Military Retirement- What I Would Do Different Part 1

Hard to believe in just a few weeks it will be three years since I retired from the military! Leaving a career in the profession of arms is certainly a life changing event. In my book, Military Retirement: An After-Action Review, I spend almost 100 pages sharing my experiences with the sincere hope the lessons learned may help a service member preparing to retire or a veteran struggling with the transition back to civilian life. Military retirement, an After-Action Review is available now for free download from the home page or for purchase in paperback on Amazon!

In one chapter, I explore what I would have done differently if I had to separate from military service again. It’s certainly military, if not human nature, to “what if” our decisions. Perfectly normal and healthy practice. However, those who get stuck on the “what if’s” can sometimes become depressed. I’ve always felt it’s important to live life with no regrets and not dwell on what is passed. I’ve done my fair share of “what if” drills over the past three years and there are a few things I would do different regarding my military retirement.

In my book, I offer “sustains” and “improves” for all the different tasks associated with military retirement such as finding a job, VA and other considerations. Additionally, I identify the three major things I would have done completely different given a different set of circumstances. I’ll cover one this week and the final two next week. There is a lot of “what if” in the following, but I hope my reflections are helpful to someone. The first thing I would do differently might come as a shocker and it comes with a big caveat. Bottom line, if we didn’t have children at home, I would not have retired from the military at 24 years. I would have stayed until the Army asked me to leave.

Let me be clear, retiring in 2019 was 110% the correct decision for my Family given where we were in life. Quite by accident, in what would become our last assignment in the military, we landed in a great location with exceptional schools, employment opportunities and quality of life. Our Family was thriving, and it just didn’t make sense to pack up and move to who knows where again. We had about as smooth a transition back to civilian life as it comes. A major theme of my book is that retiring from the military is a Family decision.

However, hypothetically, if our kids were out of the house and it was just up to me and the wife, we would have stayed in. One thing I’ve been reminded of over the past three years is money doesn’t always buy fulfillment. I’ve been very fortunate to land great post military employment. My day job coupled with military retirement and other income certainly has made us much more comfortable. But working as a civilian just isn’t as personally rewarding as serving something bigger than oneself.

I really think this is the biggest struggle every veteran must face when we end our service. Not sure any of us will be able to find post military employment that is as fulfilling as when we wore the uniform. This is probably the number one thing veterans must make peace with upon retirement.

Again, in a “what if” environment where we didn’t have a middle and high schooler, I would have stayed 30 years or longer if possible. I would be in my mid 50’s at retirement and retirement pay would bump up to 75%. I really didn’t add VA disability compensation into my pre-retirement calculus, but as I’ve learned, it is a real benefit many of us will receive at some level. Retiring mid 50s vs. late 40s would leave about five years or so before we could also tap retirement accounts for income. Social Security wouldn’t be far down the road after that.

Doing a full 30+ years would relieve some of the mostly self-induced pressure to find post military employment. Also alleviates some, if not all of the adjusting back to the civilian workplace challenges. Staying 30 years means the window before “final” retirement shortens…or preferably disappears! Bottom line, there is probably some goodness in making the military one’s only adult job if possible.

Anyway, reality is we had our children later in life and at 24 years of service they were just entering middle and high school. Everyone has to leave service at some point and the stars aligned so that retiring at 24 years was the correct decision for our Family. But I wanted to ensure I shared this important “what if” I’ve mulled over the past three years as I’m confident many veterans may have the same thoughts…and it is perfectly ok! 

Next week I’ll explore a couple more of the big things I would have done differently. Specifically, I would have created an exit strategy earlier in my military career and then a detailed plan about two years out!

The views, opinions and biases expressed in this blog are the authors and do not reflect those of the U.S. Army or Department of Defense.

Check out all the sustains and improves from just about every aspect of my own transition from career Soldier back to civilian in my new book, Military Retirement: An After-Action Review, available for free eBook download at my homepage or paperback purchase on Amazon.

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