Posted on Apr 6, 2021
SPC Infantryman
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Posted in these groups: Military discharge 300x201 ETS/EAS
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SFC Retention Operations Nco
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It sounds like you haven't done any actual planning or there wouldn't be any major unknowns for you.

Everyone gets out of the Army eventually, how good or bad it is depends on how well you prepare. When I left the Army in 2000, you got 90 days to do ACAP and you had to figure out your entire life plan in that time. Now you get 18 months to work out a plan, build a resume, and even up to six months of paid permissive TDY to do things like intern and apprenticeship programs. If you are facing unknown variables right now it is because you haven't gone through all the phases of planning. It usually means you didn't have a plan at all, you only had a goal or an idea of what you want.

Your planning process needs to look like this:
What is my goal?
What are the key steps required to be successful at that?
What are the courses of action to reach that goal? Backup plan? Tertiary plan?
What's my budget? Expected costs? Expected income?
What are the critical failure points? What key components have to happen at what point for each step to be successful?
What's my backup plan if that goes wrong?
What's the most likely way to fail? What's the most common reason for failure? What will you do if you do fail? When will you run out of money? What will you do if you run out of money before you are employed?
Then you need to do research and gather Intel:
What are the requirements for what you want to do? Cost of living in your location? Healthcare? Acceptance rate for what you're going for? Education or training prerequisites?

Once you know all the information you can plan for all the variables. Don't know the variables? Someone else has done what you're trying to do so ask them. If you're a few months away from ETS and you don't have a solid job, a place to live, or enrolled in college with your VA funding already approved, then you need to extend a year and get on all that.
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CSM Darieus ZaGara
CSM Darieus ZaGara
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Well put.
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CPT Senior Instructor
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I have ETSed twice and joined the Army three times. It is really not that bad but I wanted to be an officer so I got out to go to school. It really depends on a lot of factors. If you go back to a small town that has a very low cost of living then you struggle to find a occupation. The biggest struggle that I have seen is that so many lack purpose and they lose themselves. Most people in the military are very driven. Sometimes you can't find a goal when you get out and some lose themselves. I would recommend looking into a career and when you do your SFL try to get a certification. If not, plan on going to college to work towards something. You need a plan.
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LTC Program Manager
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Do you plan to go to the Guard/Reserve?
Do you have a plan for work/school?
Do you have an area you plan to go to?

Being a Civilian is fantastic, (but I still have an Army habit I have to kick). It's exactly what uou make of it.
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