Transitioning out of the military to civilian life is a daunting task, with mounds of paperwork, countless decisions to be made and stress from every angle.
In many ways service members are defined by not only what they did in the service, but by the people they served with. Transitioning out severs all of those connections, leading to a feeling of starting all over, regardless of whether it’s after an initial commitment or a full 20 years. Figuring out what to do in the civilian world and how to navigate an entirely different reality from a military structure is no small task, and all of the decisions involved are compounded when they also will affect a spouse and/or children.
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association’s Paul Kingsbury, director of Federal Employee Program Community Relations, knows those challenges all too well. Kingsbury retired as a fleet master chief from the U.S. Navy after 30 years, and made plenty of mistakes in his own transition process. He now helps transitioning service members learn about the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP) as they navigate the lengthy, complex transition process, and in this interview he shares some of his most important lessons learned. With FEDVIP Open Season for enrollment running November 11 through December 9, 2024, now’s the time to think about your health needs for next year, including your family’s vision care.
This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
Military Times (MT): It’s a big step to go from the military to the civilian world. The transition process can be kind of complicated, with an awful lot of things to figure out. So what do you think the most important things are to deal with when it comes time to say, “hey, I’m going to get out of the military?”
Paul Kingsbury (PK): When you get into planning, the first thing is at about two years out is when you should really start to put some thought to this and start to get informed and educated. And there’s several lines of effort that you’re going to be getting ready for. You’re going to be getting administratively ready to leave the military, and you’re going to come across a lot of administrative requirements. And that varies from getting scheduled for TAP GPS courses, getting kind of personal, family related stuff in order, thinking about where you’re going to live or want to live, starting to put resumes together. There’s a whole administrative tail that goes into it.
The second thing is getting financially ready. So to the extent you can, pay down debt, get some savings. There’s a lot of uncertainty with jobs. And I think that weighs heavily; it did on my mind. You know, at the end of the day, am I going to be able to bring income for myself and my family through this transition process? So I saved up a decent amount of money. I had paid down as much as I could. And that gave me a sense of comfort. Like, OK, with the uncertainty, I can bear it out for about 6 months, right?
Then there’s obviously thinking about what you want to do. You’ve been defined in many cases by the military. You’ve been defined by your rank structure and your pay grade by your MOS or your rating, or your warfare community. But you’re going to need to find your sense of self now.
And then another line of effort is going to be, I call it being physically ready, you know, getting physically prepared to transition. So this is the medical insurance, this is the life insurance, this is all that kind of stuff. You’ve got to be informed and educated so you have to start to learn about things like what is an in-network provider, what are premiums, what are deductibles, what is a copay, what does that mean? You’ve got to start understanding “what does my family need?”
MT: It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the physical aspects of the transition that you sort of overlook the mental aspects of the transition. It’s that mindset of, “OK, I have to schedule this stuff now not only for myself, but for my spouse and my kids as well,” right?
PK: Yep, absolutely. And I ran into this. Because I didn’t have knowledge, I didn’t get a lot of guidance per se, nor did I seek it. I was out on travel to an event and my wife at the time called me. And she’s like, “hey, I just brought the kids in for a medical thing, and they said you’re not covered.” And I’m like, wait, how are you guys not covered?
I know I’m enrolled, but enrolling is one thing. You have to literally go in and sign up to get the payment taken out of your check, right? I missed that part. Fortunately they were able to flex and they got me enrolled, I caught up and signed that up, but a small detail like that? And here I am, I’m a retired fleet master chief and I’m missing something like that? What else am I missing?
MT: We’ve talked about this a lot from the service member’s perspective, but an important part of this as well is the role that a spouse plays in this transition process. What do you see as kind of the key things that spouses should be involved in when it comes to this process?
PK: Remember I said two years out and it’s a planning process? It should be a planning process together. Sitting down, thinking about again, what do we want to do as a family? Is there a place we want to go? What does right look like for us? Maybe my wife is working, or my spouse is working. I have to consider their career needs now, so you’ve got to have that discussion up front. If some people make the decision, “hey, I want to prioritize my spouse’s career now, and I’m kind of retired and I’m going to do something different.” That affects other decisions down the line.
There are key administrative things they are going to be involved in. Let’s talk about GI Bill, right? Am I going to transfer my GI Bill? Am I going to transfer that to my spouse or kids? That is a discussion you should be in with your spouse.
I was even talking to my spouse at the time about what career I wanted to do, my anxiety with, “what am I going to do? What should I do?” So they were a source of kind of “just calm down. You’re going to be good, everything’s going to be worked out.” I think they’re there through that two-year process and definitely that first year as the family’s transitioning and getting settled. And as you’re transitioning mentally from being active duty to veteran and transitioning out of that active-duty tribe, and dealing with that, they’re definitely going to be your sounding board as you work through that first year, if not two years.
MT: So, what are some things that spouses and families should know about Blue Cross Blue Shield? Why are they a good choice for military families?
PK: Well, it’s important to take a close look at your options, and Blue Cross Blue Shield is one of the best. But before I explain why, I need to mention FEDVIP, or the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program. FEDVIP is a dental and vision benefits program offered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, or OPM. Blue Cross Blue Shield FEP Vision is a FEDVIP vision plan, and it’s available to retired uniformed service members and their families as well as spouses and families of active duty service members.
If you want peace of mind about your family’s eye health, look into BCBS FEP Vision. Look, with vision insurance, eye care costs can really get expensive—think about how much exams, frames, lenses and contact lenses would be for your entire family. BCBS FEP Vision offers no copays for comprehensive vision care exams and an Exclusive Collection of frames. Our provider network offers access to over 175,000 eye care providers in all 50 states. That includes top national retailers such as MyEyeDr., Walmart, America’s Best, Warby Parker, 1800contacts and Vista Optical in Military Exchanges and more. There’s also a frame allowance you can use toward any pair of frames not in our Exclusive Collection. There’s coverage for lens treatments, like ultraviolet coating, progressives and Transitions. You also get great discounts on other health and wellness products, including gym memberships, sneakers, hearing aids and travel. It’s really an incredible way for military families to get quality vision care that works with their budget.
To your last point, Blue Cross Blue Shield is absolutely a great choice for military families. We’ve invested more than $1 million and thousands of volunteer hours to support programs within 23 uniformed service community partners. And these partnerships help those who are eligible learn about and navigate their vision benefit options. Blue Cross Blue Shield is out there in the community serving and supporting military families every day.
MT: Where can people learn more about Blue Cross Blue Shield FEP Vision? What do they need to do to enroll?
PK: BCBS FEP Vision’s website, bcbsfepvision.com is a great place to start. You can check out our benefits, download plan brochures and see the differences between our two plan options, High Option and Standard Option.
Once you’re ready to enroll, head to BENEFEDS.gov. That’s the OPM-administered portal for enrollment. You’ll have to verify your eligibility, but then you can fill out some information, create your BENEFEDS account and then select BCBS FEP Vision. I would remind those to check out their options and enroll before Open Season ends midnight ET December 9.
