Veteran Resilience Training: Rebuilding Strength, Purpose, and Identity After Military Service
Transitioning from military life to civilian life is more than just a career change—it’s a profound personal transformation. For many veterans, it’s also a time of emotional confusion, identity loss, and disconnection. Garret Biss, a retired Marine Corps pilot, TEDx speaker, and the founder of Diamond Mind LLC, experienced that challenge firsthand. Today, he leads a growing movement in veteran resilience training through his program, Valiant Path.
This post explores Garret’s journey, the core challenges veterans face during transition, and how programs like Valiant Path are reshaping how we support those who served.
Why Transitioning Veterans Struggle
Garret BissGarret’s military career gave him structure, a deep sense of connection, and a mission that defined his purpose. But once he left active duty, that clarity vanished. Like many veterans, he struggled with anxiety, depression, and addiction. These issues didn’t stem from weakness—they stemmed from the sudden removal of three core elements veterans rely on:
Connection: Military service creates tight-knit bonds that are rarely replicated in civilian life.
Meaning: Serving a greater cause offers a deep sense of purpose—something civilian careers don’t always provide.
Identity: For years, service members define themselves by rank, role, and uniform. When those are gone, so is a major part of how they understand themselves.
Without proper preparation or support, many veterans drift into isolation, confusion, or destructive behaviors.
Valiant Path: A Veteran Resilience Training Program
Out of his own struggle, Garret developed Valiant Path, a transformational approach to veteran reintegration that focuses on resilience, self-worth, and post-traumatic growth. Unlike traditional models that diagnose what’s “wrong,” this program is built on what’s already strong in each veteran.
Valiant Path leverages applied positive psychology, a field of psychology that emphasizes strengths over symptoms. Instead of treating veterans like broken individuals who need fixing, Garret’s approach asks: What are you already good at? How can we build from that?
The Three C’s: Confidence, Competence, Capacity
A central framework within Valiant Path focuses on what Garret calls the Three C’s:
Confidence – Restoring belief in one’s value and ability through acknowledgment of past successes and internal strengths.
Competence – Recognizing and applying core skills in new contexts—whether in entrepreneurship, education, or family life.
Capacity – Expanding emotional endurance by aligning life with purpose and meaning.
This veteran resilience training philosophy promotes post-traumatic growth, not just survival.
The Role of Meaning in Recovery
Garret references the work of Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist Dr. Viktor Frankl, who famously wrote, “Those who have a ‘why’ to live can bear with almost any ‘how.’”
Meaning, Garret argues, is the foundation of resilience. During service, that meaning is clear. After service, it disappears. Valiant Path helps veterans rediscover that “why”—whether through relationships, service, creativity, or new personal goals.
When meaning is restored, veterans are not just more emotionally stable—they are more energized, focused, and ready to pursue their new mission in life.
Positive Psychology vs. Traditional Therapy
Traditional therapy often asks, “What happened to you?” Positive psychology asks, “What’s right with you?” Both have their place, but Garret’s approach focuses on building forward momentum.
He compares traditional psychology to removing sandbags from a hot air balloon. Positive psychology, by contrast, pumps hot air into the balloon to help it rise. In veteran resilience training, both approaches are valuable—but focusing on strengths accelerates growth and empowers veterans to take control of their lives again.
From One-on-One Coaching to Jailhouse Classrooms
Garret began by coaching veterans individually, but his mission has since grown. He now offers Valiant Path in group formats and was recently invited to implement a version of the program in Chatham County Jail in Georgia, where many incarcerated veterans are housed.
In this six-week program, Garret teaches veterans to reframe trauma, reclaim identity, and establish self-directed paths forward. He introduces tools from the PERMA model (Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, Accomplishment) to help them rebuild from the inside out.
This program reaches those most in need—veterans who’ve faced addiction, incarceration, or homelessness—and gives them a second chance at a meaningful life.
The Power of Community Collaboration
Garret is the first to admit he can’t do it alone. He actively supports and promotes organizations like the Boulder Crest Foundation, whose Warrior PATHH program offers immersive, trauma-informed retreats for veterans. Like Valiant Path, their mission centers on post-traumatic growth and peer support.
In the world of veteran resilience training, collaboration is key. No one program will serve all 18 million U.S. veterans. But together, these organizations can create a network of care that truly changes lives.
Advice for Employers: Seeing the Veteran’s Potential
Garret also offers a message to employers: Veterans are not broken—they are underutilized.
Too often, veterans are placed in roles that don’t match their capabilities. Their leadership skills, mission-focus, and adaptability go untapped. In some cases, they’re even asked to “tone down” the very qualities that made them successful in uniform.
Employers should learn to translate military strengths into civilian roles—mapping traits like attention to detail, operational discipline, and loyalty into their team culture.
The more businesses understand veteran resilience training, the more they’ll benefit from what veterans bring to the table.
Final Message: You Are Worth It
Garret closes every conversation with a reminder to veterans:
“You are lovable and acceptable just as you are. You are worthy of joy, connection, and a fulfilling life.”
This belief—backed by evidence, strategy, and lived experience—is what fuels the Valiant Path program and the entire field of veteran resilience training.
Whether you're a veteran, a family member, or someone working to support veterans, remember: recovery is possible. Growth is real. And with the right support, every veteran can build a life filled with meaning and strength.
