What has been the most challenging part of your retirement?

2016-01-19T19:12:31-05:00

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 19 at 2016 7:32 PM

2016-01-19T19:32:46-05:00

I retired one month after the last Space Shuttle flight. My heart and soul were intertwined with this program. I was out of sorts for a full two years after the program ended. It is hard to lose something that has been your passion for 33 years.

Response by LTC Paul Labrador made Jan 19 at 2016 7:33 PM

2016-01-19T19:33:37-05:00

I'll let you know in the Fall.... ;0)

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 19 at 2016 7:58 PM

2016-01-19T19:58:58-05:00

I miss being part of the "real military". I hit MRD with the National Guard in great shape just before 9/11 and saw all the units mobilizing over the next several years. Most people tell me I'm lucky with that timing. I wanted to really be part of it. I am very active with military youth organizations and veterans and military associations. Still not the same thing! I am still (14 years later) in great shape and feel have I had a lot to contribute. As I stated in another post, I think it wrong to end it all abruptly. I think that retirees (especially RC grey-area) should voluntarily be accordied some form of participation status.

Response by SSG Warren Swan made Jan 19 at 2016 8:10 PM

2016-01-19T20:10:17-05:00

Change. Not having the usual same ol same ol crap. Having to pick out clothes (if I could go to work in ACU's I would...be cheaper on dry cleaning), and adjust to knowing I have to be a person I haven't known in over 20 years.

Response by MSgt Robert Slagle made Jan 19 at 2016 8:28 PM

2016-01-19T20:28:44-05:00

Civilians

Response by MAJ David Vermillion made Jan 19 at 2016 8:35 PM

2016-01-19T20:35:08-05:00

Staying productive.

Response by SCPO Charles Thomas "Tom" Canterbury made Jan 19 at 2016 8:59 PM

2016-01-19T20:59:26-05:00

Getting used to the way things are done at a civilian job.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Jan 19 at 2016 9:07 PM

2016-01-19T21:07:38-05:00

I fully retired a couple years ago and it's just been recently that I've been able to sleep past 0600. The challenge is in reinventing yourself, laying out some goals, and getting off your butt. So new home in a new state, projects galore, learning all the things I can do with a tractor, and getting back to some gunsmithing I had as a hobby before kids. Now I'm just flat too busy to "work". Just started a gym program with the wife, have a Caribbean cruse in a month, other trips lined up, so my calendar looks pretty filled like it used to be.

Response by MSG Patrick Quinn made Jan 19 at 2016 9:31 PM

2016-01-19T21:31:35-05:00

Missing the camaraderie. Most of the other stuff fell into place and wasn't a huge issue for me; perhaps since I was in recruiting command, away from the base, and supervised civilians. No longer sharing the good and bad of Army life with fellow NCOs was the toughest part of retiring.

Response by CDR Michael Goldschmidt made Jan 19 at 2016 9:34 PM

2016-01-19T21:34:09-05:00

My PTSD is rearing its ugly head. That, and it's very difficult to go from being a Senior Officer to being just another schmuck. I don't have a team anymore.

Response by SGT Larry Prentice made Jan 19 at 2016 10:53 PM

2016-01-19T22:53:12-05:00

Not blowing stuff up!!!

Response by 2LT Earl Dean made Jan 19 at 2016 11:33 PM

2016-01-19T23:33:52-05:00

Keeping busy and not thinking about things that are hard to deal with now. is the hardest part. Flashbacks and realizing I dont have to be on guard all the time. So it all comes down to keeping busy! and dealing with the wanton urge to go where the fighting is! instead of watching these kids go!

Response by TSgt David L. made Jan 19 at 2016 11:46 PM

2016-01-19T23:46:39-05:00

Well, having to figure out what to wear of course. Duh! LMAO :-)

Response by COL Charles Williams made Jan 20 at 2016 1:48 AM

2016-01-20T01:48:33-05:00

Dealing with idiots, who consider themselves leaders.... but, who have no actual leadership ability... In the military, we have a very prescriptive and functional leader development system, which works well despite its warts. In the civilian world, they generally have no such system, so many are appointed leaders, but they can't even define leadership let alone lead... SFC Daniel Faires

Response by Capt Jeff S. made Jan 20 at 2016 3:57 AM

2016-01-20T03:57:01-05:00

More time spent with the ex which culminated in divorce. On a positive note, am now married to the girl that wrote me the "Dear Jeff" letter shortly after boot camp. Life has a way of going 360.

Seriously, though, to answer your question, the hardest part of retirement for many is the Private Sector. You are coming from a very structured environment where everyone knows everyone's pay and you can see where you stand in the pecking order just by looking at one's collar or sleeve. In the Private Sector, rank is not so clearly defined and everything is fluid. It's up to you to figure out who's who. The business world does not conduct itself with the same ethics the military does. And so if you think people are going to be persons of their word, you are going to be in for a rude awakening. The job security you are accustomed to in the military is not there in the Private Sector either. There is no loyalty between companies and their employees and vice-versa.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I retired and took a job as a Member of the Scientific Staff at Nortel Networks. At first everything was cool, and then about two months after I got hired, the bottom dropped out when the Dot Com bubble burst. Middle Managers got their wings clipped and they couldn't spend money any more. The lunches stopped, the CEO took a $100 million bonus, and the layoffs began. [I lasted through 9 rounds of layoffs and got nailed on the 10th. I was with Nortel about 15 1/2 months and had been awarded twice before getting laid off.] The Middle Managers would call us together and pass to us the lies that their bosses were telling them. The company was on the ropes and selling off its buildings and renting them back which was sold to us as a good thing which would help trim costs and help the company focus on its core competencies, as well as give it more cash to put it in a better position to react to the demands of a changing global marketplace. Most of us knew better. That was manager speak for "We don't know what the hell is going on!" The executives were taking everything they could (including all the life boats and life preservers) before scuttling the ship and left the employees to fend for themselves as the ship went down. Suffice it to say, Nortel Networks (which passed Lucent in sales while I was there) is no more, thanks to the lack of vision and gross mismanagement of its executives, who were trying to sell us on globalization. The Operations Officer was an Indian national who contracted out our jobs to Indian subcontractors. They wrote crappy code that we had to debug anyway and it was not a savings for the company. You get what you pay for. The company eventually went out of business in June 2009.

Response by PO1 Brian Austin made Jan 20 at 2016 4:45 AM

2016-01-20T04:45:11-05:00

Dealing with civilians who just show up for a paycheck, do the bare minimum, whine and cry about every little thing.

Supervisors who can't even spell leadership let alone lead anyone.

Learning how to filter my vocabulary so that no one get's their feelings hurt (it's still a work in progress after 12 yrs).

Response by SSG Audwin Scott made Jan 20 at 2016 8:47 AM

2016-01-20T08:47:53-05:00

The camaraderie and just adjusting to being told what to do by a civilian that I felt I know more about leading then they do.

Response by Lt Col Scott Shuttleworth made Jan 20 at 2016 10:51 AM

2016-01-20T10:51:33-05:00

Sleeping past 0530!! Just like a serious alarm clock, my eyes open almost on cue. I really miss working with the best America has to offer. Sure, there are some knuckleheads but you deal with them and move on. I retired and went to work in industry for a year...hated it...but it probably was the company that did it for me. Bad work ethic, sloppy dress, leaving things undone, and always thinking about the bottom line versus people and the mission or product. Not knowing if you were going to have a job the next day or not. So, I applied for a Civil Service job back on the Air Base where I live, got it, and I am back in the mix again...not wearing the uniform but at least I am back in the game some. Another challenge is the clothes. I have to ask my wife everyday if I match...all my adult life it was blue with blue and green with green...like garanimals. Getting better but she still has to approve my dress most of the time.

Will have challenges till the day I pass but life is good because I don't have to ask permission for leave or vacation time or to go overseas or any other issue and I am home very night with the family not worrying about deployments etc. LIFE IS GOOD!!!

Response by CPO Andy Carrillo, MS made Jan 20 at 2016 12:05 PM

2016-01-20T12:05:28-05:00

Not getting enough ride time due to too many family dramas and obligations. Retirement status seems to be a magnet for other people's projects and problems. I had visions of taking a year to moto-tour the country but that dream is slowly eroding away...

Response by 1stSgt Steven Sauer made Jan 20 at 2016 1:35 PM

2016-01-20T13:35:46-05:00

Trying to adjust. Not there yet, and it's been over 16 years. Don't know if I'll ever get used to running with the chickens after soaring with the eagles.

Response by PO2 Morton Scisco made Jan 20 at 2016 8:16 PM

2016-01-20T20:16:58-05:00

I think the most challenging part would be the economy. A dollar doesnt buy wha it used to back in the 60's, 70's, or 80's. It going to have me make choices on needs not wants. Insurance on a home, car, electric, water, sewer, cable and telephone is what I am paying now and will be paying for when I retire. Gas, food, and entertainment is always changing, but will I afford it with retirement checks? Dont know.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jan 20 at 2016 10:20 PM

2016-01-20T22:20:39-05:00

Being disconnected to the world.

Response by PO1 Rodney Bracey made Jan 24 at 2016 1:30 PM

2016-01-24T13:30:01-05:00

At first, realizing that a good portion of the camaraderie was lost and I had to release my mind from the military mindset altogether. I was no longer subject to the same trials and tribulations as my former fellow Sailors and Marines were. I also struggled to find that sense of brotherhood outside of the military to which I eventually did.