Has Anyone Felt the Need to Take a Step to Symbolize the End of Your Career?

I have mixed feelings Ken. when I first left active duty, it seemed like a major departure...new clothes, new haircut, etc. I focused on NOT having an identity crisis. However, time seems to make things more clear, and as the years go by (getting close to eight now, six since leaving the selected reserves), It seems incomprehensible to detach who I "was" from who I "am". I still get asked my opinion on matters concerning the military by civilian peers, and have found some justification in trying to share my experiences with younger service members. That said, I have been altered to the extent I could never go back...I'm much too insubordinate, opinionated and contemplative these days-LOL!

Everyone needs to mark the end of their time in their own way. . For the first 5 years after I got out. I didn't want anything to do with the Coast Guard or remember any of it. . I put everything I had in a box. I moved a couple of times over those years. Now I proudly hang my unit plaques and my achievement medal certificate on the wall with my zippo lighters and challenge coins. I'm proud of what I did. . It helped me become the man I am today. I see it as a reminder of what I did and what I went through. . Sometimes it's nice to think back at what I did. It keeps me humble. I understand that some only want to look forward to the present and future. . But you have to remember history or you will repeat it.

This is an interesting question for me. I plan to retire from AD in 2-3 years and with the exception of a 5-year break in service I will have worn the uniform my entire adult life...age 17 to 60-61. I know nothing else! I am very much looking forward to a different life and have the mindset of retirement benefits but nothing really beyond that.

We are leaning to live in a community that offers the lifestyle we desire but there will be no military bases nearby to take full advantage of retirement benefits. My sweetheart will also retire from AD as a colonel and our discussions follow the same logic, she too will have spent most of her adult life in uniform. What I do know is retirement will certainly be a departure of the life we now know and one of enjoyment as we will be free to explore, live, and stay as long as we wish anywhere.