Posted on Feb 23, 2017
What process and considerations did you use in planning your last PCS?
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Maybe you had two or four years of service remaining or you just knew that the next move would be your last... Did you do anything different or did you move using the blueprint from your previous changes of station?
PCS
Retirement
Planning
Posted 8 y ago
Responses: 9
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I'm not sure I planned at all. I was medically retired after an MEB and my husband still worked at USSOCOM. I didn't have a job and couldn't drive. It was very difficult for me to reorganize my life. I spent a year feeling lost and isolated. So, my case was not a planned event. I received 40% of my base pay and lost my mission. Sucked. That was in 2009. I should have been in school or working, and I would have planned better if it hadn't been so unexpected.
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Capt Tom Brown
You made an outstanding recovery and are probably stronger than you were before you were sandbagged and almost literally betrayed by the organization you had trusted and devoted your life to for 20+ years. They literally shuffled you out the door like an unwanted guest. Congratulations on being a shining example of one who faces and overcomes PTSD caused by friendly fire.
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Col Rebecca Lorraine
Capt Tom Brown - Never thought of it that way, but thank you Tom. It hasn't been an easy road. I did feel betrayed by the service I worked for, but it can get pretty nasty when there are few slots and many wanna be's. The stress of the events that followed tested me and the support systems I had available. I will say my husband locked up all the weapons. I was pretty angry. :-) I'm not sure I would call me a shining example.
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COL Lee Flemming
Col Rebecca Lorraine - my phase out is a bit more deliberate. We will settle at our next location and have decided to purchase a home in advance of the final decision to retire. I had not considered additional school as an option, but will definitely look into it!
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Capt Tom Brown
Col Rebecca Lorraine - Well I say you are a shining example. And blessed to have such a wonderful support person in your husband you were not 'alone' on the road...
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Before each of our last 2 or 3 PCS moves we went through the house room-by-room and cleaned out all the junk. The kids were finally all old enough to have gotten over the "mine, mine" syndrome. Clothes the kids had outgrown went to Good Will or the Thrift Store if they were in good condition. Same with small furniture items and toys. It's amazing how much stuff you accumulate over 3 or 4 years. We also took a hard look at any boxes we hadn't opened often since the last PCS move--there's always one or two. Stuff in those boxes was a candidate for the trash or Good Will. Leaving Alaska for Florida, we gave our heavy parkas and other extreme winter gear to the Base Thrift Store. We separated the stuff for "hold baggage" from household goods with living for 2 to 4 weeks in an unfurnished house in mind. We put stuff in hold baggage like we were packing for a camping trip, less the tents.
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Started Planning for Retirement PCS 4 years out, Just prior to my last Over Seas Deployment
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