**Series 1 Title:** *“From Manila to the Flight Deck: How a Filipino Immigrant’s Journey Shaped a Mission to Fix Military Transition”*
**Boarding House to Battleship: My Roots, My Uniform, and the Mission That Followed**
I was between 16-24 years old, sitting on the creaky wooden steps of my father’s boarding house in Santa Cruz, Manila. The air smelled of *adobo* and *tsokolate*, and the street buzzed with students from nearby universities—future doctors, lawyers, and teachers—arguing over textbooks, sharing stories of hope, and dreaming of better lives. My father, a retired accountant who past away in 2016, ran the Astro Accounting Office (still existing run by his secretary for 2 decades) to support his family (and friends, that is another story).
Little did I know, my experience and those conversions in Manila growing up, would shape my life.
### **From Manila to the Navy: A First-Gen Immigrant’s Leap**
Growing up, I straddled two worlds: the tight-knit Filipino community of my childhood and the vast, unfamiliar promise of America. When I joined the U.S. Navy in 1991, I was 25, a first-generation immigrant with a college diploma and a hunger to prove myself. The military wasn’t just a job—it was a bridge, initially financially. Not to serve America but to build a career to help my family.
My first deployment was on the USS *Independence* (CV-62), a 60s-era carrier with a flight deck that felt like a second home. I served as Airman striking to become Aviation Boatswain’s Mate, directing launches, and learning the rhythm of naval life. Over 23 years, I’d serve on the *Abraham Lincoln* (CVN-72), *Nimitz* (CVN-68), and NMCB 5/40, deploying to Japan, Spain, Guam, and Puerto Rico. I rose to E-6 Personnelman aka Human Resource clerk, earned my degree, and even became a Chief as Navy Career Counselor—guiding sailors through their own transitions.
But in 2014, when it was my turn to hang up the uniform, I faced a truth I’d seen in others: *The hardest mission isn’t deployment. It’s coming home.*
### **The “Double Transition”: From Sailor to Civilian (and Everything In Between)**
Leaving the Navy wasn’t just a job change. It was an identity shift. For 23 years, I’d been “Petty Officer Astro”—part of a team, a hierarchy, a mission. Now, I was just… Tony. A civilian. A Filipino-American navigating a world that felt as foreign as the ports I’d visited.
Sound familiar, veterans?
That transition taught me something critical: *We’re not just leaving a job. We’re leaving a culture.* And if the military doesn’t prepare us for that cultural shift, we’re set up to struggle.
### **From Counselor to Advocate: Why I Couldn’t Stay Silent**
In 2023, I joined the Fleet and Family Support Center (FFSC) in Norfolk as a TAP counselor. Every week, I sat across from sailors—proud, capable, *lost*—and heard the same refrain: *“Why didn’t anyone show me this sooner?”*
I’d walk them through Gap Analysis, Capstone, JST uploads, DoD forms, and resume workshops, but I saw the gaps:
- A senior chief retiring after 22 years, panicking about civilian taxes because TAP only mentioned VA benefits, not *real-world* financial planning.
- A young E-5, fresh out of a combat tour, overwhelmed by LinkedIn because TAP didn’t teach him how to translate “ship’s crew” into “project team player.”
- A first-gen veteran like me, confused by college applications because TAP’s “education module” felt like a policy manual, not a roadmap.
These weren’t just paperwork issues. They were *identity* issues.
That’s when I started my research: *Upgrading Our Transition Program TAP Research*—a deep dive into why transition fails so many, and how to fix it. But I didn’t just study it. I lived it.
### **My Mission: MISSION NEXT and CHQ**
Today, I’m not just a counselor. I’m a reformer. My work revolves around two pillars:
1. **MISSION NEXT: Civilian Readiness Academy** – A rebranded, human-centered overhaul of TAP that prioritizes *empowerment* over entitlements.
2. **CHQ (Cultural Human Intelligence)** – A framework blending cultural, emotional, and creative intelligence to help veterans (and anyone) navigate transitions.
Because transition isn’t just about benefits. It’s about *belonging*.
### **What’s Next? (Spoiler: Part 2)**
In my next article, I’ll pull back the curtain on TAP’s biggest failures—data from my 2025 research, stories from the counseling room, and why 33,000 veterans are still homeless despite “completing” transition.
But first, I want to hear from you: *What’s your transition story?* Comment below or DM me on LinkedIn. Your voice will shape the movement.
**P.S.** My full research paper, *Upgrading The Transition Assistance Program *, drops by the end of 2025. Sign up at [tonyastro.com](http://www.tonyastro.com) to be the first to read it.
*“From Manila to the flight deck, I learned that transitions are about more than location. They’re about identity. Let’s redefine what it means to transition.”* – Tony Astro
🔗 **Connect with me**:
- LinkedIn: [linkedin.com/in/tonyastro](https://linkedin.com/in/tonyastro)
- YouTube: [AstroFamilyTube](https://youtube.com/AstroFamilyTube) (Check out my “Boarding House to Battleship” story!)
- Blog: [tonyastroblogs.blogspot.com](http://tonyastroblogs.blogspot.com)
*Stay tuned for Part 2: “33,000 Veterans Homeless: The Systemic Flaws in Military Transition” – Coming Soon.*
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