Nearing the End of a Military Career

[Parr0thead98]

7 June 2013.

That's the magical date.

What I'm now projecting as my last day of duty before going on 20 days of house hunting permissive TDY and 95 days of terminal leave with an actual retirement effective date of 1 Oct 2013! I can drop my papers this October.

What a mental journey this has been, but I am now sure this is the right thing for our family. When the wife asked yesterday, "so, is there anything at this point that would make you consider staying in? What about General (I could still have 1 more shot, but I could also win the Lottery!)?"

"Nope...I don't want to miss my son's HS years. I'm ready and the AF stamped an expiration date on me the day I came in. I'm just a disposable asset to them and my replacement is already out there somewhere waiting for me to vacate my big office!"

Wife and I are flying to NC next month to start scouting areas and neighborhoods to focus our home search...I think we're commiting to this!

Cheers to 7 June 2013...can't wait for you to get here!

 

[RetireBy90]

Congrats on the pending move, and thank you for your service. You and the others here that have served in uniform.

DW and I both retired from Army, she in 92 and me in 94. One thing that has really caught me off guard is the transitions. I do computers so my work transition was not hard. However, the DW being home full time didn't work for her so she went to work for school system after 18 months. My 2 sons were young when we retired, so had time to go to football and hockey games. Then they left home and it was back to just the 2 of us again, another big transition. Now I work from home full time and have the home to myself all day. Another big transition. And then one more when we retire in 2-4 years. Lots of adjustments along the way. I couldn't have expected them (or maybe I should have) those years ago and for me they have been a challange.

 

[JDARNELL]

I'm ready and the AF stamped an expiration date on me the day I came in. I'm just a disposable asset to them and my replacement is already out there somewhere waiting for me to vacate my big office!"

Well said. Congrats on identifying your date!

JDARNELL

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

I asked the instructor "how do I interview for a lower level job than what I'm doing in the military right now. I don't want to work as hard as I now."

Hmmm. This may not be as easy as it sounds. Be careful. Staff positions at all levels on the outside as often as not involve lots of unpaid overtime.

However, if you become a contractor, your hours become 8 to 5. Unless you step in in a crisis and you work a ton of overtime. In which case you get paid for it (at straight time rates), AND you will find that it is much more tolerable. That is often the case for me as an engineer.

I see that you have a lot of time to investigate, so good.

Best of luck.

 

[Nords]

7 June 2013.

A shipmate's Christmas card talked about retiring in April. I assumed he meant April 2013.

Turns out he and the assignment officer had different visions of his future, and he's retiring in just 78 days. I don't think he's even planning to go to TAP. April Fool's indeed.

I think your way is going to work out much better.

 

[Parr0thead98]

Thanks for the encouraging notes...this board has actually been a big help to me in making the "mental leap." It really is mental for me as the military programs you to complete every mission and not to accept failure. As you, yourselves, have experienced, getting a second career after the military is an expected "next mission" and why are you quitting if you don't get a full-time job. I told my exec I wanted to be like him...he's a retired E-9 after 30 yrs, and is now a GS-11 as my excutive assistant...nice!

I've actually discussed my retirement plan w/ my General last weekend. I luv working for him...he's a great leader. But he also represents what I don't want to be...he's on his way to his second star, going to a 2-star billet in D.C. in a few months, one kid is in the military and one is at college. And now that the kids are grown, his wife has moved out because they've found without the kids, they don't have anything in common anymore...actually, she's had enough of the military life and wants to go back to being a teacher, but he's still military all the way.

For us, my wife is an RN w/ a degree, but hasn't practiced her license since our son was born 12 yrs ago. Right now, our planning is for her to go back to work when we retire and for me to take at least 1 yr off to be "Domestic Daddy!" I'm excited since my hobby is to cook...we're gonna be eatin' large starting next June!

Ahhh, feels good to say "7 June 2013, 7 June 2013, 7 June 2013" and y'all helped me get there. So glad I found this place

 

[JDARNELL]

I went to TAP the first time 2 yrs out. The next 9 months I really worked on the mental aspects of what I wanted to do. I then went at the 6 month out which was a good refresher. The good thing is the FI part should be pretty taken care of as compared to the mental process. You have to go thru it. The folks here really helped me thru the process. You may be suprised how hard it is to turn off the drive that got you your current billet.

JDARNELL

 

[Nords]

You may be suprised how hard it is to turn off the drive that got you your current billet.

Yep. I channeled most of that into surfing lessons, but there was still some left over for writing.

 

[Parr0thead98]

I know I will have to do something to channel that energy, so I started a list yesterday that I have next to my computer at work. So far, I've got:

1. Learn to speak and read Spanish
2. Take cooking classes on different cuisines
3. Get back into Tae Kwon Do or a new martial arts

It's a nice mental relief to just think about me for a change instead of the unit and the job!

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Your family will be the unit and taking care of them will be your job. Think of it this way and the transition may be easier. You will apply the same skills and the same energy to the assignment. See how easy it is?

 

[ziggy29]

However, if you become a contractor, your hours become 8 to 5. Unless you step in in a crisis and you work a ton of overtime. In which case you get paid for it (at straight time rates), AND you will find that it is much more tolerable. That is often the case for me as an engineer.

Of course, that also often means someone needs to have their health insurance lined up elsewhere, since one of the tradeoffs of contracting is usually the loss of benefits. For a military retiree who put in their 20 that won't be a showstopper, but for a lot of other folks it could be.

 

[Parr0thead98]

Morning all...been a while since I've posted, but have been reading the threads every morning with my coffee.

I'm excited on 2 events today:

1) we're almost thru our first month of living off my projected retirement check...and we're still $542 in the black w/ 4 days to go...whew!

2) just booked my retirement dream vacation for the month after I start terminal leave...a 12-day Mediterannean cruise to Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Turkey...I'm so excited!

On the budgeting, it's somewhat of a relief to find we can adjust our lifestyle to LBYM for day-to-day living. And that includes our housing costs.

On the cruise, as one of my hobbies is being a "gaming enthusiast," I got an offer for a free cruise for 2 people...and just had to pay taxes/fees/costs for bringing our 2 kids with us. Total for 12 days of touring the Med on a cruise ship for 4 people, $2,706!

Wife & I are flying to NC in a few weeks to do an initial house hunting trip to narrow down the areas we think we'd like.

The fear factor of leaving the military in 17 mos is rapidly fading, I'm really thinking this is going to work.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Of course, that also often means someone needs to have their health insurance lined up elsewhere, since one of the tradeoffs of contracting is usually the loss of benefits. For a military retiree who put in their 20 that won't be a showstopper, but for a lot of other folks it could be.

True. But maybe not always.

My agency offered health insurance, at a price. Also, my wife worked and had good health insurance for the family. At the time, we could get private health insurance, but did not. Can't now.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

The fear factor of leaving the military in 17 mos is rapidly fading, I'm really thinking this is going to work.

Visualizing the transition and planning makes a big difference! The fear factor is common with people who have had one career.

You will do fine.

Cheers.

 

[RetireBy90]

True. But maybe not always.

My agency offered health insurance, at a price. Also, my wife worked and had good health insurance for the family. At the time, we could get private health insurance, but did not. Can't now.

Please bear with me, my DW and I both retired Army, get health insurance through our current employers. However, don't you always have access to TriCare if you retired?

 

[JDARNELL]

1) we're almost thru our first month of living off my projected retirement check...and we're still $542 in the black w/ 4 days to go...whew!

On the budgeting, it's somewhat of a relief to find we can adjust our lifestyle to LBYM for day-to-day living. And that includes our housing costs.


The fear factor of leaving the military in 17 mos is rapidly fading, I'm really thinking this is going to work.

A few months of seeing that on average you can stay in the black is great confirmation. I am sure you have some depth so if you are over a little every now and then you can adjust it out. Besides you have a lot of capability and you can always pick up a little extra on a short term basis if needed.

Things will become much clearer as the fog of work lifts.

JDARNELL

 

[JDARNELL]

However, don't you always have access to TriCare if you retired?

Can you expand on this statement?

We use TRICARE only and have had no issues. Of course I am happy to pay my co-pay and go where ever I want as to not have to mess with the MTFs.

JDARNELL

 

[Nords]

I'm excited on 2 events today:
1) we're almost thru our first month of living off my projected retirement check...and we're still $542 in the black w/ 4 days to go...whew!
2) just booked my retirement dream vacation for the month after I start terminal leave...a 12-day Mediterannean cruise to Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Turkey...I'm so excited!
The fear factor of leaving the military in 17 mos is rapidly fading, I'm really thinking this is going to work.

Looks like it's all gonna work out fine...

Please bear with me, my DW and I both retired Army, get health insurance through our current employers. However, don't you always have access to TriCare if you retired?

You have access to Tricare if you're retired military. Ed's referring to the vagaries of civilian insurance selection issues.

While you'll always have access to Tricare, the rates will continue to rise over the coming years. However I'm not complaining about the rates-- the cost is still far cheaper than civilian retiree insurance.

Medicare, Tricare For Life, Medigap insurance, and Congress | Military Retirement & Financial Independence
The military drawdown and benefits cuts | Military Retirement & Financial Independence

 

[Parr0thead98]

Morning to all. Officially, the family finished Jan living on my projected retired pay and still had $111.00 left over...woo-hoo Found we spent more on food and eating out so we're eyeing that for Feb. The Airman & Family Readiness Center on base is having a lunch time speaker from the VA coming in next week to teach about your VA benefits and how to file claims. I'm already signed up!

Wife has been researching nursing jobs in NC...don't think she's going to have anyyyy trouble finding work in that field! ;-)

 

[Nords]

Morning to all. Officially, the family finished Jan living on my projected retired pay and still had $111.00 left over...woo-hoo Found we spent more on food and eating out so we're eyeing that for Feb. The Airman & Family Readiness Center on base is having a lunch time speaker from the VA coming in next week to teach about your VA benefits and how to file claims. I'm already signed up!
Wife has been researching nursing jobs in NC...don't think she's going to have anyyyy trouble finding work in that field! ;-)

Thanks for the update!

You'll have to let us know how the VA works out. I've been meaning to turn myself in to our local VA for some minor disability assessment but it's always seemed busy up there with wounded warriors.

Judging from the blog's e-mails and "Contact me" forms, you have a number of lurkers here who have been following your progress and hoping to emulate the same in a few years. Keep us posted!

 

[Parr0thead98]

Morning all...been a while since I've posted, but have been reading the threads every morning with my coffee.

Wife & I are flying to NC in a few weeks to do an initial house hunting trip to narrow down the areas we think we'd like.

The fear factor of leaving the military in 17 mos is rapidly fading, I'm really thinking this is going to work.

Morning again, folks...a lot has been going. Reference the quote above about going back to NC to scout out areas...well, that turned into us signing a contract on a house to be built later this year, yikes! Won't bore you with all the detailes, but after looking at approx 30 houses/various neighborhoods over 2 days, we found 1 sales model that we had seen online and just happened to be driving by on our way to another neighborhood. We stopped in on a whim, I knew it was the house I wanted the moment I walked into the kitchen! Builder rep calls 2 days later while I'm TDY and offers several incentives if I could close before the end of this year so they can close out Phase I and begin Phase II next year. I countered and they accepted!

So, the family is definitely committed now! Will mean carrying the mortgage for 5 mos sooner than I had planned, so I need to update my budget forecast this weekend, but does not appear to put a significant dent in things.

Already had my first "job offer" from an old boss who's formed his own beltway bandit company. Wants me to keep in touch and he gives me 6 mos after retirement before I'm climbing the walls. Now I have a goal to prove him wrong! I really want to go 1 yr without working to de-stress, de-program, let my wife re=enter the workforce/nursing.

15 mos to go!

 

[Parr0thead98]

Was somewhat rushed yesterday morning as there were a couple of additional thoughts I wanted to add. Did I mention my mom came with us house hunting? She was a good sport in keeping up with our pace, but she asked me several times, "so what are you going to do for a job?" When I explained to her how we've been practicing living off my projected retirement pay and that I don't necessarily expect to need to work, she retorted, "well, I just think you need to have a job, you're too young!" Ahhh, will be so good to be back near family, won't it?!

Have been studying the DIY channels/videos on how to build an outdoor patio, grow fruit-bearing trees, finish a third floor attic, put in wainscotting (sp?), properly fertilize & grow a lawn, stain concrete driveway, and researched culinary classes in the area where we'll be moving in NC...gee, what WILL I do all day??

 

[jclarksnakes]

You might mention to your mom that you did more work in your army career than most people do in a lifetime. If I remember the recruiting ad correctly we did more before 10AM than most people did all day. People just cannot understand that with a reasonable income and strong LBYM mentality it is very possible to reach FI and RE.

 

[stoutboy]

Join the Foreign Service! Lots of ex-mils in the dip corps these days.

Was somewhat rushed yesterday morning as there were a couple of additional thoughts I wanted to add. Did I mention my mom came with us house hunting? She was a good sport in keeping up with our pace, but she asked me several times, "so what are you going to do for a job?" When I explained to her how we've been practicing living off my projected retirement pay and that I don't necessarily expect to need to work, she retorted, "well, I just think you need to have a job, you're too young!" Ahhh, will be so good to be back near family, won't it?!

Have been studying the DIY channels/videos on how to build an outdoor patio, grow fruit-bearing trees, finish a third floor attic, put in wainscotting (sp?), properly fertilize & grow a lawn, stain concrete driveway, and researched culinary classes in the area where we'll be moving in NC...gee, what WILL I do all day??

 

[Parr0thead98]

Evening all. Been researching VA Disability Rating calculations and trying to figure out "how the sausage is made" as far as computing your overall rating. From my research and my known, documented "delayed discrepancies" as we say in aircraft maintenance community, I estimate a disability rating of between 60% to 80%. I am scheduled for a sleep study later this week to test for sleep apnea. I never considered that I may have it until I went in for an annual health assessment (annual, right! I don't think I've been for about 4 yrs!). My answers to the sleep questions caused the Dr to dig a little further and schedule me for the study. If you are diagnosed w/ severe apnea, it's a 50% disability. But, from what I've read, the VA takes your highest disability rating like this 50% and then if your next rating/ailment is, say, 30%, VA then takes 30% of your remaining "good" 50% left after your first rating. Make sense?

So, I have 6 conditions I'm under regular care for w/out the sleep issues. I never knew I was in such bad shape!!

Fortunately, I have a large term life insurance policy already in effect as I understand rates are higher if you get diagnosed w/ apnea because it puts you at higher risk for heart attacks down the road...joy.

Hung out some Navy friends last weekend. He's an O-5 retiring in June. As we drank good bourbon and chatted about our retirements (mine's 14 mos away). He looked at me and said, "wow, you've really thought about all of this and have done some serious planning. I've only gotten as far as I'm retiring and need to go get a job."

Have I said THANK YOU to you folks on this board, lately?? ;-)