Why Every Veteran Needs the Hero’s Journey Framework

“You don’t just live the hero’s journey once. Veterans live it twice.”
– Rob Sarver, former Navy SEAL and co-author of The Hero’s Journey

For many veterans, the transition from military to civilian life can feel disorienting, frustrating, and even soul-crushing. You’re told to start with a resume, build a LinkedIn profile, and network like a pro. But what if your real challenge isn’t professional—it's personal?

What if the biggest missing piece in your transition isn’t a job title, but a sense of meaning?

That’s exactly the insight former Navy SEAL Rob Sarver and attorney Alex Gendzier bring to light in their work with transitioning veterans—and in their recent conversation on the Vector Accelerator Podcast.

Their message is simple but transformative: Veterans need a new way to understand their story. And the best way to do that is by using an ancient narrative framework that’s been around for thousands of years—the Hero’s Journey.

What Is the Hero’s Journey?

First popularized by mythologist Joseph Campbell, the Hero’s Journey is a storytelling arc found in myths, literature, and films across cultures and time periods. You’ve seen it in Star Wars, The Odyssey, Black Panther, and The Lord of the Rings—but it’s not just for fiction.

It’s a universal pattern that mirrors real-life transformation.

The arc typically follows three main stages:

1. The Call to Adventure – leaving the familiar and stepping into the unknown.

2. The Trials and Transformation – enduring challenges, pain, and growth.

3. The Return – coming back changed, with gifts or wisdom to offer others.

For those who’ve worn the uniform, this story rings true. As Rob puts it, “We enter the military—that’s our first hero’s journey. But the second one is even harder: when we come home.”

Why It Matters for Veterans

The military offers structure, purpose, identity, and community. Leaving that environment often leads to a collapse of all four pillars. For many, the transition isn’t just about finding a job—it’s about rediscovering who you are without the uniform.

Here’s where the Hero’s Journey comes in. Rather than seeing transition as a “step down” or a loss, this framework helps veterans reframe their experience as part of a noble arc:

• You were called. You served. You endured trials.

• Now, you’re returning—and your mission is to integrate those lessons into a new life.

But it’s not easy. One of the most overlooked pieces of the journey is what Alex calls the return phase—where grief, confusion, and isolation often set in.

“Grief isn’t sadness. It’s neurological, it’s chemical. It changes your thoughts and drains your energy. It’s the body’s way of trying to metabolize a loss too big to swallow at once,” Alex explains.

Sound familiar? Many veterans aren’t just grieving a job—they’re grieving a role, a tribe, a life they once knew. And society doesn’t always give space for that kind of grief. But in the Hero’s Journey, that grief has meaning. It’s a necessary step toward growth.

This Isn’t Just Theory

Rob and Alex didn’t write another SEAL memoir. Their book—and their work—was born from over six years of interviews with more than 200 veterans, plus spouses, pastors, and clinicians.

They didn’t start with a theory. They started with stories.

And in story after story, a pattern emerged. No matter the background—combat vet, spouse, or civilian—all these lives followed the arc of the Hero’s Journey. It helped them make sense of their pain and reconnect to their purpose.

They also saw something else: healing doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens in community.

Veterans need space to tell their stories, reflect on who they’ve become, and imagine what’s next. That’s the power of this framework—it creates the mental and emotional scaffolding for reflection, healing, and action.

How to Start Your Own Journey

If you’re a veteran, you might already be on this journey—you just haven’t named it yet.

Here are some prompts to help you start:

• What was your “call to service”? Why did you step into the unknown?

• What trials and transformations shaped you?

• What are the gifts you’ve returned with—and how can they serve others?

Reflection is the first step. But sharing your story, finding guides, and walking with others—that’s where growth happens. Rob and Alex call this the transition team—a group of advocates, mentors, and peers who help you carry the weight and build momentum.

You don’t need to have it all figured out today. You just need to recognize that your story matters, and it’s still being written.

A Final Word

If you’re feeling lost, stuck, or like your story ended when your service did—it didn’t.

You’re just in the middle of your second journey. And as every hero learns, the hardest part is where the real transformation happens.

So don’t rush the resume.

Start with your story.

Learn more about Rob and Alex’s work at www.heroes-journey.net 
Explore the Vector Accelerator program and begin your own hero’s journey at www.vectoraccelerator.org