Is the military a safe career for retirement considering the drawdown empahsis?

LTC George Tobias III — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 16:18:43 -0500

With the emphasis on drawing down heavily the active duty forces, is there really a good chance to get in a solid 20 plus years and retirement. Especially, with the zero defect career a officer walks, can it be said that a military career is worth the gamble. A bad rating, less than a middle mark senior rater profile, and school selections, the list is limitless. Having had 6 years enlisted, staff sergeant infantry, and then selection to OCS, I know it was a constant up hill struggle. But now things are back to peacetime mode and just doing the job is not going to cut it. Not everyone can walk on water, or can they?

Response by SFC James Baber made Dec 28 at 2013 6:36 PM

SFC James Baber — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 18:36:42 -0500

I think the current lifers should be somewhat safe, not sure about the next generation of under a decade Soldiers (NCOs/Officers) alike, but maybe some of this will be reversed once the current administration and many of his Dem cohorts are out of office for a few years as well, whenever the Dems are running Congress and the WH, we suffer like this, I would think you can remember the early to mid 90s under Clinton, same fiasco, just not as severe as it is now.

It is going to get a lot worse before it will taper off and get better again as it should be.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 28 at 2013 10:57 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 22:57:02 -0500

I like your directness and clarity and I left only because I was tired of some things. I had a lot of good experiences but the idea it becomes more political made it an easy decision to get out.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 29 at 2013 11:06 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 11:06:35 -0500

Sir,

I feel your pain everyday. I have had all amazing ratings with an ACOM but just one bad rating (Fully Qualified) almost kept me from making Major on the last board. When I first commissioned and came on active duty they had removed the block Check from CPT and below ratings and there was so much more room to learn and show creativity. Now we are back to the point if you ever make a mistake your whole career can be over. fortunately I came in at the right time and the next time I will look at promotion is at the 17 year mark so I will continue down the trail.

Response by LTC Jason Strickland made Dec 29 at 2013 11:11 AM

LTC Jason Strickland — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 11:11:40 -0500

I feel the retirement system is in real jeopardy. The commission that conducted the study last year (or the year before?) has had all of their recommendations eventually accepted over the years. This will likely be accepted as well and we will see the end of benefits beginning after a service member serves 20 years.

I realize this is not good news, but hopefully those currently serving will remain in a "grandfather" status so their benefits are not affected.

Response by LTC Joseph Gross made Dec 29 at 2013 6:10 PM

LTC Joseph Gross — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 18:10:34 -0500

I think the military is just as safe today (for retirement purposes) as it was 28 years ago when I entered. It may seem less safe at the moment because we are at the beginning of a drawdown and everyone is nervous. Those of us who have been through this before realize that natural attrition and self-selection will get rid of about 90% of those targetted for a drawdown. It is a very small percentage who will be kicked out. And this is speaking of the actually drawdown period. We will see a slight decrease in promotion rates and we will see more people kicked out. But we aren't kicking out average Soldiers. We are enforcing the standards we have ignored for the last decade. We are kicking out the fatties and the DUIs which we chose to overlook because we are at war. Your average performer is still going to be promoted at an average rate which is generally all that is needed to reach retirement. The waterwalkers will simply be the early promotions.

Response by SSG Richard Stevens made Dec 29 at 2013 9:44 PM

SSG Richard Stevens — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 21:44:15 -0500

yes i agree, it is in Trouble and it is getting worse.

Response by MAJ Ron Peery made Jun 16 at 2014 9:08 PM

MAJ Ron Peery — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 21:08:43 -0400

Congress has never been a trustworthy employer. They base funding decisions on political considerations first, national security second (maybe) and fulfillment of their obligation to the men and women who served the nation last. We all know this going in. I think most people serve 20 plus years because they love what we do, not because of the promised benefits.
That said, we all look forward to the retirement pay we were promised. A wise soldier will look to the future and invest a portion of pay each month so that no matter what Congress does, the retirement will be covered.

Response by Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen made Jun 6 at 2016 12:26 PM

Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 12:26:27 -0400

I think the ability to serve 20 years and retire are just as possible now as they were when I came on active duty in 1968. What has changed is the ability to be forced out at the 15 - 18 year point. There is certainly less room for any hiccups in your career now than in my day, but if you keep your performance level high and complete the requirements to be competitive for your next rank you should be able to get to retirement. I witnessed the post Vietnam drawdown first hand and saw many great people forced out, but don't think that environment is as pervasive today despite talks of drawdowns. I certainly believe we will see changes in the retirement system, but from all I've read anyone on active duty will be grandfathered if/when any change is implemented so if you're serving now you can retire at 20, assuming a good performance history.