I really appreciate your insight Nords, as you fully understand the situation. It’s funny because we ended up getting our #5 base of preference choice out of 5, and prior to hearing about Korea would have been disappointed but now we are extremely grateful. Funny how a little perspective changes everything.
Stick to your [-]guns[/-] plans. I started making the "wrong" career choices very early in my career, and we just got better at doing that as time went on...
Sea story: Looking for an Engineer in all the wrong places | Military Retirement & Financial Independence
I do still have a couple years on my military commitment so it is probably a little soon for TAP ...
Your logic seems sound now, but here's two things to consider if you wait until 6-12 months before you separate:
1. "Holy crap, I wish we'd known this stuff a year ago!!"
2. "Sorry, captain, but I'm the XO and I get the majority vote. You only have eight months left here and we need you for every single day of them. I'm sure you'll do fine with TurboTAP online. You won't need to worry about money because you'll be selling back every day of leave instead of using it. Have a nice midwatch!"
It's not so much the TAP content as it is the opportunity for you two to break free of the "fog of work", spend quality time together, get into the separation frame of mind, react to the curriculum, appreciate the issues, and make sure you're both on the same page.
... and making contacts with career placement firms, but I will more than likely take you up on that when it gets a little closer. Are these firms pretty successful? I’d love to make a seamless career transition if possible and I’ve never really thought about using one.
They all seem pretty successful, but Lee Cohen is particularly so. I started talking to him when I was at the eight-year point and he'd only been at Lucas for three years. I eventually decided to "Stay Navy, Baby", but I've been sending him "my guys" for over 20 years. One of them became a Lucas headhunter himself, and started a hugely successful branch of the company.
The sooner you talk to someone like Lee, the sooner they can get you into the database and start feeding you small weekly doses of transition info. They have to learn your interests, and you probably have to do some of that learning for yourself before you can tell them what kind of career you're targeting. They'll also help you understand what works... and what doesn't. They'll give you golden gouge on an MBA strategy. You gain nothing by waiting until later. You're the guy with the obligation and the hard separation date, so the sooner you start searching for (and the longer you give yourself) to choose a good headhunter then the happier you'll be.
Lee and I have had a 15-year running debate about ER. He's financially independent but he'll never stop working. He thinks "The Military Guide" was well written but he can't see how it has any relevance to him. Neither one of us "gets" how the other can live the way we do. But he truly loves his work, he's very passionate about it, and his philanthropy makes me look like a piker.
As far as the guard/reserves, I do have a 4 year IRR commitment after separating from active duty. I have thought about continuing with the guard/reserves part time, but that is something DW and I will look into more within the next year. I’ll take a look at the blog.
Thanks again, Nords!
You're welcome, and keep us posted so that your stories can be in the book's second edition!
I took an assignment to HQ USFK/CFC, I had the choice of 1 year unaccompanied or 2 years accompanied. I took the 12 month option, but many of the families seemed to think the accompanied 24 month tour in Seoul was okay. Yongsan had no crime, you could choose to immerse as much or as little in Korean culture as you wanted, etc. But, issuing of chem protective gear to all dependents made clear that this was no ordinary spot on the globe. I didn't have much faith in the family evacuation plan (it was a fine plan, but, well, anyone could see that circumstances would overwhelm any efforts to make it work). All-in-all I was happier that the family stayed in the US, but families who were there seemed to have a good quality if life.
We had to do a MEDEVAC off Chinhae in 1991, and we weren't sure if we were being escorted by heavily-armed vessels-- or captured. When we sent our sailor over the brow to the small boat, all our escorts beat feet and vanished into the fog.
One of my junior Deck Div personnel asked me "Sir, who did we just give Schmuckatelli to?"
I answered: "That small boat and all the ships were from the Korean Navy."
He asked: "North or South?"
If I hadn't seen a U.S. Navy chief petty officer at the other end of the brow I would have been worrying about the same thing...