Have you ever turned down an assignment and gotten out of the military for it?

2017-12-07T08:15:47-05:00

I have heard some stories about people (past their 20 years) receiving "bad" orders and they put in for retirement or get out. Have you ever done this or heard any stories about this?

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Dec 7 at 2017 8:18 AM

2017-12-07T08:18:12-05:00

Any assignments that I was given was on the up and up. Left on due to issues with my feet.

Response by SGM Bill Frazer made Dec 7 at 2017 9:34 AM

2017-12-07T09:34:31-05:00

Yes, happens frequently, the whole point is 1 day after 20, you can request retirement at anytime. I've seen quite a few that took the out instead of spending time in a hated assignment

Response by CWO3 Randy Weston made Dec 7 at 2017 10:02 AM

2017-12-07T10:02:47-05:00

My first command as an officer was a high op tempo floating drydock in which we had a very bad Commanding Officer that was relieved for cause after 7 months. I transferred from her to a sub tender as a favor to the detailer, where we ended up decommissioning her and from there went to my last command, USS Holland AS-32, which was forward deployed in Guam. We were going in for decommissioning so I called for orders, hoping for something in conus. The only offer that was extended was a sub tender in LaMaddalena, Italy. That firmed up my decision to retire, but the XO wouldn't let me retire until I decommissioned the ship as Decom Coordinator. Therefore retired at 21 years. Hindsite being 20/20, I should have went to LaMad.

Response by CSM Richard StCyr made Dec 7 at 2017 10:26 AM

2017-12-07T10:26:14-05:00

My buddy retired at 23 years as SGM because branch had him going back out on a combat tour with under a year between his previous tour and it would have been his 3rd, and there were others who had not been yet.

Response by CW5 Edward "Tate" Jones Jr. made Dec 7 at 2017 11:13 AM

2017-12-07T11:13:01-05:00

1997, 33 Years in service, serving with Troops as CW5/BN S3. MILPO said I had to move. I was in place for too long. I told MILPO that I'd move as long as I was still with Troops. They made 3 offers all HQ Staff jobs. I turned them down and Retired. Went to work as a Consultant testing new INTEL and COMMO systems WITH TROOPS and worked another 20 years doing that.

Response by LT Brad McInnis made Dec 7 at 2017 11:28 AM

2017-12-07T11:28:11-05:00

I never had that, but had friends that did. Many of them chose to get out. I will say, that most times, detailers will do their best to get you what you want. Especially if you are a top performer. I would say, though, that with the mess the Navy is in now, trying to meet more and more requirements with less and less resources, this may happen most often. My 2 cents, though, is that tours aren't that long, and you could really be surprised that what you think of as bad before you get there could be your best!

Response by MCPO Roger Collins made Dec 7 at 2017 12:01 PM

2017-12-07T12:01:54-05:00

I had a serious run in with the entire wardroom on the USS Sturgeon with 21 years in. Due to a medical condition, I went on a years Limited Duty ashore. Once finished, the detailer was going to send me back to the ship and I took a disability retirement rather than going back into the fire.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 7 at 2017 7:52 PM

2017-12-07T19:52:11-05:00

It's actually a lot more common than you think. I've known plenty of guys that have signed Declination statements. Most of them have signed because they were already planning on getting out and it would be faster.

Response by CPO Mark Robinson made Dec 7 at 2017 9:42 PM

2017-12-07T21:42:20-05:00

A guy I worked with at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard left the navy as a Chief with 16 years because they were going to send him recruiting. I said are you kidding? You could be the worst recruiter in the world, I mean what are they going to do to you? I never did the ROAD program (Retired on Active Duty) but if my detailer did something like that to me I might consider it. Personally I think recruiting might of been fun.