What are some the pitfalls you encountered when you retired from the military?

2015-02-14T19:47:29-05:00

I remember retiring from the military and entering the civilian workforce and using the military style leadership, please don't do it, it doesn't work. The "you will do" attitude creates problems. You must learn to be more polished, this was my pitfall.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 14 at 2015 8:38 PM

2015-02-14T20:38:21-05:00

Unfortunately in the newer ARMY you cannot use the "you will do" attitude anymore MAJ David Vermillion.

The Soldiers are too sensitive and we are expected to handle things in a different manner.

I do look forward to what this post brings from the community.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 14 at 2015 8:44 PM

2015-02-14T20:44:06-05:00

A lot of military retirees tell me that a GS level is not equivalent to a rank in the military. For example, a GS-4 doesn't "out-rank" a GS-3. Of course, it is a different story if you are a supervisor or something along that reason.

Response by SFC Boots Attaway made Feb 14 at 2015 9:36 PM

2015-02-14T21:36:19-05:00

Even on active duty I never had the "You will do" attitude. I always used the "do me a favor" style and it always worked for me.

Response by PO1 John Meyer, CPC made Feb 15 at 2015 11:44 AM

2015-02-15T11:44:21-05:00

Trying to be able to translate your military experiences into something a civilian employer could understand.

Thankfully, I was hired by an employer who is also a military veteran.

Response by MCPO Katrina Hutcherson made Feb 15 at 2015 12:01 PM

2015-02-15T12:01:57-05:00

Trying to get the VA to acknowledge the medical issues that were found while I was on active duty and aggravated on deployments.

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 15 at 2015 12:09 PM

2015-02-15T12:09:09-05:00

My biggest pitfall had to do with taxes. I didn't plan on the tax hit I was going to take going from active duty (with all that tax-free money, like BAH) to a civilian job. At the end of my first year after retirement, I wound up owing Uncle Sam almost $10,000.

Maybe that's not a pitfall exactly. Definitely a lesson learned. I paid off that debt and adjusted the amount of federal tax being taken out of my pay so that would never happen again.

Response by SSG Adam Reed made Feb 15 at 2015 12:53 PM

2015-02-15T12:53:29-05:00

My biggest pitfall was not weighing all the options or knowing all the facts. Then realizing after the retirement that I should have stayed in.

Response by SPC Brent Morrison made Feb 15 at 2015 1:16 PM

2015-02-15T13:16:04-05:00

My biggest pitfall: I don't know how to be a civilian.
It's been almost 10 years and I still have not adjusted.
I think a career as a cop and part time ANG would do me some good.

Another pitfall is finding the patience to have a conversation with a civilian about combat.

Response by GySgt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 15 at 2015 3:11 PM

2015-02-15T15:11:33-05:00

1. Cultural change; still adapting (NOT) after 16 years
2. Sense of purpose; many civilians are money driven instead of mission oriented
3. Missing camaraderie; nothing compares to my experiences in the Corps
4. Missing the adventure; I guess I took the experiences for granted. Some sucked, but all were way better than 9-5 in a cubicle. LOL
5. I'd trade the "political" nature of the current Corps over civilian politics any day. For the active folks, just you wait! :)
6. All the other points that other retirees are pointing out

And like one of the brethren already stated, I wasn't fully informed (my fault) when I retired -- I should have stayed in till they kicked me out.

I am successful and am thankful for that, but I was a happy camper back when I was a Staff Sergeant and my wife and I lived at Lejeune or DC hanging out with our military friends and spouses. Folks, don't take your military family for granted!

Response by SFC Walt Littleton made Feb 15 at 2015 3:53 PM

2015-02-15T15:53:19-05:00

I retired as a SFC and my first civilian job was a manager for a contracting company which sold commissary products to state and county inmates incarcerated. Without going to deep it was a family owned company where it was the 2nd generation who worked in the family business their whole life. Had a lot of issues with chain of command, professionalism structure (lack of) and poor civilian leaders (not family). I was promoted as a regional manager in charge of 5 facility's and covering 13 states. They worked me to death and I always went back to my military training to get the job done. I resigned due to the amount of travel and learned a lot about civilian leadership and how to negotiate with them. Retired now!

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Feb 15 at 2015 6:09 PM

2015-02-15T18:09:29-05:00

Y'all have to give me a little leeway here. I didn't really retire. I only spent a little over 5 years on active duty. More than a simple enlistment. Less than a military career. Still, I seem to have faced many of the problems that I hear military retirees complaining of.

My peers who didn't serve (or served minimally) established their civilian careers while I was away.

I was mission-oriented while they were more time-oriented. That is, they believed they were selling their time for a wage whereas I was focused on accomplishing something without regard for the clock.

They focused on management style while I focused on leadership style.

I discovered that I was far better as a planner than most civilians. It was funny watching civilians attempting to learn project management techniques that were designed and practiced routinely in the service. Sit down with a copy of PMBOK - the civilian guide to project management.

In the end, the same problems that bedeviled me in the Army haunted me in civilian life and I was tossed from jobs even more quickly than I was tossed out of the Army.

Ultimately, I found my place among entrepreneurs. To be honest, I feel that most military personnel would succeed better as entrepreneurs than as employees.