What does every retiree not miss after getting out?

2019-11-14 17:39:24 -0500

I'm transitioning after 32+ years of service to the Army/USAR/ARNG. There are things that I will miss, but many other things I will NOT miss. For instance: Piss test, APFT, height/weight, hurry up and wait, toxic leadership, unethical behavior, paperwork, politics, etc.

What other things can I be glad to be rid of as I hang up the uniform for good? Give examples of what you don't miss, branch of service immaterial.

Response by CPL Dave Hoover made Nov 14 at 2019 5:40 PM

2019-11-14 17:40:57 -0500

Army, ALERTS. LTC Private RallyPoint Member

Response by Lt Col Charlie Brown made Nov 14 at 2019 5:47 PM

2019-11-14 17:47:08 -0500

Recall at about 2:30 AM

Response by SFC Casey O'Mally made Nov 14 at 2019 5:49 PM

2019-11-14 17:49:47 -0500

Being accountable for PVT Schmedlap's unpredictable bad decisions while he is off duty, PT, toxic leaders, blatant double standards, motor stables, S1, Command and Staff, FRGs that tell pregnant wives of deployed Soldiers to drive themselves to the hospital, mandatory fun.... The list is long.

Response by CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 14 at 2019 6:03 PM

2019-11-14 18:03:34 -0500

The suck, no disrespect intended.

Response by SSG Steven Chirco made Nov 14 at 2019 6:08 PM

2019-11-14 18:08:35 -0500

Hands across (fill in AO) because some dumbass dropped a sensitive item

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 14 at 2019 6:11 PM

2019-11-14 18:11:51 -0500

"Mandatory fun" for officers and senior enlisted (required social events). Toxic leadership.

Response by SPC John Smith made Nov 14 at 2019 6:19 PM

2019-11-14 18:19:03 -0500

Checking your gig line every time you look in the mirror.

Response by SSG Fernando Caballero made Nov 14 at 2019 6:20 PM

2019-11-14 18:20:40 -0500

I don’t miss going to the jailhouse to pick up soldiers for getting a DUI!!!

Response by SPC Stewart Smith made Nov 14 at 2019 6:36 PM

2019-11-14 18:36:03 -0500

I only served 4 years active duty. Here's what I don't miss:
Shaving every day, APFT, Piss test(really hated someone staring at my penis while I peed; weird and creepy), that one moron in every squad, not being allowed to openly voice certain opinions
What I do miss:
Team work. I miss the level of team work that I experienced while I was in the Army. There are so many people in the outside world that don't understand, or simply don't care, about it. We can get more accomplished together than apart.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 14 at 2019 7:06 PM

2019-11-14 19:06:45 -0500

Did anyone else hate OERs as much as I did? I had supervisors that would hang that over my head.

Response by Maj Robert Thornton made Nov 14 at 2019 7:10 PM

2019-11-14 19:10:29 -0500

Bag drags at 0400 when I am still on-call for the OR, changing the mess dress mid career, those bloody things are expensive. Paperwork forwarded to me 2 days after the due date (they went to the bottom of my in basket).

Response by PV2 Morris Graham made Nov 14 at 2019 7:11 PM

2019-11-14 19:11:42 -0500

Piss test? Never had them when I was in. Guess we were all good people. Just drunks. Never knew what weed was until I went to Cambodia. But never had any in Germany that I know of.

Response by SPC Andrew Murray made Nov 14 at 2019 7:16 PM

2019-11-14 19:16:23 -0500

Officers

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 14 at 2019 7:22 PM

2019-11-14 19:22:24 -0500

As a reservist, I won't miss having to pack my gear and travel so much, mostly driving long hours for only a weekend's worth of duty. Now it can be just a job and a personal life.

Response by CPL Douglas Chrysler made Nov 14 at 2019 7:25 PM

2019-11-14 19:25:20 -0500

In my time it would be KP.

Response by SGT Jason Yago made Nov 14 at 2019 7:26 PM

2019-11-14 19:26:52 -0500

The hurry up and wait nonsense

Response by MAJ James Woods made Nov 14 at 2019 8:45 PM

2019-11-14 20:45:48 -0500

APFT. Making me run 2 miles under 15 min. proved absolutely nothing.

Response by MCPO Roger Collins made Nov 14 at 2019 9:16 PM

2019-11-14 21:16:23 -0500

To be honest, the major difference had to do with leadership. My second 20 year career made it clear that losing people hurt me more than them. It can take months to get a replacement, in the military a replacement was on the way. Gave me a whole new perspective on keeping my people happy. Other than that, the limited family separation. If you are good in the military, you will advance in the private sector.

Response by SPC Douglas Bolton made Nov 14 at 2019 9:24 PM

2019-11-14 21:24:03 -0500

LTC Private RallyPoint Member You hit many of my list. Hurry up and wait. Politics, brown nosing, bad leadership, Wake up call, and, many more.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 14 at 2019 9:45 PM

2019-11-14 21:45:04 -0500

The 3 am: Sergeant, this is Airman Snuffy from Security Forces, Airman Doe was arrested.....hair cuts......Sorry Sergeant, you will be replacing Sergeant Got Another Profile on a deployment to a sh** hole place for "90" days (which is actually 180+days)......

Response by MSG Danny Mathers made Nov 14 at 2019 10:02 PM

2019-11-14 22:02:53 -0500

Inspections.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Nov 14 at 2019 10:23 PM

2019-11-14 22:23:29 -0500

Working for assholes.

Response by MSgt Steve Sweeney made Nov 14 at 2019 10:57 PM

2019-11-14 22:57:51 -0500

You may be fortunate enough to be going into full retirement after you leave the service. If so, congrats. Enjoy your time. If not, you will likely find a lot of those same things in the civilian sector, except maybe the PFT and piss tests. That, and you won't have to shave every day whether you need it or not.

Response by SPC James Jackson made Nov 15 at 2019 12:20 AM

2019-11-15 00:20:07 -0500

Not ending up eight spots back in line at the commissary with warm steaks and half melted ice cream after being next up and having a bunch of spouses start flexing their significant others rank deciding they're next then arguing about it.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 15 at 2019 12:23 AM

2019-11-15 00:23:11 -0500

Don’t miss making half as much money with twice the BS as I do in civilian world. Being treated like a private in field hospital FTX/STX because there are tons of field grade medical officers and you’re just another work horse.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Nov 15 at 2019 12:23 AM

2019-11-15 00:23:58 -0500

REMFs

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 15 at 2019 5:35 AM

2019-11-15 05:35:38 -0500

You won’t miss toxic leadership long, there’s A little more of it In the civilian world than the military.

Response by SGT Tom McWilliams made Nov 15 at 2019 7:35 AM

2019-11-15 07:35:42 -0500

If you don't want to deal with toxic leadership ineptitude and unethical practices you might want to stay out of the business world all together. Hopefully you're not in the Tricare West region having to deal with health net Federal services. They are ate up with all of the above.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 15 at 2019 8:42 AM

2019-11-15 08:42:32 -0500

I've only been retired since Oct 1st. But i don't miss shaving every single day at all. Another thing ive learned is that if a co-worker goes out and makes a bad decision at all hours of the night, i never get a phone call to let me know about it, and i sure dont have to go pick anyone up because of that bad decision. I don't miss running 5 miles a day in the coldest of mornings, it was 12 degrees here the other morning, and all i could think of was, "damn, im glad im not out there running this morning." These are just a few things i do not miss. Im sure the longer i am out ill have more to add to this list. One thing i do miss are my true battle buddies though. And i always will.

Response by CSM Darieus ZaGara made Nov 15 at 2019 9:42 AM

2019-11-15 09:42:36 -0500

Welcome to reality, all of that exists everywhere you go. Thank you for your service.

Response by Maj Kevin "Mac" McLaughlin made Nov 15 at 2019 12:22 PM

2019-11-15 12:22:33 -0500

I'd say toxic leadership, but I continued to work within the DoD as a Civilian and a Contractor. Let's just say it gets worse when you do that because you have even less power to do something about it.
Some of those other things still apply as well, if you go civil service (piss test, observing unethical behavior, politics).

One of the things I enjoyed as Civil Service was the choice to say no to specific things like extended travel (essentially deployments). As a contractor and civilian, I am also not subjected to long hours unless I choose to do so, and when I do, I am reimbursed/compensated.

However, surprisingly as a former officer and leader, I did find myself missing being in the loop and having a say when it comes to the organizational direction (especially when it affects you and the people you work with). As I tried to mentor and advise young officers and NCOs, I also became frustrated watching organizations fail to take care of their people effectively (including the civilians). So if you plan on continuing working within the DoD after retiring from the military, bear in mind you are not leaving it all behind and your ability to step in to lead becomes much more difficult.

What's funny is that there are many things I thought I would miss as well but sometimes don't. These include things like:

Some paperwork - Specifically awards and performance reports for the people I work with. As a former officer, I loved recognizing outstanding performance. I watched other leaders struggle to do this (despite my offers to help) and fail to articulate the right things to get their people recognition (if they chose to recognize them at all). Even though I did not look forward to the nit picking back and forth I had to put up with on style or grammatical preferences, I enjoyed creating a package which benefited people's careers (specifically for those who deserved it). I guess if anything, what I don't miss here is when I had to write those unfortunate performance reports for those who performed poorly.

PT - I have no problem missing organized PT, when it was train to the least common denominator. However, I didn't mind being able to work out during duty hours. I enjoyed that in Civil Service too. As a contractor now, I have to do it on my own time. The PT test definitely sucked as you try to balance job, life, and working out throughout the year, but it was a stress I now sort of miss since the AF would afford me the time to do it. It kept me on my toes to ensure I would have a good score. I realize don't have to be in shape now, but I like being healthy.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 15 at 2019 12:50 PM

2019-11-15 12:50:24 -0500

I forgot something in my first post that i definitely do not miss. I do not miss the inpenetrable force field that protected me an my Soldiers from all sort of terror and unfortunate events that could occur by not wearing our PT Belt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Response by Lt Col Jim Coe made Nov 15 at 2019 1:02 PM

2019-11-15 13:02:18 -0500

I missed flying the most. What I don’t miss is almost everything else. Staff politics, one-mistake Air Force, changing rating systems, over compensating for any errors or problems. And best of all the 1600 Friday afternoon no-notice staff emergency.

Response by Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen made Nov 15 at 2019 1:04 PM

2019-11-15 13:04:05 -0500

0400 briefings for 0645 launches.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 15 at 2019 1:22 PM

2019-11-15 13:22:59 -0500

Resources wasted on canine and equestrian extravaganzas.

Response by 1SG Chad Mcdaniel made Nov 15 at 2019 2:42 PM

2019-11-15 14:42:17 -0500

Dont miss Soldier who think they're entitled, the ones that think the military is here to serve them, instead the military was created to serve our great nation.

I miss a lot but I think mostly a set standard of how things are to be done...(daily repetition)

Response by LTC Tom McNew made Nov 15 at 2019 4:57 PM

2019-11-15 16:57:24 -0500

I will tell you one thing....unless you are a multi-billionaire...the "hurry up and wait" will NOT end!!! In fact the "hurry" gets more "hurried" and the "wait" gets even longer once you get into the VA medical system. Be prepared for DAYS at the hospital....not hours. You'll be scheduled for a one-hour appointment, but unless you live right across the street from the hospital, it'll still take half a day to drive there, show up 15 minutes early, wait for an hour to be seen, get a prescription, go down to the Pharmacy and wait for a couple of hours for your number to be called so that they can verify that you haven't died in the Pharmacy waiting room, then wait another couple of hours for them to have a driver go over to the Walgreens and get your medicine for you!!!
And don't get me started on Dental or Vision.....
But yeah, being retired is GREAT!!! (That part isn't sarcastic)

Response by PO1 Rick Serviss made Nov 15 at 2019 5:59 PM

2019-11-15 17:59:27 -0500

Reveille, field days and Physical Fitness Assessment

Response by PV2 Bob Ondown made Nov 16 at 2019 2:02 AM

2019-11-16 02:02:11 -0500

Mandatory breifings, Long meetings, inept leadership... .

Response by SFC Robert Walton made Nov 16 at 2019 10:09 AM

2019-11-16 10:09:37 -0500

For me I can't think of anything I have not missed after I retired except long boring speech's I hate speeches.

Response by PO1 John Meyer, CPC made Nov 17 at 2019 3:07 PM

2019-11-17 15:07:03 -0500

Not having to prove how physically fit I am. Not having to move every couple of years. They'll actually fire the workplace dirt bag instead of telling you to deal with him/her until their enlistment is up. Not having to buy totally new uniforms every couple of years because the ones we currently have are being phased out.

Response by SrA Daniel Ludwig made Nov 18 at 2019 1:52 PM

2019-11-18 13:52:27 -0500

How about unethical management!!!!!

Response by SFC Bill Snyder made Nov 19 at 2019 2:14 PM

2019-11-19 14:14:33 -0500

I"ve been out for 40 yrs now, retiring with 25 yes active. Toxic Leadership (it wasn't called that
then.) From the Post SGM, our Bn Commander and School SGM.

Response by 1SG James Kelly made Nov 24 at 2019 2:37 PM

2019-11-24 14:37:47 -0500

Stupid officers.

Response by 1SG Dennis Hicks made Nov 25 at 2019 6:54 AM

2019-11-25 06:54:56 -0500

I will not miss keeping comments to myself :)

Response by SPC Bill Ratajczak made Dec 3 at 2019 4:35 PM

2019-12-03 16:35:12 -0500

SOS in the messhall, shaving every day, pissant 2nd LT's thinking they are God like. I could go on for days. But I hate to admit it, I miss those days.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 6 at 2019 6:01 PM

2019-12-06 18:01:40 -0500

24 years of service here..... I won't miss the troops who say I am here just for the college money. They whine at every detail given to them everything we have to do whine whine.... Always late, always not in the correct uniform. I joined under Reagan where we could still discipline troops. Took a break after the first Gulf war returned in 93 and retired in 2011 where my last years were so political I was so happy to leave. The army wants to be like society and that just can't happen for a war fighting organization. You have to be focus on saving lives in your training not changing them how society wants people to act!

Response by SFC Terri Valentine made Dec 8 at 2019 11:22 AM

2019-12-08 11:22:24 -0500

An EDRE.

Response by SPC Russ Bolton made Dec 15 at 2019 1:05 PM

2019-12-15 13:05:23 -0500

I like his answer. However, I was not able to serve for that many years I would answer the early hours to into the late hours of the night. I do miss the snafu that we had to endure. Be blessed

Response by PO1 Steven Siepp made Dec 16 at 2019 8:55 PM

2019-12-16 20:55:28 -0500

4 hour recall 2 weeks at a time without knowing for how long you would be gone, but the worst was convincing your spouse. Port and Starboard watches 8hrs on 8hrs off and maintenance was done on the 8hrs off and that included liberty ports except we did 24 on/off so we could get some liberty. but I really wish the dreams of being late or unsat for an inspection would go away. It's been 16 yrs please for the love of God ;)

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 8 at 2020 5:07 PM

2020-01-08 17:07:12 -0500

Answering for the dumb decisions of grown ass men and women. There is nothing that pisses me off more than having to stand in front of a CSM when they ask me, "Why did SPC Whatshisnuts get a DUI?" Every time I just wanted to answer with, "Because he's a grown ass man who made a dumb ass choice, what the hell does that have to do with me?"
Several weeks after retiring I was driving down my street at around 17:30 and I just so happen to see one of my former NCO's checking his mailbox so I stopped to talk. He asked me the same questions, "What do I like most about retirement?" As I was going down the list of things his phone rang. He answered and the only words out of his mother were,"Yes SGM, yes SGM, I'll be right there." He was clearly being called back to work for something likely idiotic and mundane. I looked at him and said, "That, I don't miss that."

Response by SSG Eric Blue made Jan 8 at 2020 7:59 PM

2020-01-08 19:59:47 -0500

I do not miss people hiding behind their rank to avoid responsibility.

Response by SSG Shawn Mcfadden made Jan 12 at 2020 5:50 AM

2020-01-12 05:50:09 -0500

I don't miss dealing with Soldiers who sometimes do boneheaded things. I don't miss Sergeant's time training. I don't miss dealing with senior leaders who sometimes make stupid decisions.

Response by SSG Eric Blue made Jan 15 at 2020 8:06 PM

2020-01-15 20:06:06 -0500

Something else I don't miss (I may ruffle some feathers here) is coming through the gate with PVT-SSG (insert name here) checking my ID, then blurting out "ALL THE WAY, SSG" when they don't have wings at all.

Response by CPO Robert Turner made Feb 5 at 2020 2:26 PM

2020-02-05 14:26:02 -0500

MOPP level 4 drills at Ft. Hunter Liggett in 110 degree weather. I know these drills are important, life saving for a Seabee Battalion in combat, and the more MOPP training you do in peace time the better you are in a real world situation. But man, they can be brutal at times. Especially when you have a platoon of Marine Corps aggressors coming down on your ass. I loved the training time I had in the military, but now that I am retired and thinking about it all, I really don't miss those MOPP drills at all.

Response by SGT Doug Blanchard made Feb 6 at 2020 4:47 PM

2020-02-06 16:47:20 -0500

The biggest thing that I miss is the comraderie. Not the same in the American Legion or VFW as it was when I was still on active duty. The civilian community just does not seem to understand or get it.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 10 at 2020 6:59 PM

2020-02-10 18:59:28 -0500

I just retired at 20 yrs a few months ago (all active duty).
I'm not missing:
- waking up at 0520 to starting running in the freezing cold at 0630
- not being able to travel overseas without a myriad of paperwork and S2 briefs
- missing jiu jitsu tournaments due to being out in the field, last minute staff duty etc etc
- having to deal with the "new soldier ideology" PC crap.