Looking for words of Wisdom, I've served 7 years as Airborne Infantry in the 82nd ABN DIV. Two combat deployments I just recently reclassed to Aviation and I just don't enjoy it like I thought I would go figure. I medically reclassed after 3 surgeries and a TBI my body has had it and at 32 I'm feeling the pain. About to have my first child this November and I'm beyond excited, just looking for some advice I've gotta put my family first but makes me very nervous to ETS. I have 18 months till I can transition to civilian life, am I crazy.
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Tough question for a person to answer especially non military. From a fathers stand point I would ask my son what are the pros and cons of staying and leaving.Seven years tells me you can persavere(THANKYOU). What are your plans if you leave or is the long term pay off better if you stay. Pain can be a big convincer and your health both physical and mental are important. I wish you and your family well.
Quote from: Ctrize on May 20, 2019, 07:39:33 PM
Tough question for a person to answer especially non military. From a fathers stand point I would ask my son what are the pros and cons of staying and leaving.Seven years tells me you can persavere(THANKYOU). What are your plans if you leave or is the long term pay off better if you stay. Pain can be a big convincer and your health both physical and mental are important. I wish you and your family well.
Being away from family as in deploying etc. makes things extremely difficult and I don't really want to put my wife through that anymore, much less my children. Money can always be made, but life and memories you can't get back.
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I spent 7 years in the army. I was 11B , airborne .I served in 3rd Ranger Batt and in the 101st. Went to panama during operation nimrod dancer and also Desert storm. Being a grunt , especially a Airborne grunt takes its toll on your body. I miss it from time to time but after being out 24 years I am quiet content. You need to do some soul searching. I think every day if I had put in 20 I would be getting a check every month. I make good money but that extra sure would help. If you go ahead and ETS you will be ok. It takes getting use to though. For a couple of years after getting out I thought about going back in. You need to talk it over with your wife and really study on it. Thanks for your service brother! Good luck in what you decide.
Quote from: Spitten and drummen on May 20, 2019, 07:53:00 PM
I spent 7 years in the army. I was 11B , airborne .I served in 3rd Ranger Batt and in the 101st. Went to panama during operation nimrod dancer and also Desert storm. Being a grunt , especially a Airborne grunt takes its toll on your body. I miss it from time to time but after being out 24 years I am quiet content. You need to do some soul searching. I think every day if I had put in 20 I would be getting a check every month. I make good money but that extra sure would help. If you go ahead and ETS you will be ok. It takes getting use to though. For a couple of years after getting out I thought about going back in. You need to talk it over with your wife and really study on it. Thanks for your service brother! Good luck in what you decide.
Thanks brother for the advice and thank you for your service as well
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I can not give you any advice, but I can give you my THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU HAVE Done. A tip of the hat and a truck load of admiration. Good luck in your future in or out :smiley-patriotic-flagwaver-an :thanks:
I just want to thank you and all the veterans on here for you and their service
Thank you for your service , My son is station at Dover Delaware ... the question your asking is all up to you and your family ... i wouldn't let anyone else decide for you.....
Difficult to say for sure. I can say that the I wouldn't want to think that I had 13 years ahead of me with all the potential for military conflict that there is. Especially in any combat role with wife and new baby. I was USAF (4 yr. guy) and knew 20 year guys who retired and still had to work to get by upon retirement. Remember if you get out, the GI Bill is there to help you earn a living via higher learning or trade school. Good luck and thanks for what you've done.
Served 22 years as an 11B. Got the enemy marksmanship badge in Afghanistan in 2011 and was medically discharged in 2016 because of it. To me it was a blessing in disguise. The Army changed 3-4 times while I was in. It had become so political and unless you were willing to kiss a lot of the brass' behinds you weren't getting very far. Plus due to the Army downsizing our battalion was deactivated and attached to a Cav unit. They treated us like outcasts and we always got the short end of the stick. Had a guy get out at 14 years because he was just so sick of it.
It's tough doing a job you hate going to everyday. Sounds like you've got a good head on your shoulders. If you have a plan I'd say go find something you'd enjoy doing. Good luck with whatever you decide.
Two years ago at my 10 year mark I faced this same question. After my wife got pregnant I knew I didnt want to miss the events of my kid growing up. However I didnt want to completely leave the military either. I ultimately got off active duty and joined the reserves. I still get to serve and have a much slimmer chance of being gone for prolonged periods of time now.
I have been in the reserves now over 2 years and love it. Not to mention, the civilian job I took is the same thing I was doing on active duty which is awesome. Actually leave the first of next year for OTS which will be a nice jump in retirement pay.
No one can tell you what you should do. They can only tell you what they did and if it worked out for them. Only you can make that decision buddy. I wouldnt give me kid growing up for anything in this world. The memories I have already made with him trumps any other memories I've ever created.
Good luck with your decision buddy. Hopefully my insight helped somewhat.
Whatever you decide, thank you for your service!!
First, thank you for your service. I served in the Marines for 4yrs and 3months. There are many days where I wish I would have stayed in for many reasons (retirement checks, loved the Corp, loved my job, loved the stability, etc) but then when I look at my daughter's (didn't have them when I was in) I couldn't imagine leaving them. If I was single, I would have stayed but after serving in Iraq my wife wasn't having it (it was very hard on her and for good reasons as I was a M1A1 tank Gunner and being in firefights was consistent, she seen many of my fellow Marines pay the ultimate price and what it was like for the families).
It's a tough decision for sure. One that you will have to make with your family. I will say that if you choose to get out, be prepared to miss the brother hood bond aspect. For me that was the hardest part. It wasn't easy but I had a good woman to help me through it. Whatever you decide, you will adjust and be fine. Good luck brother on your decision. Semper Fi and God bless
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First of all, thank you and any other Veteran that reads this.
As far as looking for advice.....pray specifically for wisdom and guidance for your decision making. Have you set specific values with your family? If so, the decision should echo the values you have set for your household.
The factors you need to consider career wise are your skill set or trade, it's value in the military versus its value in the private sector. You'll need to have goals and a plan either way, stay or go.
I live in a military community (Havelock NC, USMC Aviation). I served from 75-79 and decided to get out after my enlistment. In those 4 years, I deployed overseas twice and we were constantly training for 2 to 3 weeks away from Cherry Point. I married in 1976, to a wonderful woman, and we have been together for 42 plus years, 2 wonderful children and have retired together. I chose to leave the military because I wanted to have a life with my family. In 1981, I was very fortunate to parlay my aviation experience into a 37 year DOD aviation career that has been very rewarding. With this being said, only YOU can answer your question. IMO and as others have said, this should be a decision for you and your wife to discuss. As I see it, medical issues, deployments and wearing a uniform for at least 12 more years is causing anxiety. Military retirement benefits (medical for life, retirement check for life and additional perks for life) aren't anything to scoff at either. Looking back, I don't regret getting out after my first enlistment. Civilian aviation, working with and along side the military here at Cherry Point, has been very rewarding. Make this a husband and wife decision with God's guidance and know that civilian life can and will be very rewarding, if you choose that route. Thank you for giving of yourself for this GREAT country!!!!!! Semper Fi.
Bbcoach gave some great advice as well as others - God's guidance and you have multiple options. 6-Active and 22-Reserve with USN for me and now have a pension and medical to look forward to in a few years! Like others, took about two years to figure out I no longer had to drill or put on the uniform.
Just like when you're ready to retire, you'll know when it's time to get out or even change careers in civilian life. You have 18-months to get out of the military all you can such as college credits, extra course work, transition benefits, etc.. if you do decide to leave. Best of luck with your decision and congrats with your first child on the way; November is a great month to be born!
Dont have any real input. Just want to thank you all for your service. I spent 16 years away from my wife and kids for at least 4 days a week. It ain't easy and you guys sacrifice even more than that on top of risking your lives. So thank you
If it's taking a toll on your body or your psyche, you have to get out. You only get one body, and that thing has to last you a while. Some retirement checks and service related medical care at one of our wonderful VA hospitals is generally not worth missing your kids growing up and a variable level of physical morbidity.
No good advice... But thank you for your service!
One thing I will say, is discuss your options with your wife... Make sure she has a say in the decision making as a family unit.
I have no military experience, but I do wonder if there is commanding officer you could talk to that might be able to discuss (or create) other career opportunities or options within the military?
I was in for 7yrs, 11B. The only thing I would do different is let them reclass me before I got discharged. I didn't want to be a cop and didn't want to be middle management at a box store. I struggled for the first couple years getting out. Now I'm working for a huge construction company in Raleigh and life is good. Find something you want to do before you get out.
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4 years 11B got out on a medical. I had planned to do my 20 but after my injury I was going to be reclassified from Infantry to one of few options none of which I wanted. My only advice the day you ETS go see your nearest VA representative especially if you have injury's from your service. There were a lot of benefits and programs I never knew about and the Army didn't bother to tell me. You've earned it, you deserve it the VA will help you get it.