Veterans and Military Student Services Center to host Landing Zone training for faculty and staff

Photo courtesy of: Veterans and Military Student Services CenterThe first Landing Zone sessions are Sept. 17, 18

The Veterans and Military Student Services Center at Ohio University encourages the campus community to show support for veterans by attending its third-year faculty and staff awareness training program titled, “Landing Zone.”

The program, which will be offered in two sessions per week for the first time, provides participants with more understanding and the resources to help veteran students better handle their unique challenges across campus. 

“Landing Zone,” has produced more than 150 veteran advocates across the Athens and Chillicothe campuses since its development during the 2016-17 academic year. The program was funded through an 1804 grant and became fully implemented during the 2017-18 academic year.

There are five training sessions, called zones, which build upon each other. The zones discuss implications of the GI Bill on course selection. It also addresses Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and their impacts on learning. Each one-hour zone builds upon the previous one, so they should be taken in order. Each zone is offered on four dates to facilitate college or departmental scheduling.

The zone training descriptions include:

Zone 1: “Military 101” reviews various military terms, rank structure, differences in military culture and academic culture and dispels the common myths about veterans.

Zone 2: “OUr Veterans in Transition” breaks out national veteran student characteristics, OHIO veteran characteristics, OHIO student veteran transition experiences and features a veteran student panel questions and answers session.

Zone 3: “The GI Bill” details the Department of Veterans Affairs organizational structure, student veteran success programs, differentiating types of veteran educational benefits and veteran regulation implications and challenges for students.

Zone 4: “PTSD & TBI” provides an understanding of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury, the effects on student veterans, a discussion of potential signs and how to assist student veterans.

Zone 5: “Resources 4 Vets” highlights internal and external resources available to veterans, provides web-based assistance and addresses additional unanswered questions regarding student veterans.

The training sessions will be offered throughout the fall semester at OHIO’s Baker University Center 239 from noon to 1 p.m. as brown bag lunch sessions. These are the zones dates:

• Zone 1 – Sept. 17, 18, Oct. 22, 23
• Zone 2 – Sept. 24, 25 or Oct. 29, 30
• Zone 3 –Oct. 1, 2 or Nov. 5, 6
• Zone 4 – OCT. 8, 9 or Nov. 12, 13
• Zone 5 – Oct. 15, 16 or Nov. 19, 20

The Veterans and Military Student Services Center supports and advocates for the transition of veterans and military-affiliated students to OHIO and their pursuit of intellectual and personal development. It strives to ease the transition from military service to student life and partner with University colleagues to provide the support and resources necessary for veteran and military-affiliated students to be academically successful.

If your college, department or regional campus would like to schedule specific training dates, please contact Terry St. Peter in the OHIO Veterans Center at 740-566-VETS (8387).