I Am Done. Welcome To The Civilian Life

[Marc]

Well, after 30 years in the Air Force I officially retired on Friday, 24 January. The ceremony went so smooth. Had about 125 of my family, friends, and coworkers that attended. The after party was even better. Took me a entire day to recover from that one. :lol:

Retired on Friday and start my civilian job on Monday. I will be a service/contract/warranty service writer for the large Ford Dealership down the street from me. I have known some folks there for years and they hired me on the spot. Since there is not much going on trying to work on base, this will do for now. With that income, my retirement check, and my VA Disability down the road I should be fine.

Going to be weird waking up tomorrow and not putting on a uniform.

 

[Bullitt 3309]

Congrats and welcome to the blue card club. When I punched in 2010, I took two weeks off before starting my new job. Going from a SNCO to civilian will be tough at first. I was an HR nightmare as I couldnt be "direct" anymore... I had to treat my peers like little girls... Thank god I am a "Disabled Vet" and HR gave me some slack. Now I'm the most chill dude at work... My only suggestion would be to stay away from gov jobs for a few years until the current political climate mellows out. Have fun at the Ford dealer, you might stay longer that you think!

 

[d3vst8r96gt]

Congrats..... I'm 22 yrs behind ya!

 

[gearhead08]

I will have 6 years in the AF in 3 days.. Totally jealous of you right now haha. Hopefully I can dodge the manhunt for kicking 25k people out in the next 3-5 years. I might just be able to do the same thing Hope you enjoy it.

 

[Poppacapp]

Well, after 30 years in the Air Force I officially retired on Friday, 24 January. The ceremony went so smooth. Had about 125 of my family, friends, and coworkers that attended. The after party was even better. Took me a entire day to recover from that one. :lol:

Retired on Friday and start my civilian job on Monday. I will be a service/contract/warranty service writer for the large Ford Dealership down the street from me. I have known some folks there for years and they hired me on the spot. Since there is not much going on trying to work on base, this will do for now. With that income, my retirement check, and my VA Disability down the road I should be fine.

Going to be weird waking up tomorrow and not putting on a uniform.

Remember not to fall back on your military training, and punch an irate customer in the throat.

 

[SHLBYLVR]

Marc welcome to the civilian world. Not as bad as it seems.

 

[rezarxt]

Congrats brother! Get hammered for me tonight will you.

 

[me32]

congrats

 

[2004TBV]

Congrats and thanks for your service. I can't even begin to imagine what my life will be like after 20+ years of service and being retired.

Good luck man and enjoy your retirement.

 

[jbs$]

Thank for your service and welcome to the Civlilian world.

 

[Weather Man]

Congrat's chief. The first year out was the worst for me. The level of professionalism is hard for the civilian world to duplicate.

 

[ssj4sadie]

Congrats Chief!

 

[Marc]

Thanks folks! I will post here tomorrow evening after my first day of work. Kakis, tennis shoes, and a company shirt is what I will wear...wow.

 

[Serpent]

Damn 30 years??? Holy hell!!! Welcome to 1st Civilian Division!

I'm sure the change is going to be crazy, I know you're only in the AF oke:, but 30 is a looong time. I got out in 2010 after 4 years and I miss it a lot, but my life is BS free... Military BS free :beer:

 

[ImThatGuy]

Just wanted to say congratulations! That is no easy task. Try to find a job similiar to your military position. And if some screws up, make them do push ups!! Lol

 

[98 Saleen Cobra]

Congrats man!! Good luck with all your new endeavors :beer:

 

[Sapperstang]

Congrat's chief. The first year out was the worst for me. The level of professionalism is hard for the civilian world to duplicate.

Yep. Some of the simplest things you took for granted will be missing, like promptness.

 

[afcobra01]

Congrats from a fellow retiree. 22 years AF and retired in 2007. One thing to remember is you not a chief anymore. The transition for me was easy as I was more than ready to go but some folks have issues with the transition. Good luck in your civilian career. I think that you will enjoy.

 

[F1reStart3r]

Damn 30 years??? Holy hell!!! Welcome to 1st Civilian Division!

I'm sure the change is going to be crazy, I know you're only in the AF oke:, but 30 is a looong time. I got out in 2010 after 4 years and I miss it a lot, but my life is BS free... Military BS free :beer:

This right here. I miss my Marines but not the Corps.

Welcome Marc. There are a shit ton of vets running around working random places so it's not quite as bad as some would make it. Then again I can go 5 feet in this town without running into someone in or retired.

 

[carrrnuttt]

'Grats Chief!

I remember when I was a Corrections Officer, there were a bunch of us that just recently got out of military service. One of them was a recently-retired USMC Sgt. Major who also had put in 30 years of service.

I guess he hadn't had his fill of putting on a uniform everyday, and he always wore the drill sgt. CO hat. Even though we were all technically the same rank, we always ended up deferring to him, as he always carried this air of command and competence. Also, the fact that a lot of us were prior military and respected the hell out of him must have helped.

I guess I'm saying that if you happen to have some vets working around you, it might make transition a bit easier.