is more than a word or phrase. It is a mindset. In high-stakes environments, redundancy is not a luxury. It is a necessity. Backup radios, spare tourniquets, secondary weapons, alternate egress routes, the principle is burned into every mission plan. If one system fails, the second keeps you alive. That same mindset belongs in your career transition strategy.
In this week’s Round 80 of the Tactical Transition Tips, on the Transition Drill Podcast, we address Two is One, One is None. This episode explores how real-world operations rarely unfold with perfect timing or cooperation. Plans go sideways. Offers fall through. Life intervenes. Your transition should reflect the same tactical discipline you brought to your service.
This week’s three transitioning tips are:
Close Range Group: Always Hunt in Pairs
Medium Range Group: Build Multiple Competencies
Long Range Group: Grow Two Mentorship Paths
Whether you are in the final year of service, five years away from retirement, or just beginning your journey as a Marine, airman, sailor, or law enforcement officer, this post unpacks how redundancy protects your future and prepares you for it. More importantly, it highlights how each strategy not only safeguards your post-service options, but also makes you sharper, more valuable, and more balanced in your current role. Because in transition, just like on the job, having a second option is not about being uncertain. It is about being prepared.
LISTEN TO THE EPISODE
Close Range Group: Always Hunt in Pairs
For veterans and first responders in the last stretch before leaving or retiring, every decision feels heavier. You are staring at the unknown. For years, you have known your uniform, your schedule, your team, your role. Now, every move feels final. Every choice feels permanent. What many transitioning service members and first responders miss is it’s not about finding the perfect next job. It is about having a plan that can flex, adapt, and hold under pressure.
That is where the principle of redundancy comes in. In operations, redundancy means survival. In transition, it means security. Hoping one job works out is not a plan. That is a gamble. Redundancy gives you room to breathe, think, and respond. And it shows future employers that you are not just tactical, but thoughtful and grounded.
Primary and Secondary Targeting
One of the most important mindset shifts you can make during this stage is realizing that it’s smart to pursue more than one opportunity at a time. Having a primary job target, your ideal company, role, or location, is great. But you also need a secondary. Not a backup plan that feels like a failure. A legitimate alternative you could say yes to if needed.
Apply for both roles at the same time. This way, if your top pick falls through, stalls, or takes longer than expected, you are already in motion with another option. The result is momentum. And momentum means you will not spiral into stress or desperation. You will move forward with clarity.
Many transitioning veterans or first responders hesitate here. They worry that applying to multiple jobs looks scattered or indecisive. It does not. Employers know this is a competitive process. What looks unprofessional is someone who puts all their energy into one option and freezes when it falls apart. Strategy is attractive. Panic is not.
Diversify the Playing Field
Do not box yourself in by applying only to one type of employer. Maybe you are looking only at federal contracting roles because that feels familiar. Or maybe you are chasing only large corporations because they feel stable, but every job has trade-offs. Company culture, operational tempo, room for growth, flexibility, mission focus. If you only apply within one type of organization, you lose your ability to compare.
Apply across at least two or three sectors. Look at enterprise-level companies, mid-size firms, and startups. Explore roles in private industry, start-ups, or government agencies. This gives you a broader view of what is out there and what might align with your values. It also increases your chances of finding a workplace that respects your background as a military veteran or first responder.
Multiple Resumes, One Story
Every job description uses slightly different language. The same experience that reads as “incident command” in a firefighter's world might be “operational leadership” in a civilian resume. One of the most overlooked tools in this final year is having two or three resume versions ready, each one tailored to different roles or industries.
Maybe one version focuses on your project management strengths, while another highlights compliance, investigations, or logistics. This is not about changing your story. It is about telling the same story in different dialects. Hiring managers and applicant tracking systems do not translate your experience, you have to. Building this now not only increases your chances of landing interviews, it also helps you better understand your own skill sets. You start to see how much you bring to the table and how to present it clearly.
Understand the Role’s Now and Next
Whether it is your first or second choice job, always ask the same question, what does this role look like today, and what could it look like in three years? Too often, we fixate on salary or title and ignore trajectory. A job that pays less now but offers growth might serve you longer. A job that seems like a fallback could become your next career path.
Understanding potential mobility within an organization helps you walk into interviews with confidence. It also helps you avoid signing onto a role you will want to leave six months later. Ask hiring managers about upward movement, skill development, mentorship, and leadership tracks. The better you see the road ahead, the more prepared you will be to walk it.
Know How to Say No
If you are doing this right, you may find yourself in a position where more than one job offer comes in. That is not a problem. That is the reward for being strategic. But there is one more layer to redundancy, knowing how to walk away without burning bridges.
Say no with professionalism and gratitude. Keep doors open. The job you pass on today might be the one you need down the line. Be honest, respectful, and decisive. Employers will remember that.
This final year is not just a countdown. It is a staging area. Redundancy in your transition planning protects your stability and projects competence. You are not leaving one identity for another. You are expanding who you are. Planning for two outcomes does not mean indecisive, it means planning for and having contingencies.
WATCH THE EPISODE
Medium Range Group: Build Multiple Competencies
If you are five or so years from transitioning out of the military or a firest responder career, it is easy to fall into a holding pattern. You are close enough to think about what comes next, but far enough away that the urgency has not fully set in. You are still operational. The day-to-day is demanding, and transition planning can feel like a distraction.
But now is exactly the time to begin building redundancies, not just for your next job, but for your current role. You are in a season where preparation compounds. The work you do today sets the tone for a smoother handoff tomorrow. And more importantly, it elevates your influence now. The more skills you gain, the more options you create. For your team. For your organization. For yourself. Redundancy here is not about backup jobs yet. It is about building layers of value, skills, relationships, and insight that will make your future exit seamless and your present contribution undeniable.
Build a Development Plan with a Civilian Lean
Start with a personal roadmap. Map out where you are, where you want to go, and what skills or experiences you need to bridge that gap. Include formal training, certifications, leadership experience, technical tools, and any external education that aligns with civilian career tracks.
But keep one important rule in mind, do not just build skills that only matter in your current uniform. Build competencies that translate. Knowing how to navigate personnel management, division-level budgeting, or cross-functional operations will matter in both worlds. And the earlier you start mapping those competencies, the easier it becomes to identify future roles where they apply.
From a professional standpoint, this also allows you to lead better today. You will begin to speak the language of strategic impact, not just operational execution. That sets you apart in both spheres.
Audit How You Spend Your Time
Redundancy is not just about skills. It is also about time. When your entire schedule is consumed by putting out fires or handling short-term issues, your long-term development gets suffocated. Do a real audit of how you spend your work hours. How much of your week is spent in direct operations? How much in admin? How much in development, mentorship, or leadership growth?
Start carving out consistent time each week for future-focused work. Read. Take short courses. Schedule informational interviews with civilian professionals. Join a working group. Shadow a department you do not know. When you control your time with intention, you start stacking value. Not just for life after service, but for how effective you are right now.
Request Strategic Assignments
At this point in your career, you are likely a go-to person. You can handle the job. You can lead a team. But that is no longer enough. You need to put yourself into projects or assignments that stretch your thinking and teach you new tools.
Request roles that involve planning, policy development, organizational change, or cross-unit collaboration. Lead a team through an after-action review. Chair a strategic committee. Manage a project that reports up the chain. These are not just resume builders. They are real leadership labs. They force you to see the broader picture, speak the civilian language, and become the kind of professional that gets remembered.
And when the time comes to identify your replacement, you will have developed systems they can step into, not chaos they have to recover from.
Host Civilian Job Panels or Speaker Events
One of the most effective and underused tools at this stage is outreach. Coordinate an informal speaker series or panel with professionals outside your career field. Bring in retired veterans working in tech or business. Invite HR reps or recruiters to talk about resumes and hiring trends. Ask civilian executives to explain what they look for in leaders.
You will learn a tremendous amount about what civilian sectors value. And you will begin to build relationships that might serve you in five years. Just as importantly, you are creating value for your team. You are multiplying insight and setting a tone of preparation. This kind of leadership is noticed. Both inside and outside the organization.
Get Certified and Educated While It Still Benefits the Mission
Now is the time to pursue certifications or degrees. Programs like PMP, Lean Six Sigma, or advanced Excel are in high demand across industries. Take advantage of tuition assistance or departmental training programs. Tie what you learn back to your current work.
When your team sees the value of what you are learning, your organization is more likely to support it. And when you leave, you are not just walking away with credentials, you are walking away with applied knowledge and proven integration. That is hard to ignore on a resume or in an interview.
Redundancy at this stage is not about creating escape routes. It is about building dual tracks of strength. You are deepening your roots in service while laying foundations for what comes next. That dual competency protects you from burnout, raises your current ceiling, and makes your future career a controlled landing, not a crash.
THIS WEEK'S GUEST INTERVIEW
Long Range Group: Grow Two Mentorship Paths
If you are ten or more years away from getting out, transition may feel like a distant horizon. You are probably focused on promotion. You are building your credibility. You are trying to master your craft. And rightly so. But even now, especially now, the principle of redundancy still applies. Just not in the way you might expect.
For you, redundancy is not about applying for backup jobs. It is about building depth and diversity into your influence, your relationships, and your thinking. It is about learning how to evolve in your career without losing yourself in it. You are not planning your exit yet. You are strengthening your foundation. That includes preparing for the unexpected, but more than that, it means preparing for the inevitable, that your career will end one day. What you build now should serve you both while you wear the uniform and after you hang it up.
The most powerful way to build that kind of long-term redundancy is through mentorship, both receiving it and offering it. Not as a checkbox, but as a leadership mindset.
Define the Traits, Not the Titles
Too often, we seek mentors with flashy resumes or high-profile positions. Rank can be impressive. Experience matters. But character outlasts credentials. As you grow in your career, start identifying leaders you admire, not because of what they have, but because of who they are. Integrity. Clarity. Humility. Presence. Discipline. These traits are more important than a job title.
When you find someone who consistently lives those values, that is who you want in your circle. Learning from them will help you become someone worth following, no matter what profession you eventually step into.
This matters right now. The earlier you align yourself with mentors who make you better, the faster you develop into a leader others respect. That has a direct impact on your team, your reputation, and your career advancement.
Replicate Their Habits, Not Just Their Advice
The most influential mentors often do not offer earth-shattering wisdom. Instead, they model consistency. Watch how they structure their days. Pay attention to their reading habits, their fitness routines, how they treat people, how they manage stress. What systems do they rely on? What do they prioritize when no one is watching?
Then begin experimenting with your own version of those habits. Maybe it is journaling once a week. Maybe it is asking better questions during meetings and briefings. Maybe it is how they manage competing demands without compromising their values.
Small shifts in how you live and lead today can completely change the kind of professional you become. That prepares you for tomorrow, but it also sharpens your leadership presence today.
Seek Out Mentors Beyond the Familiar
If everyone you learn from looks like you, thinks like you, and works in the same world as you, you are reinforcing a closed loop. Broaden it. Find a mentor in a different industry. Learn from someone in business, academia, tech, or entrepreneurship. Talk to professionals in education, medicine, or nonprofit work.
Reach outside your comfort zone. Ask questions that make you stretch. Listen to perspectives that challenge your assumptions. Doing this does not take away from your career, it strengthens it. You develop emotional intelligence, cultural awareness, and strategic thinking. All traits that will make you a stronger leader now and a more adaptable professional later.
This also plants seeds for transition. If life throws you a curveball, an injury, a department restructure, a sudden need to step away, you will have already cultivated a mindset that is not limited to one path.
Reevaluate Your Mentor List Regularly
Mentorship is not a lifetime contract. Sometimes a mentor fits your needs in one season, but not the next. As you grow, your questions and challenges evolve. Make it a regular practice to reflect on who you are learning from and why.
Ask yourself: Are they still challenging me? Are they still living the example I want to follow? If not, it is time to update your bench. This keeps your growth active and your standards high. And it models a key trait of long-term success, the ability to adapt without becoming untethered.
This level of reflection pays off right now. You will avoid getting stuck in outdated thinking. You will stay open to innovation. You will keep pushing for excellence, not comfort.
Mentor Those Coming Up Behind You
No matter your rank or years on the job, someone is looking up to you. Start investing in them. Share what you have learned. Talk about the mistakes you have made. Let them see your process.
This kind of informal mentorship builds trust, sharpens your communication, and reminds you of how far you have come. It keeps you accountable to your own growth. And it shifts your identity from just being a doer to being a builder.
That shift is critical. Because when the day comes to transition, you will not be panicking to create a new identity. You will already have one rooted in growth, guidance, and balance.
Final Thoughts
Redundancy is not just a tactical rule. It is a mindset of responsibility. Whether you are walking into your final year, five years from the exit, or just starting your journey in uniform, building a backup plan means you are thinking ahead, not hedging bets. For veterans and first responders, transition often feels like a cliff. But with foresight, it can become a bridge.
The military teaches you to assess risk, create fallback positions, and control what you can. The same applies to career planning. For police officers, firefighters, EMS personnel, and every soldier, sailor, airman, and Marine, redundancy in your professional life brings peace of mind and strength of character.
More than that, it serves you now. Strategic redundancy improves how you lead, how you grow, and how you prepare others to succeed. It keeps you from becoming stagnant or tied to one identity. It reminds you that you are more than your badge or your rank.
One day, the uniform will come off. But your discipline, your vision, and your preparation will remain. Two is one, and one is none, in the field, in life, and in transition.
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