Tomorrow I hang up my cammies for the last time...

[First Shirt]

The Reserves are a great way to keep your hand in, so to speak, without the day-to-day grind of mundane BS. But be warned, it's a hard habit to break, I know.

[skb12172]

Congrats and good luck. Please consider the reserves. You invested a lot to just walk away completely. I've worked with a few guys who didn't transfer to the reserves because of burnout and later really wished they had.

[blackeagle603]

Fair winds and following seas. If they blow this way, you know where we're at if you need a crash pad here to unwind a few in San Dog (the trailer is unoccupied currently).

What it is about this first week of January? Seems like a crazy time to jump off back into the big wide cold world.
I went on terminal leave this week 24 years ago and started work 08Jan. The S&H is 1 year post EAS as of yesterday (and about 50 units under his belt toward mechanical eng)

[Steamforger]

Thanks for your service.

I lasted about 90 days before going into the reserves. I did another 4 years there before I decided the BS was so rampant that it could not be escaped. I was speaking with a retired Colonel the other day and he basically echoed the exact same thing. He said it would take an entire drill weekend to do all the stupid "training" like SHARP (I can't properly explain how much I hate SHARP) and the Army guards and reserves in MT weren't doing any actual fighting training. It was so bad that they were allowed points and pay for completing that shit at home on their own time.

Good luck in whatever you choose.

[PawPaw]

Thanks for your service.

The one thing about joining the military is that one day it's over. IIRC, the only guys in recent memory who retired, but remained on semi-sorta duty rolls were Bradley and McArthur, but they were icons. For us lesser mortals, there comes a time when it is simply over.

So, what are you going to do now? That seems to be the inevitable question.

[Lokidude]

From somebody who couldn't hang, thank you. And if you find yourself in Salt Lake, I'd be honored to buy you a beer or dinner.

[JAG2955]

The reserves are an option, I elected a reserve commission, but I won't be doing active reserve stuff. One of the hidden gems of the Corps is something called the IMA reserve, or individual mobilization augmentee. Basically, you get tagged to a unit for about 3-6 weeks at a shot, once a quarter. Usually you are put on a special-project type deal. It's set up through the unit, so what you do greatly varies. One of my buddies is doing it now for the unit we used to be with (heh), and my wife's friend does it. In her words, "You get to go in, get your moto on, and when you're sick of the bullshit, it's time to leave." That part appeals to me. Also, the pay is great, and though I'm not sure how promotions work in the IMA, I'd likely make O-4 in the reserves in a year or two.

As for what I'll do...I've got 55 days of terminal leave. First step, I'm going to take my wife on a nice anniversary trip to DisneyWorld later this month, and I'm hoping to hit up Houston for awhile as well to get an idea of the area and check out some places to live. Long term, it all depends if she gets a promotion this spring. If it's big enough, I'm going to look for something that's a jobby (job/hobby-maybe an FFL) and do the reserves. If she doesn't get promoted immediately, I'd like to get a job with the same company that she's with. If we're both making an equivalent amount of money, it pushes our Idaho retire/semi-retirement much farther to the left.

[Frankingun]

Congrats!

[mekender]

Swing on by if you are in my neck of the woods!

[Rod]

If your wife still is in the Reserves or you still have an id card, look up Shades of Green on DisneyWorld. It's a military hotel like the Hale Koa in Hawaii. LOTS cheaper than other places in the area and you get great deals in the Kingdom.