Nearing the End of a Military Career

Parr0thead98 said:
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?? ;-)
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Tell him that he needs to check in with one of us...
 
Thx to Nord's book, I realized I had to re-calculate my projected retirement pay to be the average of the last 36 mos pay vs just the avg of the last 3 years pay rates--meaning I went back 36 actual months from my projected retirement date and averaged it out. It ended up coming out approx $1,100 yr lower than just averaging the pay rate for my final 3 yrs. Thx Nords!
 
Our base starts a big inspection on Monday. We've been preparing for months. Yesterday before going home, some of my folks were stopping in my office saying, "Don't worry Boss, we're ready." A smile came across my face...I'm not worried because I know my folks have been ready every day they're on the job--and the fact that this is the last major inspection I'll have to go through before retiring next Summer!!!!!!!! Sweet!
 
Parr0thead98 said:
Thx to Nord's book, I realized I had to re-calculate my projected retirement pay to be the average of the last 36 mos pay vs just the avg of the last 3 years pay rates--meaning I went back 36 actual months from my projected retirement date and averaged it out. It ended up coming out approx $1,100 yr lower than just averaging the pay rate for my final 3 yrs. Thx Nords!
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You're welcome!

I believe you can still fill out a request for DFAS to calculate your pension (hopefully using the same technique) to verify your monthly amount. For example, I think they truncate their final result to the lower dollar amount. Of course that request is best done when DFAS can estimate the pay scale in the year of your retirement, so the confirmation happens pretty late in the game.

I'm one of the last of the "Final Pay" dinosaurs. When the January 2002 pay tables were released (before I retired on 1 June), O-4 pay had been boosted across the board with a retention-incentive "targeted pay raise" of 5.6%. Of course their target was really O-4s with 10-14 years of service, and they could've restricted that to O-4s with less than 18 years of service or some other gimmick, but for some reason they applied it to the whole rank. This meant that my pension was boosted by 5.6% just before I retired (and for the rest of my life). That's my own little pension spiking, so I can understand the push to a High Three system. But it sure complicates things.

Parr0thead98 said:
... and the fact that this is the last major inspection I'll have to go through before retiring next Summer!!!!!!!! Sweet!
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It's a great feeling!
 
Been a while since I posted, so figured it's time to update on where I am wrt retirement process. Been an emotional roller coaster, lately.

First, unofficially, I am now less than 1 year from my last duty day o/a 7 Jun 13!!! Holy crap, this is really going to happen, isn't it?? I am both soooooo excited and anxious at the same time.

Went to NC last week to finalize plans/details w/ the builder. I didn't know I'd get asked so many questions like what carpet, paint color, grilling deck?, tile for the bath floor, tile for shower, how about downstairs, appliances selection, where do you want outlets? (knew that one--beer fridge in garage gets it's own outlet, baby!) stain for the hardwood floors, lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

The saying, whne one door closes, another door opens came true. My best friend's mother passed while we were there. I've known this woman since her son and I were in third grade, got him through high school (learned not to cover my tests as he sat next to me!), college roomates, pilot training together until I washed out, still visit each other regularly, etc. I was relieved at her passing as she was in declining health in a nursing home. I mention this event because earlier in the week I was going through "Sr Officer'itis" we'll call it. It was finally hitting me that I would be just another family member at our monthly dinner gatherings (I'm 1 of 7 kids, we all have families so our gatherings are 20-30 people) and not "The Colonel." Instead, I'll now be "hey, empty the garbage and bring me another plate for the chicken" guy. I'll no longer be in charge, and nobody will be making coffe for me. I'll be living back in my home town for the first time in 29 years where people don't give a d*mn what I used to do, what large unit I used to lead, or what rank I used to be.

So, as I realized that this is all trivial and the fact that I am dealing with it now vs after I retire, was made even more trivial by my best friend's mom passing. Reality check of what's really important and what's just an illusion of power/influence when you're in uniform.

The silver lining, I got to see my best friend who came in from DC, and 2 of my old high school buddies that I ran around with, but haven't kept in touch. Gotta tell ya', God was telling me, "Pete, it's OK, I have a plan for you and you're old friends are here for you...see?" Damn, He outfoxed me again! It was such a wonderfulr & fulfilling feeling to see my old friends again. They are excited about me moving back and already talking about re-starting our old high school poker group, teaching me how to fish & hunt (I am from NC, mind you), etc. My best friend also said he and his wife, she's also active duty, will probably be moving back next year after she retires. He's a Reservist, so he can commute for his tours. All to say, I am not as scared as I was 3 weeks ago.

I am a little surprised at myself for getting anxious about losing my title. rank, and identity initially. You folks on this board prepared me for it, I told myself I was ready for it. But, I guess confronting it by being back home last week made it jump from concept to actual reality and it gave me a brief jolt. Glad to report I'm good now. Been researching attic home theater rooms today and I am pumped to get started on it next Summer!

Now that I'm actually less than 1 year away from my last duty day, I'm going to schedule the wife and I for TAPS in Sept or Oct. Game on, folks!

Thanks for listening to me and my emotional babble...I know I can do this!

Pete
 
I know for me the emotional part of leaving AD was far more stressing that the financial parts. I made the transition from Lt Col to first name then back to Mr. last name. I never talk about the rank and if someone mentions it I play it off. Your transition seems about normal.

JDARNELL
 
Thx JD. I am doing OK now. I was surprised at myself for feeling this way because I told myself earlier that I was ready for this and knew it was coming. However, the actual "awakening" last week caught me a bit off guard because i told myself I had prepared for it ahead of time. Ha!! How'd that work out for me?!

I'm good, now. Chuckling at myself as the first step is to admit you have an ER problem, right? :)
 
Correct. There is a 12 step program. I think I am on step 9 or 10. I have been trying the bridge career thing with DoD however I told my boss that I would be moving on in a few weeks. Its either to another govt agency (step 11) or straight to (step 12) back to ER. Don't under estimate the Type A traits that got you to where you are now. They are still very present for me.

I have a friend who retires in Feb 13 and he had his "ah ha" moment last week when he was home visiting his mom. In his case it was more "wow I have done all of this and all my HS friends are losers. I really am a Colonel." I think we are led to believe work titles are important but in reality there irrelevant.

JDARNELL
 
Amen! It's just an illusion of power that some people take as their reality.

After you hang up the uniform, your only real "power" are the legacy of raising good kids and the legacy of loving your wife (or sig other) like no one else could ever do! I can't recall who sang it, but one country song line sticks with me "no one's ever put on their tombstone that I wish I would have spent more time at work!" true that! My replacement is already out there somewhere just waiting for me to vacate my desk next Summer...I can either ?futily? try to hang on to my illusion of power or start boxing up my office stuff. Hhmmm, better swing by Sam's Club to pick up some boxes!
 
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Thanks for the update, Pete, this is good stuff. You'll make the transition just fine. Sorry that your friend's mother's passing evoked the realizations, though.

As a senior officer, you may be perceived to have barely enough technical skills and persistence to be trusted to run the grille at your next family gathering. Or maybe they'll tell you to go sit in the corner with a frosty beverage and tell [-]logistics[/-] war stories. And just how accurately will they expect you to be able to shoot during the hunt?

I'd love to hear what you think about TAP. It'll also be interesting to hear about your fellow attendees, who will just be starting step 1 of their 12-step program by the end of the seminar...

Parr0thead98 said:
where do you want outlets?
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I can answer this one! We asked for an outlet every four feet all around the perimeter of the room. We also had a bunch of three-way light switches installed so that we could switch the lights coming or going. (We eventually cut back on the number of switched outlets in favor of power strips.) The rest of the room's power plan used about 300 extra feet of Romex but it's perfect.
 
The first morning after I retired from the army I woke up and had a brief (very brief, maybe 5 seconds) panic attack asking myself omg wtf have I done. That was 19 years ago and it was the one and only time I ever even wondered whether retiring from the army was the right thing to do.
 
For the first several months after I left the Navy, I often had the unsettling feeling that I had left my cover somewhere. I had to consciously tell myself that I didn't wear that anymore. Other than that, no qualms. But then, I was only a LT when I left.
 
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I am not sure one is ever done being a senior military person. Any time something needs to get done, and people are sort of standing around admiring the problem and wondering what to do, I suspect you may find yourself stepping up to rally people to get the job done. Because you have the instinct, and you were taught the way.

Amethyst

Parr0thead98 said:
Amen! It's just an illusion of power that some people take as their reality.

After you hang up the uniform, your only real "power" are the legacy of raising good kids and the legacy of loving your wife (or sig other) like no one else could ever do!
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Was visiting one of my worldwide units this week and ended the visit w/ a Commander's Call, or a Navy All Hands as my big blue brethren would say. One of my non-comms stood up and asked, "Sir, you've said you plan on retiring next year. Besides getting higher education degrees, what have you learned as you prepare for retirement that you would pass on to us?"

Somebody get me a tissue to wipe these tears of pride!

"LBYM," I said. "Don't take 16 years like I did to learn to live below your means!" I continued to say how I looked out in their parking lot as I arrived and saw a lot of newer trucks and motorcycles that probably they are making payments on. And as an O-6 making great money, I drive an 11-yr-old VW Passat that I paid cash for--but I wasn't always that way. I told them how, as a young officer, I turned to Consumer Credit Counseling because I got in way too far over my head and needed help. Don't be me, I beseached them.

I also then walked them through just how much a military pension can cover if they have no debt when they retire. I had them doing public math as I threw out how much for a mortgage, utilities, cell phone, cable, food, gas, etc. We got all the way down to $0 and I asked, "OK, so have we missed any necessities?" "No," they all chimed in.

OK, so after 20+ years, you will still be in your 30's, right?

Yessir.

Are you going to sit home all day now or go get a job?

Jobs, sir.

OK, what are you going to do with all that money?

Huh?

Well, we just walked through how your pension will cover the basics, so if you get debt free before retirement, then any $$ you bring afterwards...well, what are you going to do with it?

Light bulbs go on across the room :)

I had multiple troops come up to me afterwards to talk some more on that topic.

I love this job :)
 
jclarksnakes said:
The first morning after I retired from the army I woke up and had a brief (very brief, maybe 5 seconds) panic attack asking myself omg wtf have I done. That was 19 years ago and it was the one and only time I ever even wondered whether retiring from the army was the right thing to do.
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LOL - the next monday I got up to go to my new day job and grabbed my uniform first... :facepalm:
 
Just thought I'd share an "ah ha" moment. I'm geo-bacherloring it for a month as fam is visiting Grandparents. So, local golf course had an ad for 1/2 golf if you start between 1100-1500. Hhmm, my early-retiree-in-training mind saw a good deal, so I went. To save even more buck$, I chose to walk the course, so my total bill was $8.

I got to go out solo as not many people are lining up at 1100 to tee off when it's supposed to hit 103 by 3-4pm. Gee, wonder why? I also noticed I was the ONLY person out walking vs using a cart...hhmmm, do they know something I don't? ;-)

The good: I luved getting back on the course after years not playing (except the office best-ball/beer drinking tournaments) since my son was born (he's a teenager now). In another thread someone polled if there's a right early retirement personality type--I'm dead even betw an INTJ/ENTP. Well, the INTJ side of me completely enjoyed the solitude of playing alone! I was actually imagining myself getting the kids off to school next Fall, wife off to work, and hitting the course for 9 holes before running errands/cleaning the house...and I was smiling.

The bad: who was the dumb a** in my mind that thought it'd be nice to walk to get some exercise in 103 degrees? D'uh! However, I am down 2lbs this morning on the scale!

The ugly: besides my sunburn on my neck because I forgot sunscreen? Going to have to plan the cost of new clubs into my "living off my military retirement" experiment. Better golf through better technology! I'm using the set of clubs I got as a butter bar back in '88. I think a minor upgrade is warranted.

So that was my $8 day of entertainment/weight loss program!
 
Parr0thead98 said:
The bad: who was the dumb a** in my mind that thought it'd be nice to walk to get some exercise in 103 degrees? D'uh! However, I am down 2lbs this morning on the scale!
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Yeah that guy shows up around my place from time to time also.

JDARNELL
 
Parr0thead98 said:
Just thought I'd share an "ah ha" moment. I'm geo-bacherloring it for a month as fam is visiting Grandparents. So, local golf course had an ad for 1/2 golf if you start between 1100-1500. Hhmm, my early-retiree-in-training mind saw a good deal, so I went. To save even more buck$, I chose to walk the course, so my total bill was $8.

I got to go out solo as not many people are lining up at 1100 to tee off when it's supposed to hit 103 by 3-4pm. Gee, wonder why? I also noticed I was the ONLY person out walking vs using a cart...hhmmm, do they know something I don't? ;-)

The good: I luved getting back on the course after years not playing (except the office best-ball/beer drinking tournaments) since my son was born (he's a teenager now). In another thread someone polled if there's a right early retirement personality type--I'm dead even betw an INTJ/ENTP. Well, the INTJ side of me completely enjoyed the solitude of playing alone! I was actually imagining myself getting the kids off to school next Fall, wife off to work, and hitting the course for 9 holes before running errands/cleaning the house...and I was smiling.

The bad: who was the dumb a** in my mind that thought it'd be nice to walk to get some exercise in 103 degrees? D'uh! However, I am down 2lbs this morning on the scale!

The ugly: besides my sunburn on my neck because I forgot sunscreen? Going to have to plan the cost of new clubs into my "living off my military retirement" experiment. Better golf through better technology! I'm using the set of clubs I got as a butter bar back in '88. I think a minor upgrade is warranted.

So that was my $8 day of entertainment/weight loss program!
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The real question is .. are you going to do it again? You can use sunscreen and the 2 lbs can be good. As for new clubs, not being a golfer I have mo opinion but [-]rationalizing a needless purchase[/-] justifying such an important addition to basic retirement gear shouldn't be too difficult. If the armed forces are anything like the corporate world (and I know they are) most of us probably are well qualified in [-]rationalizing[/-] decision making.
 
Get the technology, you deserve it! :)
 
MichaelB said:
The real question is .. are you going to do it again? You can use sunscreen and the 2 lbs can be good. As for new clubs, not being a golfer I have mo opinion but [-]rationalizing a needless purchase[/-] justifying such an important addition to basic retirement gear shouldn't be too difficult. If the armed forces are anything like the corporate world (and I know they are) most of us probably are well qualified in [-]rationalizing[/-] decision making.
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Ohhhh, you did hit a nerve with that one...in a good way as I am always preaching to my troops about rationalizing. D*mn it! :facepalm:

I'm not going to rush into any purchases until I do see if I will repeat the golf outing. I think I may peruse some pawn shops to see who's hocked their clubs because they, too, rationalized their purchases.
 
MichaelB said:
The real question is .. are you going to do it again? You can use sunscreen and the 2 lbs can be good. As for new clubs, not being a golfer I have mo opinion but [-]rationalizing a needless purchase[/-] justifying such an important addition to basic retirement gear shouldn't be too difficult. If the armed forces are anything like the corporate world (and I know they are) most of us probably are well qualified in [-]rationalizing[/-] decision making.
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MichaelB: thought of your words today. Went to the store and bought a doz used golf balls for $6 vs $22 for brand new. In addition, I noticed a nice driver on the rack w/ a lesser brand of clubs on sale by 50% for $29. I asked the sales clerk for the price on the out of place driver, and he went to ask his manager. He comes back out and said his manager was willing to let the club go for the same $29 to get rid of it, so I got it!

Went and got 9 holes in tonight and the new driver made a BIG difference in driving distance! Best part was knowing I only paid $29 bucks for it :)

Thanks for your reminder about being ER'd. I consider this good training for next year. :rolleyes:
 
JDARNELL said:
Yeah that guy shows up around my place from time to time also.
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That guy must rack up millions of frequent-flyer miles commuting among our homes...

Parr0thead98 said:
I'm not going to rush into any purchases until I do see if I will repeat the golf outing. I think I may peruse some pawn shops to see who's hocked their clubs because they, too, rationalized their purchases.
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It's like upgrading from an IBM PC XT to an i7 laptop. Of course at the pawnshop you're still getting bargains in the Core2Duo class.
 
Have gone out every night this week and got at least 9 holes in. The course on base has 1/2 off greens fees after 1730, and I've been walking. Going out again in about an hour before I fly out tomorrow morning to visit 3 units in 4 days and get back Thurs night to officiate a retirement for one of my troops on Friday morning.

Since re-introducing myself to golf about 1 month ago, I played my best round last night. Actually made a Birdie by sinking a 12' putt! $29 driver still working, too ;-)

Builder has started on the foundation of our house...no turning back now!
 
Parr0thead98 said:
Have gone out every night this week and got at least 9 holes in. The course on base has 1/2 off greens fees after 1730, and I've been walking. Going out again in about an hour before I fly out tomorrow morning to visit 3 units in 4 days and get back Thurs night to officiate a retirement for one of my troops on Friday morning.
Since re-introducing myself to golf about 1 month ago, I played my best round last night. Actually made a Birdie by sinking a 12' putt! $29 driver still working, too ;-)
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PH, I don't golf anymore, but my attention has been directed to this smartphone app:
GolfLogix: #1 Golf GPS App for iPhone, Droid, BlackBerry, Palm; the best GPS rangefinder

Of course you run the risk of completely deglamorizing your game, sucking out all the fun, and giving up in utter despair. But it seems like a great quantitative analysis tool.
 
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