Retirement Ceremony

[Dal1Celt]

Well folks. Today at 1000hrs The U.S. Army will be conducting my Official Retirement Ceremony.

I can not believe that 23 years and 6 months have gone by so quickly.

I still will not be "Officially" retired until 1 Dec 09, as I have a little over 100 days of transitional leave that I will be taking. This will be my last day in military uniform.

As I was writing my remarks last night it finally hit me that I was done. I just hope that I can keep my composer in check for a few hours more.

Chris
U.S. Army(ret)

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[SIGguy229]

Congratulations...and thank you for your years of service.

...only 4 1/2 years to go and I will join you.

What's next?

[Miggy]

Chris, Thank you very much for your service!

[aimhigh]

Thanks for your service ...and yes there is life after the military!!!

[rstickle]

Congrats!!

I remember when I retired I had 92.5 days on the books and was annoyed that they made me come in the half day!

I also found out about 6 weeks into my terminal leave I wasn't ready to "RETIRE", so I was thankful I found job thats almost as much fun.

[retsupt99]

Congrats on a well-earned retirement...

[bstrawse]

Congratulations on your retirement!

And thank you for your service.

[shooter76blue]

Did 24 years myself. The speech at my retirement ceremony was pretty tough but I knew I was ready to move on. didn't make it any easier though...

[varob]

Enjoy your retirement. And thank you for your years of service to our country.

[Chaplain Scott]

Chris:

I hung up the uniform 5 years ago--it was really hard, I truly LOVED what I did. I found the transition back to civilian life pretty hard--every time there was a news story on TV about our troops deployed, I'd get a lump in my throat and an ache in my heart. I still do, but not quite as acute as it was.

Are you staying in the Bragg area? That may help, being around post and still seeing all the high & tights. I moved to a very small, very, very rural community, so my break with the military lifestyle was rapid and pretty complete.

If you can afford to $$-wise, take some time off, decompress, do something fun (like go to the range--if you can find the ammo) go on a vacation (come to Montana for the Fall, its beautiful here). Expect to have ups and downs in your feelings for a while. The ARmy is much, much more than just a job or career, it is an entire way of life and, trying not to be corny, but dead serious, you were part of a "band of brothers" that dedicated their lives to the cause of defending freedoms at home and around the world--that is something that you can be very proud of and not something that you can easily take off and lay aside. And you will not find that same level of comradeship on the outside--its one of the things I miss the most......

Thanks for your years of service, and God's Speed to you....

Scott
(former tanker, Chaplain, paratrooper)
US Army, 1974-2004

[RoadRunner71]

Thank you for all those years of service.

Any major life transition is difficult. The trick is to find something else to fill all those hours in the day. I hear golf is GOOD! And of course, fishing!

[EW3]

What did you retire as?

26 July 2011 would be my 20 year mark had I stayed in, but I ended up only doing 4 years AD and 8 Guard/Reserve.

Congrats, it's going to feel great, yet strange, to be "free"!

[David in FL]

A bittersweet day.

You'll find that the time flies just as fast now as it did those last 20 years. It's just a little less exhilarating from day to day......

......the pay tends to be better though.

[Paco]

HOOAH! Congrats and thanks.

Good luck in civilian life, may you land a military consulting job on a movie lot and make loads of cash!

[msgt/ret]

Congratulations, as others have said it will take a bit of time getting used to being a civvie, myself I retired 18 years age but now I volunteer at the Retirees Activities Office, just had to find a way to be involved again.