Bruce Stewart, who retired a year ago as a lieutenant colonel in the Kansas Air National Guard, has made the transition back to civilian life with his own business. At left is his 10-year-old daughter, Monica.

When Bruce Stewart retired as a lieutenant colonel in the Kansas Air National Guard a year ago, he was prepared to enter the civilian work force.

Stewart, 47, of Lawrence, started his own consulting business and took advantage of what he learned during his 23 years in the military. He conducts leadership and diversity training for private companies as well as for the military.

Some of the companies that have called on Stewart include MGM Mirage in Las Vegas and utility companies such as Westar Inc. And he still does some part-time civilian work for the Kansas Adjutant General’s Office.

In addition, he teaches social science and computer science classes for Allen County Community College at its satellite campus in Burlingame. He already had spent time as an adjunct professor for different colleges while still in the military.

“One of the things the military does for you is enable you to go to school,” said Stewart, who spent the first half of his military career on active duty with the Air Force before joining the Guard.

“The military does a pretty good job of preparing you to transition to civilian life,” he said. “There are a lot of different programs and briefings that you have.”

Stewart held a variety of military jobs, from working as a forward air controller attached to Special Forces units to supply officer. His last few years were spent as an Air Guard officer in Washington, D.C. He retired because he wanted to spend more time with his family.

While Stewart hasn’t had to make major adjustments to the civilian world, there were plenty of little adjustments to make, such as reminding himself that he doesn’t have to salute anyone anymore.

“One of the biggest things I have now is trying to decide what to wear,” he said. “I never had to think about that before.”

Stewart’s advice to others who will leave a military career for the civilian world is to plan well ahead of the retirement date.

“Have a pretty good idea what you want to do,” he said. “You can never start looking for a new job soon enough. Some military folks have a tendency to wait until a month or two before they retire.”

Military retirees also have to learn to switch from military jargon to civilian and corporate language, Stewart said.

And retirees need to prepare for taking on their own health and dental costs.

“All those type of things that are taken care of by the military you have to consider once you get out,” he said.