Originally Posted by
pittflyer
To make this thread all about ME, let me throw a wrench in this topic and say the same guy was at 16yrs (4yrs from retirement) however, flying currently in his active job and would be when he hit 20yrs (but that's in 2019). Do you leave the mil retirement money on the table, walk for the QOL and seniority # now at 16years or stay to the 20yr point to collect from Uncle Sam?
[All of this assumes you get on with a Major at this 16yr point, do the reserve gig so you don't waste the 16yrs you have, etc.]
As a young mil guy in late 90s when everyone was punching I saw spreadsheets (Darby?) that "proved" it made financial sense to get out with 19 years. Not including any guard/reserve. That didn't work out so good for those guys. Through no fault of their own--end of the day you assess what's out there and make best choice you can. Oddly enough, most of those folks made it back on AD and ended up with senority and a line number. Though I don't envy the stress they went through.
To me the question is do you want to stay active or not for another 4 years.
I'm one of those guys who never meant to stay in. I'm extremely thankful for the pension and tricare.
If you look at retirement numbers, they are pretty impressive from 18 on.
Good luck.