Decisions, Decisions!

[ltorlo64]

I had just about decided that I was going to retire from the Navy in about 2 years. Then I talked to my Detailor, Placement Officer and Community Manager. These are the guys that write my orders, talk to the command to make sure they are getting what the ship needs, and the guy that writes the manning policy for my designator (specialty).

So here is the deal, I currently have 26 years on active duty, a little over 15 as an enlisted man where I made Senior Chief (E8). For the last 11 years I have been a Limited Duty Officer and have attained the rank of Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) (equivalent of a Major). Mandatory retirement for a LCDR is 30 years, and it generally takes 15 years to make LCDR. I saw no reason to go all the way to 30 if I could not get promoted again, so I was going to retire at about 28 years.

Yesterday I spoke to those guys from the first paragraph and found out that I will most probably go to the Commander (CDR) board a year earlier than expected because my designator is undermanned at the senior levels. It would be pretty nice to make CDR and it would raise my retirement by a substantial amount. Mandatory retirement for a CDR is not until 35 years.

Here are the two problems. First, I was told that if I decide to stay in and try for CDR, and make it I would go from a ship to a ship. Not sure I wish to do another 7-8 years straight sea time. I would also have to stay in until about 33 years to be elegible to retire at that rank. Looking even farther, if I stick around as a CDR for another year, so I would go out to 34 years, I would be elegible for the Captian board. I never even considered the possibility of making CAPT before.

Now I and my wife have to decide what we want to do. LCDR retirement at 28 years is not bad, not as good as CDR or CAPT, but definately not anything to sneeze at. I have a year to think about it because I don't need to submit my retirement papers until a year before I plan on retiring.

I had not expected the decision of when to retire to be so difficult.

[Cypher]

If it were me a lot would depend on my age. Another 6 years from your current plan wouldn't be bad at all if it will give you a substantial raise. The extra retirement is for the rest of your life right? So if it means retiring at 52 instead of 46 it could be well worth it IMO.

[renegadebuck]

If it were me a lot would depend on my age. Another 6 years from your current plan wouldn't be bad at all if it will give you a substantial raise. The extra retirement is for the rest of your life right? So if it means retiring at 52 instead of 46 it could be well worth it IMO.

Good advice!

[cciota]

I guess it depends on how comfortable is comfortable for you and your wife and what you want to put up with to get to that comfort zone when you retire. I know that is not much of an answer but it is ultimately a personal call depending on where you are at. If you know what I mean?

[mriddick]

If you can swing it on your retirement now, I'd retire and spend time with the family, in the end it's what matters most.

mo'money mo'problems :)

[swampdragon]

An age old bad habit for most families is this:
The more you make, the more you spend....you may still stay stuck in the same boat anyways.

I too agree that family is more important than money.

[old Grump]

The other thing to think about is what you do when you get out. With the economy not looking for a quick upturn but your pay guaranteed it would be a shame to get out and not find a bomb proof career.

My CO made CDR a year before he put in his papers but he already had a teaching job at the University of Nevada Las Vegas so the little cut he took in retirement pay wasn't that big a deal for him.

Sea duty was a killer for me too and I got out and went reserves instead. Nam had just wound down, Navy was cutting numbers and cruises got longer. 2 infant children at home and dad had been a truck driver who I rarely saw till a year before he died so home time was my priority.

The old Chief petty officers in boot had the right idea. Wives weren't part of our sea bag issue so you didn't need one. In my case I should have listened.

[Richard Simmons]

My BIL did 27 years Army. He was almost certain he wouldn't pick up 0-6 in the next three years so retired as a Lt Col. He basically walked across the street and went to work for the DIA and now has about 6 years left before he can get a retirement from them. Between the two he'll be retired on way more than he would have as an O-6 and if you figure in the extra 3+ years just to make O-6 plus the 3-4 years at the rank to retire he's not putting in any more time and he's getting more for it.

IHO it really boils down to what you want out of retirement and when you want it.

[ltorlo64]

I guess it depends on how comfortable is comfortable for you and your wife and what you want to put up with to get to that comfort zone when you retire. I know that is not much of an answer but it is ultimately a personal call depending on where you are at. If you know what I mean?

That is what is making it hard. I really enjoy what I do. I don't need the extra money, but it surely won't hurt.

[ltorlo64]

An age old bad habit for most families is this:
The more you make, the more you spend....you may still stay stuck in the same boat anyways.

I too agree that family is more important than money.

I know what you and MRIDDICK are saying. Luckily (or unluckily however you look at it) we had to downsize a few years ago because of a bad decision on a house. We did not default on any loans, but to make sure we started living much more simply. Now that all the bills are paid off, we have kept living the new simple life. Much less hassle, worry and stress.

While I will be at sea, my wife will be able to visit me when I pull into port. This is in part because of my pay raises, but also because we don't spend so much money that we can save for things like that.

I also agree family is more important than money, but even with living simply, you still need money to live. Even if I didn't, I would want to work at something so that I don't become another statistic and drop dead within 5 years of my retirement. So it becomes a matter of what I want to do more, work in the Navy on a ship or work as a civilian. Which is better really depends on the day.

[ltorlo64]

The other thing to think about is what you do when you get out. With the economy not looking for a quick upturn but your pay guaranteed it would be a shame to get out and not find a bomb proof career.

Luckily my training should allow me to get a pretty good job. Back when all the tree huggers were telling us nuclear power was bad I, was trained on how to operate the Navy's nuclear power plants. Now those same tree huggers are all excited about how nuclear power plants are "green energy" and don't add to the bad CO2 emmisions that cause global warming.


The old Chief petty officers in boot had the right idea. Wives weren't part of our sea bag issue so you didn't need one.

I always hated that saying. Though, I don't think they should be added to the sea bag until you are an E5 and have went through one deployment with each other.

[old Grump]

I always hated that saying. Though, I don't think they should be added to the sea bag until you are an E5 and have went through one deployment with each other.

Didn't think much of it myself, seemed crude and crass and I did see a few lower enlisted ranks with good women do well but most had a pretty rocky go of it. I was E-5 but I should have waited till I was E-6 and chosen better, or at least chosen better. My attitude is just bitterness on marrying the daughter of an E-8 who had the same low moral standards of her dad. Scratch what itches when it itches with whoever is handy, vows be damned. To much Catholic in me I guess and not enough in her.

I hope it works out for you whichever way you decide.

[HDR]

It seems some are materialistic. Some people enjoy what they do and the challenge it brings.
Sure it pays money but that isn't what it is about for some.

[swampdragon]

I know what you and MRIDDICK are saying. Luckily (or unluckily however you look at it) we had to downsize a few years ago because of a bad decision on a house. We did not default on any loans, but to make sure we started living much more simply. Now that all the bills are paid off, we have kept living the new simple life. Much less hassle, worry and stress.

While I will be at sea, my wife will be able to visit me when I pull into port. This is in part because of my pay raises, but also because we don't spend so much money that we can save for things like that.

I also agree family is more important than money, but even with living simply, you still need money to live. Even if I didn't, I would want to work at something so that I don't become another statistic and drop dead within 5 years of my retirement. So it becomes a matter of what I want to do more, work in the Navy on a ship or work as a civilian. Which is better really depends on the day.

Wait a second!
I only have 4 years and a couple months left to live?
What a gyp!

[old Grump]

Wait a second!
I only have 4 years and a couple months left to live?
What a gyp!

Oh relax, those numbers are for old sailors and its only an average. You aint got enough fun in you yet, you can't die till you are tired of fun. Thems is the rules. Sheesh, gotta explain everything to the army slowly using small words.

[swampdragon]

Oh relax, those numbers are for old sailors and its only an average. You aint got enough fun in you yet, you can't die till you are tired of fun. Thems is the rules. Sheesh, gotta explain everything to the army slowly using small words.

Are there any numbers for Army people?
Where did this statistic come from?

[old Grump]

Don't know who first put it out but back in boot camp in the 60's they used to tell us that the average life expectancy of a retired sailor was less than 6 years because we would either do real well in the outside world or we would drink ourselves to death since we no longer had sea duty time to sober us up, (that could take up to 6 years). Or the wife would kill us off after about 6 months because we were such a-holes without something to do and nobody to answer to.

We also learned to leave the girls to home because if we needed a wife they would be issued to us with our seabag.

Dial soap had an anti-bacterial soap so if you got LAID use DIAL.

Only bosun's mates and queers whistled.

One thing is for certain we learned a lot in boot but a good part of it...........well it wasn't easily forgotten but it should have been.

[Mark Ducati]

When I was in the military... you know how many times I heard the enlisted folks say "....but my recruiter said..."

No different with officers.... "...but my detailor said..."

Good luck, I'd like a little more confidence from higher up that you'll be going before the CDR board a year earlier, else thank you for the additional 2 years of service.

When the promotion board comes up, they're reviewing all LCDR's from the entire country, is there anyway you can have a chat with a detailor/placement officer/community manager from outside your command to get sort of a 2nd opinion on the situation? Just a thought.

[Paladin]

...Sheesh, gotta explain everything to the army slowly using small words.

squid

[old Grump]

squid

Jealous

[ltorlo64]

When I was in the military... you know how many times I heard the enlisted folks say "....but my recruiter said..."

No different with officers.... "...but my detailor said..."

Good luck, I'd like a little more confidence from higher up that you'll be going before the CDR board a year earlier, else thank you for the additional 2 years of service.

When the promotion board comes up, they're reviewing all LCDR's from the entire country, is there anyway you can have a chat with a detailor/placement officer/community manager from outside your command to get sort of a 2nd opinion on the situation? Just a thought.

Understand about the detailor comment. Luckily, I am in a very small communtity, maybe about 400 of us in all ranks from CWO2 to CAPT (O6), so our detailor is slightly more trustworthy.

As for my community manager, he is a LCDR in the same boat as me (no pun intended), except that he is 2 years senior to me. He is working very hard to ensure that he goes to the board before he reaches 30 years. If he does, then I should also.

As for who will go up to the board with me, it is just the other Limited Duty Officers. Because I am a Nuke we have a specific community manager, but all LDOs also have a community manager who is a CAPT. He is also working to make sure people in my position get to have at least one look at CDR before we retire. Right now, it is still uncertain. But in the next year or so it will become more certain one way or the other, with it looking like it will be good for promotion.