Had you planned on a military career but left for one reason or another?

From the age of four I had yearning to be a spaceman (astronaut) that really never left me.
In boot camp because of my scores, I was offered OCS and Flight school. All they wanted was 8 more years of my life, right then and there. I was only 17 and there was some age restriction so they wanted to get their money back for sending me to college. It was the wrong time and place to ask me, so like a fool I passed it up.

I loved the Marine Corps and tanks were a blast. I thought that perhaps after Vietnam I could pursue the OCS route. It felt like a career I could like. Vietnam changed all of that. I saw so many disturbing actions and decisions, made by blatantly incompetent people that my love affair turned to love/hate.
Half of the friends that I lost there died from stupid accidents that were probably preventable. My best friend was shot down in a helo with 10 days left on his tour and barely managed to get back to Bethesda and family before he died of wounds. (the rule was no major ops the last 30 days) By the time I heard the news I had about 12 days left and was running road sweeps and night southern sector defense positions. I really loved the work. Where else could a 18 year old kid have so much fire power and destruction at his finger tips? The mid management depressed me. They seemed to not have a clue, stayed in the rear, drank and caused mayhem with their poor supervision. I didn't see things improving, plus the public hated us. I took an early out shortly after returning home.

In hindsight, I should have stayed and helped fix it. I could have chased my dream, become a combat pilot, tried for test pilot and applied to NASA....who knows? Still, I'll always be a Marine.

107mm Chinese made rocket was the reason I didn't make it to the finish line. Am I retired....yes. Does it KILL me to only have 18.5 years? Oh yeah! That is like winning a marathon and tripping on the way to receive your medal.