What was the deciding factor that made you decide to leave the military, stay for the full 20, or come back into the military?

Short answer….politics in the unit. Should have played the game and stuck it out to get what I wanted to re-enlist. Then after 9/11 tried to go back but was given the run around by the recruiter. Didn’t want to deal with prior service.

The deciding factor? Med board doctor's opinion.

I initially wanted to leave before the advanced course, but my first window was at the 6 year point. By then I racked up an ADSO through PCS. I came to my senses and stayed. I finally retired due to similar events as Lt Col Jim Coe . The service made plain my services were no longer required.

For me it was family. My wife and I both felt like it just wasn't in the cards to continue, and it just didn't seem like our boys would handle the military brat lifestyle to well, and I wouldn't do to well in trying to encourage them in the military brat lifestyle.

A number of reasons. I had some family issues I was dealing with at the time that made it difficult for me to be away for extended periods was the big one. I was S-1 during that time and really didn't find the job very satisfying after company command and the only thing really happening at the time were a bunch of Peacekeeping missions, a number of which I thought were misguided at best.
I turned down a tour in Panama that in hindsight I wish I had accepted, but it didn't seem prudent at the time.

There wasn't a single factor for me to get out. It was a combination of repeated back to back deployments with no end in sight, not trusting my chain of command, and no longer enjoying it. I got tired of doing pointless tasks and being told to support my chain of command when they were blatantly wrong in their handling of some situations. All in all, it was just time to go.

When I left Active Duty I was burned out and ready for something different. I did a stint in the Reserves a year or so later to finish up my IRR time, mainly to learn some skills I had wanted to learn in the Army when I first went in. The issue with that, though, was that after being Active I couldn't handle living as a civilian and then up & drop everything to perform my Army duties again. I had to be "all or nothing".

I've thought a few times that perhaps I should have stayed in, but I'm not sure I could have made it a career. The skills and experience I have gained since returning to the civilian world, though, are far more than I ever expected to.

All in all, I feel that with what I now know I would make a far better NCO than I ever was when I was in. That, I suppose though, comes with age and experience regardless.

my intension was to stay and make a career of it. During desert storm a civilian contractor tried to hire me to run that operation as we had just finished getting it up and operational.. i declined the offer as i still had several years on my enlistment. Got back to the states was sent to BNCOC after completion got married to an MP. I got out to preserve my hard work and service

Multiple reasons contributed to my leaving and not returning to active duty.
I saw so many people with 10 plus years get burned.
I got offered nursing school after getting out and never put any thought into it including me becoming commissioned.
If I had back then I might have went for it.

I got tired of Deployments and living out of a Seabag. I got out and didn't look back.