Retirement Issues?

How would it be "getting out of work?" Just tell him your plans. I have a little under 2 1/2 years until 20 - I just got to a new unit and the SGM already knew I am planning to retire. He's fine with it. I'm still doing my job. And I can still do it when I start SFL-TAP, etc. They just have to deal with the days I'll be out of the office.

You have to set yourself up for success for after the Army. No one else will do it. Advocate for yourself.

I was in a similar situation. I arrived to my last duty station with 14 months until I hit my 20. The unit was prepping for deployment. I let the CSM know before I even got there that I was going to drop my packet. He said it wasn't an issue, but I needed to face to face with him when I got on station.

Once I arrived, I sat down with CSM and 1SG and explained where I was at and where I was headed. We made a deal that I would take care of Rear-D and make sure incoming Soldiers were prepped to send forward. In exchange, once they got back, I would be more or less free to do all the retirement stuff I needed / wanted.

And that's exactly what I did. I ended up staying a few extra months, but it was based on our combined plan that we all agreed was workable and would help everyone without really hurting anyone. I retired with 20 yrs, 7 mos and almost 4 months of terminal + PTDY, did all of the TAP classes I wanted, and even got a retirement PCS move paid for to the next town over and a home my wife found to retire in to. I was also showing up to formations and working in the O-Room right up to my final out, but that was my own personal ethic of "an honest day's work for an honest day's wages."

Obviously your particular circumstances will be different, but I highly recommend sitting down with 1SG and CSM and the three of you come to an understanding of what those last (almost) 2 years will look like, so that you can support the unit and they can support you.

You can start TAP as soon as you arrive at your unit. With two years to go, you can spread your classes around so you don't miss much work. The real hustle comes in the last 6-9 months as you're trying to get your VA ratings and possibly use CSP to do an internship somewhere in the last six months, then go on transition leave.