Have you ever left the Military...?

[EXTremeWade 0]

To anyone who can help, especially with this regarding skydiving and my future with the sport, I have about 1 year left in the Marines. I love the miliatry, but dont want to leave its job and finiacial security so as to what has been paying for the sport since I started.

My next option is to go to college I guess, and work at some degree like buisness, but I mean in reality, I dont know what I would like to do wioht a college degree yet.

I am asking for some help from anyone here who has left the military and gone a different route and tell me how they paid for the sport and did you eventually get back into it hard like you used to before you left the military or what. I just dont know what to do wiht myslef

[leapdog 0]

Ooh-Rah Marine!

I was in the reserves and left after 10 years. getting to go back in check the 92R thread in gear and rigging forum. I'm afraid I don't have much advice since I didn't leave active duty. Except for don't leave, go to the reserves and us the GI bill to go to school. Find a civilian job in your field mean while. I was a 2881 Crypto tech at the depot level. If you need help making a civilian resume from your military experience PM me.

Gunnery Sergeant of Marines
"I would like it if I were challenged mentally at my job and not feel like I'm mentally challenged." - Co-worker

[JohnnyD 0]

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To anyone who can help, especially with this regarding skydiving and my future with the sport, I have about 1 year left in the Marines. I love the miliatry, but dont want to leave its job and finiacial security so as to what has been paying for the sport since I started.

My next option is to go to college I guess, and work at some degree like buisness, but I mean in reality, I dont know what I would like to do wioht a college degree yet.

I am asking for some help from anyone here who has left the military and gone a different route and tell me how they paid for the sport and did you eventually get back into it hard like you used to before you left the military or what. I just dont know what to do wiht myslef

Yep, and from right where your profile says you are now. I will say there is nothing secure about a USMC paycheck except it doesn't bounce and it sucks! For some, the grass is greener. Others find it is not and go back. I used the GI bill to get my degree - at night while working a full time job. The job and a TI rating paid for what little time I could spend jumping. To me, it was completely worth it. YMMV

[Meux 0]

Sounds like some of what I went through.

I've left the military three times. Each time I came back for different reasons, but I came back.

I quit skydiving once and came back as well.

Made my first jump in Dec 1975. Loved it, made 8 jumps before I realized that I couldn't pay for flying lessons, college and jumping on E-2 pay. So I quit skydiving, cut way back on flying and focused mainly on college.

I used every available means to get college credit while in the service. Applied for OTS and Pilot Training, was turned down because I didn't have enough time left on my enlistment. They wanted me to re-enlist before they would accept my application for OTS and Pilot Training. I opted to leave the Air Force.

Went home to build my flying time, and started a Masters Degree. My application for OTS came back approved as a civilian and seven months later I was off to become a 90 day wonder.

Spent the next 7 years flying my ass off in the Air Force. For several reasons I elected to leave Active Duty and get an airline job. At the same time I joined the Air National Guard and kept my military career going.

From there it took about 15 years for me to decide that it was time to start jumping again. Went back to that same DZ and went through AFF, glad I did it, wished I hadn't waited so long.

My advice to you. There is life outside the military. You've learned tons of cool stuff that poeple on the outside want. Some of it is simple like showing up for work at the appointed time. Some of it is knowing how to be part of a team and working for a goal that is more than your own little self interests. You've demonstrated courage in several ways.

Skydiving is cool, but it doesn't pay the bills (at least for me) I needed something else. For me it was flying jets. I don't know what blows your skirt up, but pursue it, whatever it is. If you put skydiving on the side for a while, it will always be there when you're ready to come back.

You can continue in the military as well. Consider either the Guard or Reserve. There are Air Force Special Ops teams that might pay you to jump out of planes.

I'm very biased and would recommend the Air Force, but all our military brothers and sisters out there would tell how the Army or Navy has good stuff to offer. I respect the Marines above all. I understand the connection you have with your fellow Marines.

Good Luck and enjoy the journey.

God Bless,

Mo

Land of the Free
Home of the Brave

[JohnnyD 0]

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Except for don't leave, go to the reserves and us the GI bill to go to school.

Do NOT do this unless you are willing to pack up your quasi civillian life and walk away from it. Personally, I never liked the reservists and never understood it. Do it or don't. - No offence to reservists.
I had a number of peers get out and go into the reserves. Eventually they all quit. One got called to active in the middle of a semester. One got recalled and divorced.

[Meux 0]

I spent 14 years in the Guard and just transferred to the Reserves last October.

Got called at Midnight back in 1990 when Saddam invaded Kuwait. Put my real life on hold for a couple months of living in the desert.

Went to Sarajavo when that was cooking.

Spent 18 months on active duty following 9/11.

Been called out for various floods and fires and strikes.

Would leave tomorrow morning if they called me right now.

I've been lucky, had great jobs, worked with great people. Everyone is different.

Cheers,

Mo

[JohnnyD 0]

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I spent 14 years in the Guard and just transferred to the Reserves last October.

Got called at Midnight back in 1990 when Saddam invaded Kuwait. Put my real life on hold for a couple months of living in the desert.

Went to Sarajavo when that was cooking.

Spent 18 months on active duty following 9/11.

Been called out for various floods and fires and strikes.

Would leave tomorrow morning if they called me right now.

I've been lucky, had great jobs, worked with great people. Everyone is different.

Cheers,

Mo

Agreed that it was a good decision for you for a host of reasons and in your situation, I would very likely have done the same. I'm assuming the original poster is at the end of his first enlistment and is just starting to get his real adult life under way.
Thanks for your service.

[Meux 0]

It's been an honor to serve.

Best of luck to all the men and women serving on Freedoms Frontier.

Mo

[leapdog 0]

The bad part to being a reservist is not being single. There is a side effect to being there and you have to be willing to deal with that.

I was called a reversist several times, but I also know that even though reservists do things backward from active we still do the job because most of us were active at one point. ... and sometimes even better. I have seen good jobs and poor jobs on both sides. No offense to the active component but I didn't like them either. Lots of the active that quit after being in the reserves weren't open minded enough or flexible enough and got fustrated at how things are run.

The good thing is that you will be in contract but it will be non-obligated so you can leave and you can keep going and get a retirement and other bennies you won't have if you got out all together.

What you have to do is decide what you are willing to put up with and if it is worth the reward or not.
Just my.02.

Gunnery Sergeant of Marines
"I would like it if I were challenged mentally at my job and not feel like I'm mentally challenged." - Co-worker

[cocheese 0]

That's the problem with military people, you are too comfortable having others make your decisions. This may take some deprograming, but you should start your own small business. It's all you.

[leapdog 0]

And you would know this about military people because you were a military head shinker?

Gunnery Sergeant of Marines
"I would like it if I were challenged mentally at my job and not feel like I'm mentally challenged." - Co-worker

[livendive 8]

I left the Navy and made more money doing construction that I had in the service. I started college and paid for it with a job in the field I was studying (environmental stuff). That's when I went through my student jumps. I eventually got my degree and got a better job, and now make about 5 times what I did in the Navy.

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[cocheese 0]

It didn't take long for me to figure this out. Didn't need a head shrinking degree. Hope i didn't offend by saying "that's the problem with ..."
But admit it. Military people LIKE to be told what to do. Non military people DON"T LIKE to be told what, how, when, where or whatever how to do something.
I left because i was about to take over and try to change everything there. Was sick of being told "This is the way WE do it. The way it has always been done, even though we know it's not the correct way."
Served 3 years in National Guard to pay some dues.

[leapdog 0]

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It didn't take long for me to figure this out. Didn't need a head shrinking degree. Hope i didn't offend by saying "that's the problem with ..."
But admit it. Military people LIKE to be told what to do. Non military people DON"T LIKE to be told what, how, when, where or whatever how to do something.
I left because i was about to take over and try to change everything there. Was sick of being told "This is the way WE do it. The way it has always been done, even though we know it's not the correct way."

Served 3 years in National Guard to pay some dues.

Just speaking for me, I don't like to be told what to do that is why I got promoted to E-6 within 4.5 years. I worked hard to get there that fast. I wanted to be at the top. I got frustrated at how slow promotions were when I got that far so I left.

Gunnery Sergeant of Marines
"I would like it if I were challenged mentally at my job and not feel like I'm mentally challenged." - Co-worker

[kmcguffee 0]

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hat's the problem with military people, you are too comfortable having others make your decisions.

Actually, the military gave me more responsibility at 22 than most people have their entire life. We're past the Napoleonic era now. Soldiers are smart, well educated, and are expected to make extremely important decisions in extremely stressfull situations on a daily basis. Don't denigrate them.

To ExtremeWade: be careful when getting out of the military. A job that pays equal or slightly higher than what your are getting now will give you less money in the long run. I found this out the hard way. After you pay for all of the benefits you are getting for free in the military, you will see the pay check dwindle. Also, you'll never be as close to a group of people as you are to your buddies in the military. No civilian jobs are comparable.

Upside to getting out: you're life will be more stable. You're work hours will be shorter but you'll get less days off (good and bad). You can get fat and out of shape and nobody will care but yourself.

"Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

[cocheese 0]

So why were you in the military. For the money ?
I would never do something like that for the money. Even if it was a lot of it.

[leapdog 0]

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So why were you in the military. For the money ?

I would never do something like that for the money. Even if it was a lot of it.

It's never about the money. and it wasn't so I was willing to die for my country. It was because I could make that poor bastard die for his.

Gunnery Sergeant of Marines
"I would like it if I were challenged mentally at my job and not feel like I'm mentally challenged." - Co-worker

[kmcguffee 0]

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I would never do something like that for the money.

And based on your comments, I wouldn't want you in any unit I served in. In the military, your life may depend on the character of those around you one day. If money is your main motivating factor, your fellow soldiers wouldn't want you fighting beside them.

"Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

[cocheese 0]

I never wanted to kill or be told to. Just wanted to be one more on the list as to prevent others from even wanting to fight in the first place. Oh and i wanted to play with explosives I'll admit it.

[leapdog 0]

I wanted to be the first one on my block to get a confirmed kill.-Joker FMJ staring R.Lee Ermy

Gunnery Sergeant of Marines
"I would like it if I were challenged mentally at my job and not feel like I'm mentally challenged." - Co-worker

[cocheese 0]

You missed my point Einstein. I meant that if you are in the military for the money, you are there for the wrong reasons. Comprendae ?
Money doesn't motivate me.

[EXTremeWade 0]

Wow,

Thank you all for the help. I was just seein what others had been through! I just hate having to make irrational decisions. I think overall, I had planned to join the Air Force CCT cause they get paid to have all kinds of quals, and the qaulity of life is superior frok what I hear. Thanks again everyone.

Wade

[mattjw916 2]

Seriously dude, you can make sooo much more money as a civilian than you _ever_ will as a soldier/sailor/marine, etc.

The day I left the military I got a 350% pay-raise. There's nothing like getting paid what you and your skills are worth rather than just what some little chart that DFAS puts out says.

Of course, I didn't spend my time in the military partying it up and blowing my money. I got tons of training and technical certifications plus a bunch of college and planned my transition for a couple years in advance of actually ETSing.

Have a plan, pay down your debts, get educated in whatever it is you want to do (or at least get started), and execute it. That is the best advice I can give to someone that wants to break free after relying on the stability of always knowing when your next paycheck is coming.

Now many years later I skydive totally guilt free and don't have to worry about money much. That is until they sack me and I have to look for a new job.

NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

[kmcguffee 0]

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You missed my point Einstein. I meant that if you are in the military for the money, you are there for the wrong reasons. Comprendae ?

Then you didn't write what you meant, Shakespeare.

"Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

[SkyDaemon 0]

Semper Fi Devil Dog!

I did a tour in the Corps and enjoyed it immensley. Entering was one of the hardest things I ever did. DEP, Category-P, Camp Pen, MOS training, and then years of being a rompin, stompin, blood thirsty, kill crazy United States Marine! Oo-rah! Leaving was also amazingly hard and the psychology involved in the re-enlistment/re-commissioning process still is a subject of conversation between my lover and I.

The military can be viewed as your 'second set of parents'. They feed you, cloth you, give you a place to live, a spending allowance, take care of all those 'adult' things like taxes, insurance, etc for you, and you have your own little group of friends that you work/play with. It's scary to give up all that financial, social, and mental security to have to stand in the cold civilian sector all alone and to 'start over' from scratch as a civilian. In a world where your rank doesn't mean anything, and your rifle qualifications won't earn you a pay raise, and your ability to performance Drill and Ceremony or score a 300 on the PFT won't earn the respect or kindness or those around you. It's a walled garden and while it's very pretty inside, the activies within it don't translate to the outside world. Climbing over those walls can be a hard thing, especially when the carrot of 20years until retirement, MGI Bill, and all the other 'little' things they take care of for you are dangled in front of you.

When I left the Corps, I went straight into the private sector with guns ablazing. My business partner and I turned up our business to full steam ahead and worked like mad to build a company. We built it to a point that it still paid for skydiving, good food, wine, mortgage, and plenty of other enjoyable luxuries.

Remember the Corps doesn't make robots, the Marine Corps builds indestructable men, men without fear. Take those skills and hardcore attitudes into the civilian world accompanied by the discipline, ability to focus, and work hard and you'll find that the civilian world moves very slow compared to the Corps.

That was probably the hardest thing to adjust to, was the ultra slow speed that the civilian world moves at. The breaking off from the government teat took about ten seconds and then the survival instincts kicked in and I was off and running. A bureaucracy is a bureucracy and you'll find them in the civilian world just like you did in the military, you'll find that people talk a big game, but rarely have what it takes to back it up, and you'll find that you -can- in fact build a great life in the private sector, land a good job/start a company and be successful by working at the speed and pace you're accustomed to.

The military really wants you to believe that you need them, more than they need you, and that you lack the ability to be successful outside of their walled garden. It's all a tactic to get you to re-up. Once you leave, go full force into the private sector and you'll find opportunities substantially greater than anything the government could ever offer.

I couldn't afford skydiving until I left the military, I had too many other projects I was doing, but now I can do them all and still skydive regularly. I'm smiling right now, because on my file cabinet is a USMC emblem right next to the logo of my first company.

You'll do fine in the private sector and it's a much more pleasant place to be with more freedom and opportunities to be successful, even though it looks cold, uninviting, and like a step backwards are first. Just suck it up, take a deep breath and blaze into the civilian world. Hell, you even have a year to get your friends and family to help you polish your resume, start applying for job (so you get feedback) or if you're inclined to start meeting people to put together a business. With a year's time you could have something started and waiting for you, the minute you get your discharge papers.

Semper Fi!

-=Raistlin

find / -name jumpers -print; cat jumpers $USER > manifest; cd /dev/airplane; more altitude; make jump; cd /pub; more beer;