Plans after Retirement/ETS

Yes-- a good transition plan should start its execution at least two years before leaving active duty.

My retirement plan was to literally "do nothing", and to do it on my own schedule. I was burned out, stressed, and chronically fatigued. My spouse and I were already financially independent and I wanted to stop working. I wanted to have more control over my time, to raise our daughter, to take care of our house & yard, to manage our investments, to travel, to enjoy Hawaii life, and to read more. (Back then I had not even started surfing yet.) I did not want to retire to a different uniform and a different chain of command with more workplace dissatisfiers. I did not feel a "commitment to service" or want to "stay relevant" or to "run with the big dogs". I didn't even want to "see what I could do in the corporate world".

I had three supporters: my spouse, my daughter, and my Dad (another early retiree). As you can imagine, everyone else had lots of unsolicited advice and tough love. Eventually I settled on the disclaimer "Well, I'm going to take a few months off to spend with family & friends, and then we'll see what's next." Most of the villagers put down their torches & pitchforks and agreed that I'd eventually come to my senses.

On my first day of retirement we took family surfing lessons-- and my daughter and I were hooked. (My spouse is apathetic about it.) I'm been carrying out my "few months off" plan for over 12 years, and I think it's going to work out just fine...

I got 13 months left. I'm currently waiting on an acceptance letter for CISAC before I reenlist. If I don't get accepted I'll ETS and just use the 9/11 GI bill and work part time. I've been saving money for almost 4 years now. I'm ready for what ever. I got plans no matter what happens. Even if I get chaptered for some crazy reason.

I have this vision that includes a permanent tee time. My beautiful wife has an entirely different vision.............