Vets!

[chernmax]

I retired from active duty in 1999, at the ripe old age of 47!

Good thing too, I didn't want a second star on my National Defense Medal.

I joined the Navy 1 week after my 17th Birthday and retired in 2004 with 24 years at the ripe young age of 41!!!

 

[MADPEBS1]

Scott - AT2 1976 - 1979
Great Lakes Dec/ Jan 76 - F'in Cold, didn't have to march much though ;-)
Memphis AT A school
San Diego S-3 FRAMP
Cecil Field VS-31
First Med Cruise on CVN-69 IKE - Flight Deck T/S, The stuff i saw , WOW...
Been Here at PAX since as an F-18 and F-35 MS tester...

 

[cwo_ghwebb]

I joined the Navy 1 week after my 17th Birthday and retired in 2004 with 24 years at the ripe young age of 41!!!

I never thought I'd have a career in the military. The government took care of that idea when I got drafted!

I was 19, petrified of going to Nam and when offered language school, I jumped at the chance. I was in Korea during the fall of Saigon. After I got out, I missed the people and comraderie.

I went back in 5.5 years later and had to go through boot camp again. ugh!

If you retired in 2004 at age 41 how in the heck are you 5 years older than me???

 

[wilcam47]

I get 33% of my ex's retirement pay. Does that count? I did 14 years active duty with him, 2 years delayed entry while dating/engaged, two years active reservists while waiting for the divorce, and raised his kids until retirement at adulthood.

sorry but that's the life you chose...you shouldn't get paid for his active duty time...I know that's not the law but it should be...

MSgt Retired on terminal leave

2A571
Jun 1992-Jul 2012

 

[itsbob]

I never thought I'd have a career in the military. The government took care of that idea when I got drafted!

I was 19, petrified of going to Nam and when offered language school, I jumped at the chance. I was in Korea during the fall of Saigon. After I got out, I missed the people and comraderie.

I went back in 5.5 years later and had to go through boot camp again. ugh!

If you retired in 2004 at age 41 how in the heck are you 5 years older than me???

I think most would be amazed at how often that happens, but generally, most services won't even take Prior Service, or if they do it's a window of opportunity once a year.

Training and paygrade all depend on how long you've been out.. and at one point, for the Army, the only way a Prior Service could get back in (this was a LONG time ago) was to take the Special Forces Option.. Basic Training, (AGAIN for most), Jump School, Special Forces Qualication Training, then on to a team to return for your "A" school.. If you failed anywhere in the process you were back on the street.. I only had one person take it serious enough to make it, the others all assumed once they got in the door the Army wouldn't just let them go.. Hard lesson learned for some.

 

[glhs837]

I got out of active with 12 years in. A little less than 90 days later, not finding anything better than 84 Lumber for work, I signed back up, almost.

Went to MEPs, did the pysical thing, all the other bells and whistle. 2 minutes before going in to raise my hand, I get pulled aside. Now, I had put on E-6 in six years, and therefore had been an E-6 for half of my career. They pull me aside and tell me, that to take me back in, they need me to take an admin reduction to E-3, and be willing to go ships company.

Really? You spend 12 years developing an weapons systems loading and maint expert and trained aircrewman with over 3,000 flight times, only to set him to chipping paint? When I asked to see the written policy requiring this, at the end, was told that it was unofficial policy from the E-8 up at regional.

Long bus drive back to Lexington Park. And worked out really well for me. Three months later, got picked up as a flyer with a reserve outfit in Maine, great duty.

 

[itsbob]

I got out of active with 12 years in. A little less than 90 days later, not finding anything better than 84 Lumber for work, I signed back up, almost.

Went to MEPs, did the pysical thing, all the other bells and whistle. 2 minutes before going in to raise my hand, I get pulled aside. Now, I had put on E-6 in six years, and therefore had been an E-6 for half of my career. They pull me aside and tell me, that to take me back in, they need me to take an admin reduction to E-3, and be willing to go ships company.

Really? You spend 12 years developing an weapons systems loading and maint expert and trained aircrewman with over 3,000 flight times, only to set him to chipping paint? When I asked to see the written policy requiring this, at the end, was told that it was unofficial policy from the E-8 up at regional.

Long bus drive back to Lexington Park. And worked out really well for me. Three months later, got picked up as a flyer with a reserve outfit in Maine, great duty.

Good for you.. after 90 days there should have been NO reduction in rank... but it also goes back to they have to find that E-6 billet for that MOS.. if it's not there, they then go look for an E-5 billet.. and so on..

What they were suggesting (and sounds like ) is that there were NO billets in your MOS.. NONE in the entire Navy.

Glad it worked out for you though!

 

[foosballpaul]

Marine Corps 22 years..Retired in 92.

 

[Aerogal]

SGT USMC/USMCR (active reserve)
FA-18 Integrated Weapon Systems Tech/ Systems Analyst
Master Training Specialist & Course Manager
Last of the Women's Marine Corps Platoons to go through Paris Island Sep 1983!
Millington TN - Nov 1983-Nov 1984 Aviation Basic Electronics & Electric , Advanced First Term Avionics et....
NAMTRAGRUDET & OJT - VFA-125 Lemoore CA, Nov 1984- Mar 1985
VFA-125 NAS Lemoore CA, Mar 1985- Apr 1987
VFA-106 NAS Cecil Field FL, Apr 1987- Sep 1988
Master Training Specialist/Course Manager - NAMTRAGRUDET NAS Cecil Field, Sep 1988-Dec 1992
Got out of active duty for 2 reasons: 1. Troop cutbacks and hitting high year tenure through no fault of my own, but no where to move up. 2. Harder to stay posted with Navy Spouse.
USMCR MAG 42 Det Alpha, NAS Cecil Field FL, Dec 1992 - Dec 1995
Total 16 months Sea Time. Longest time @ sea 6 weeks (pre-coed deployments).

 

[cwo_ghwebb]

I think most would be amazed at how often that happens, but generally, most services won't even take Prior Service, or if they do it's a window of opportunity once a year.

Training and paygrade all depend on how long you've been out.. and at one point, for the Army, the only way a Prior Service could get back in (this was a LONG time ago) was to take the Special Forces Option.. Basic Training, (AGAIN for most), Jump School, Special Forces Qualication Training, then on to a team to return for your "A" school.. If you failed anywhere in the process you were back on the street.. I only had one person take it serious enough to make it, the others all assumed once they got in the door the Army wouldn't just let them go.. Hard lesson learned for some.

Air Force told me I was too old (I had turned 28 two weeks earlier). The Army jerked me around regarding duty stations. The numbnuts musta been nhboy and told me the duty stations were top secret. B.S.

I never even considered the Marine Corps, I (in my mind) was too darn old.

The Navy recruiter knew all about the CT rating. Freaked me out as he was in supply. He answered all my questions (including duty stations) and was straight up! Come to find out, he was on the USS Liberty when she was attacked by the Israelis. Best move I ever made was enlisting (again).

 

[BOP]

I think most would be amazed at how often that happens, but generally, most services won't even take Prior Service, or if they do it's a window of opportunity once a year.

Training and paygrade all depend on how long you've been out.. and at one point, for the Army, the only way a Prior Service could get back in (this was a LONG time ago) was to take the Special Forces Option.. Basic Training, (AGAIN for most), Jump School, Special Forces Qualication Training, then on to a team to return for your "A" school.. If you failed anywhere in the process you were back on the street.. I only had one person take it serious enough to make it, the others all assumed once they got in the door the Army wouldn't just let them go.. Hard lesson learned for some.

I was going to take the SF option...until they said "right after basic," and I said, "nay, nay, not I!"

 

[oldman]

The Navy recruiter knew all about the CT rating. Freaked me out as he was in supply. He answered all my questions (including duty stations) and was straight up! Come to find out, he was on the USS Liberty when she was attacked by the Israelis. Best move I ever made was enlisting (again).

I had a friend while at Northwest, Virginia that came off the Liberty after the attack. I don't know if he was hurt from it but he drove a car for the handicapped which I believe his wife was. He wouldn't talk about it. The CT's have lost their share of people over the years.

 

[acommondisaster]

CTO1 (retired)

Duty stations:
CincPacFlt (Makalapa, Hawaii)
NSGA Homestead, FL
CinCPac (Camp Smith, Hawaii)
White House Comm Agency (10 years)

Cinclanthouse. (best duty of all)

 

[cwo_ghwebb]

I had a friend while at Northwest, Virginia that came off the Liberty after the attack. I don't know if he was hurt from it but he drove a car for the handicapped which I believe his wife was. He wouldn't talk about it. The CT's have lost their share of people over the years.

That's the truth!

 

[Mabus]

Been reflecting back a lot on my days underwater....

 

[microcomputer]

Wow - this thread it sure bringing back memories...

I remember while deployed overseas (WesPac-1967) we got to tour the USS INGRAHAM (DD-694) and the (I believe) USS Blueback (SS-581) for a case of San Miguel Beer! Looking back - that was my only "sea duty" while in the Navy!

 

[PsyOps]

Wow - this thread it sure bringing back memories...

I remember while deployed overseas (WesPac-1967) we got to tour the USS INGRAHAM (DD-694) and the (I believe) USS Blueback (SS-581) for a case of San Miguel Beer! Looking back - that was my only "sea duty" while in the Navy!

I remember having San Miguel in the PI. Nasty brew. Gave everyone horrendous gas; yes even the women. What a BLAST!

 

[oldman]

I remember having San Miguel in the PI. Nasty brew. Gave everyone horrendous gas; yes even the women. What a BLAST!

My experience with San Miguel was it took a little getting used to and then it was perfectly fine. Used to call the local FRA and they'd delivery a case to my back door while stationed there. I had a neighbor in Laurel that had a case a month delivered to him and it wasn't the export stuff either. My one bad experience was finding a dead mouse in the bottle I was drinking.

 

[glhs837]

Thing about San Miguel was that, at least for the home market stuff, there was no homogenization, different parts of the batch would have differing quality and alcohol content

The worst was this stuff named Red Horse, stuff was 32 oz or 22 oz bottles, had some other booze in it.

 

[chernmax]

If you retired in 2004 at age 41 how in the heck are you 5 years older than me???

microcomputer, said he was 5 years older than you not me!!! LOL, you must be getting old...