What were/are the driving reasons you decided to ETS or retire?

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 10:16:47 -0500

As the Talent Management Task Force looks at improving talent management across the force in line with initiatives in the Human Dimension Strategy other organizations and proponents are looking at ways to extend, or maximize service of uniquely qualified individuals.

Response by SPC Margaret Higgins made Feb 21 at 2019 10:23 AM

SPC Margaret Higgins — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 10:23:15 -0500

I had to retire. I have s/c disabilities; from the Army. I was honorably discharged. SFC Private RallyPoint Member

Response by LTC John Shaw made Feb 21 at 2019 10:25 AM

LTC John Shaw — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 10:25:42 -0500

As an LTC, I hit the max 28 years, I was extended by one year by the Signal Command and deployed, so it made it 29 years. My total time was 31 years. I work at Verizon so I have commercial communications background in secured wireless, fiber, Satellite, now 5G. If 5G is deployed right, we don't need to spend millions in wiring buildings. If you want this knowledge on the market, it is $300 - $600 per hour.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 21 at 2019 10:48 AM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 10:48:49 -0500

Talent Management Task Force. What are the background requirements for one to be selected on this board?

Response by CW4 Anthoney Lowry made Feb 21 at 2019 11:03 AM

CW4 Anthoney Lowry — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 11:03:33 -0500

as a CW4 with almost 25 years of service, I got tired of being treated like a child. Mountains of paperwork and asking permission to take a week of vacation gets old when you are an adult. now, if i want to go to Canada tomorrow, i tell my boss i am taking a week of vacation time and he says "ok" see you when you get back.

Response by MSgt Michael Smith made Feb 21 at 2019 11:25 AM

MSgt Michael Smith — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 11:25:59 -0500

For me the reason was simple: I was facing a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan, I had 21 years in the service, I was an Air Force E-7 with very little chance of getting promoted in the near term, and I was living (for the previous 6 years) in the DC Metro area, where I wanted to stay. Plus I was broken and tired. So for me it was clearly time to move on to the next career. If you are living where you want to stay, with lots of contacts and networking in local economy, why move for short tour, only to come back a year older with more uncertainty, etc. I wanted a second career after the military, so the time was right. I don't regret it one bit. I loved the Air Force and had a great career, but in the end it was time to move on while the ball was in my corner.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 21 at 2019 11:37 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 11:37:37 -0500

That's a lot of buzzwords! Does your organization pay by the word or by the pound? Lol

I would say it depends on the stage in their career. The initial term soldiers leave because the Army wasn't what they thought it was. Most leave because they've never been on their own and they see the Army and their leadership as another set of parents to rebel against, rather than a career.
Mid career soldiers up to about 11 years in the Army leave because they want other opportunities. They usually planned on only doing one term. They usually have better long term plans. Sometimes they're just burned out by a string of bad leaders. More often they are newly married and the optempo keeps them from their family. They usually have more than one assignment and they have a realistic expectation of their future possibilities.
Anyone enoisted 12 years and up who leaves before retirement has basically just gotten fed up or is about to lose their family. I've only seen it a handful of times.
For retirees, and myself, the reason to separate before mandatory retirement is almost always that kids are getting older and family doesn't want to move again. That's why you see a lot of Senior leaders homestead at one location later in their career by doing unaccompanied assignments.

Response by SFC Dennis A. made Feb 21 at 2019 12:42 PM

SFC Dennis A. — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 12:42:28 -0500

Two main reasons, first I had been promoted to E-7 and wanted to get back into a line unit and out of the Engineer School. DA told me that I could not rotate our of there until the hundreds of people that were homesteaded there rotated first. Second was, my kids were getting to the age that they would be starting middle/high school and I wanted them to be able to attend school with their friends and not move in their junior/senior year if I did happen to get orders to PCS. Family to priority so we decided to retire. In retrospect it was a good choice, my kids both met great girls and now we are enjoying really great grand children.

Response by SPC Greg Campbell made Feb 21 at 2019 12:44 PM

SPC Greg Campbell — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 12:44:42 -0500

micromanagement to the point of being in basic, stateside duty SUX. in the year I was at Carson, I rarely did my job

Response by SFC Scott Higgins made Feb 21 at 2019 2:19 PM

SFC Scott Higgins — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 14:19:03 -0500

Honestly it was the toughest decision to make. My career was going great, I had been a SFC for about 5 years - fifteen years active duty, just sent in my packet for E-8. My dad was dying. Had about a year left. They offered early retirement. I got out in July...my dad passed away in November that same year. So I got a few last months of seeing him every day. But there are times I wish I had stayed in.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Feb 21 at 2019 5:11 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 17:11:20 -0500

I knew the Army was better without me.

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Feb 21 at 2019 5:32 PM

LTC Jason Mackay — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 17:32:13 -0500

SFC Private RallyPoint Member being passed over in the primary zone for O6 after being told I was competitive and successfully commanding as an O5. Was also looking at PCS needs of the Army before the AZ board results would be released and my family had had it. All the effort, collective sacrifice of family, etc. lost on the 5 yard line.

Permanent West Point Faculty have a deal that would be a great retention tool. Those that hold the FA that attain O6 are allowed to retire as an O7. I would have settled for a SELCON opportunity that allowed me to go out as an O6 for pay purposes.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 21 at 2019 9:10 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 21:10:28 -0500

I ETS, nobody home to help my father with all the animals, I was the youngest.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Feb 22 at 2019 1:03 AM

CAPT Kevin B. — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 01:03:03 -0500

Knew I wasn't going to make Flag and didn't want to hang with the crowd that handed me mission without force protection. Good time to leave on my own terms. Interesting enough, since I worked for the same organization as a senior CS, my talents continued serving until I punched out of that. Only way I could get a pay raise was to quit, so I did. That and you can only be organizationally re -engineered so many times. You get tired of the bosses never confronting what they see in the mirror but rather decide downline is always the problem. Never looked back.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 22 at 2019 9:12 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 21:12:03 -0500

A. When I left the Regular Army, the only thing that seemed to be going on was sort of meals-on-wheels in the developing world. (Didn't just seem like that to me, but the training - the Army's fascination with nation-building-fu actually began before 9/11, in my experience.)
B. All kinds people not much older than me were becoming bazillionaires via technology and I'm very nerdy.

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Feb 23 at 2019 8:08 AM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Sat, 23 Feb 2019 08:08:23 -0500

I was tagged for recruiting during my second enlistment. In the USMC, this is Voluntold (non-voluntary) and required extension / re-enlistment to meet the tour requirements. However, you do not find out the new duty station until after completing recruiting school.

As I had an active duty wife, a newborn son, and owned a home in VA, I was unwilling to reenlist / extend without being told where I was going. I was happy to do recruiting duty anywhere. I honestly didn't care where, but I needed to know where so I could plan.

The expectation for me to reup for 3+ years with no information was frankly unreasonable, and I had better options. I don't regret getting out because it was the right decision at that time, but if offered the chance to go back I would because I do love the Corps and the opportunities it gave me.