Anyone here transition into the Reserves? Was it worth it?

[bricktamland]

I’ll be separating this summer with 12 years and change of active duty time. The civilian job I have lined up is actually well-suited for me to continue in the Reserves if I want to. I will be working 7 days on and 7 days off, so I’ll have abundant free time to drill. And I get paid as an independent contractor, so I will be lacking company-provided health coverage and a retirement plan. Thus, benefits such as affordable Tricare and low cost TSP become more attractive. My house is only 15 minutes from one of the major military medical centers, so I imagine I could do some drilling there, which would be great.

Of course, the huge benefit is the retirement pension. I’ve run the numbers and if I worked extra shifts at my civilian job for the same time commitment I’d have with the Reserves, I’d have to earn at least $300/hour and save every penny in a tax-advantaged account to equal the value of the pension. Thus, the pension is a very attractive prospect. I also like the idea of diversifying my retirement assets by having a pension included in the portfolio. Of course, working at the VA is an option but I don’t think I want to pass up my 7/7 job to work there. The lifestyle with this job is too good.

If I’m honest with myself, I don’t enjoy being a military officer much. I loathe the admin, I don’t enjoy the rank structure or generally the whole culture of the military. In 12 years, I still haven’t become comfortable with being called “Sir.” I don’t like worrying about loose threads on my uniform or if I my hair is getting too long. I could go on and on. But, I do like the people I work with, I like the patient population, and I like the idea of contributing to our country. So altogether, I don’t hate it, but I certainly don’t love it enough to stick around past my obligation.

All that said, I’ve heard that being in the Reserves isn’t too bad. The flexible drilling option sounds intriguing. I think I would enjoy it if I was mainly allowed to practice medicine in a clinical role and not have to fill any major leadership roles.

Is there anyone here who serves in the Reserves and could chime in on their experiences? How do you like it? What is the drill like? How does it compare to being full-time active duty?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[deleted480308]

I'm just in school, but based on your phrasing....are you sure you understand the difference between and active and a reserve pension?

secondly, I can already verify that stupid redundancy and innefficient paperwork is also abundant in the guard and big army (according to the latest issue of guard magazine) has asked to bump up their quote of reserve deployments from 108thousand man years to 180something.......so deployment tempo may be changing in the future

 

[pgg]

I would think when 2024 rolls around and you look back on the 8 years you did in the reserves, the biggest factor in the "worth it" equation would be whether or not you deployed as a reservist and had to leave your practice and/or group for he better part of a year.

Some practices (eg academics) won't miss you, others it may damage or cripple the practice.

At a minimum, when running the numbers, I'd factor in a 6 month deployment plus workups, not just the weekend a month and two weeks per year.



When I was doing my math and figuring the value of the pension, I wasn't sure how to calculate "diversification" value ... I ended up putting it in the fixed income / non-equity column for asset allocation purposes. I don't know a rigorous way to place a value on that kind of "diversification" but it's not zero.

So much of this is fuzzy math and assumptions that may or may not hold.

In the end I didn't consider the reserves. Had I decided to get out it would've been a clean cut. The reserves just seemed like a big liability and a lot of uncertainty, for a pension that paid much, much later than the AD one.

 

[bricktamland]

Using the following website, I estimated the future amount of a monthly reserve retirement pension for myself, starting at age 60, to be $6,700/month. https://www.hrc.army.mil/calculators/retirementcalc.asp

To estimate the overall value of of the pension, I determined the cost to buy an annuity that would also provide $6,700/month (with continuing inflation adjusted payments) would come to $1.8M. http://www.numericalexample.com/index.php?view=article&id=57.

Thus, in order to buy an equivalent annuity (with COLA), I would need to have $1.8M saved, and those funds would have to be acquired in 8 years from sources other than my main job, such as extra shifts or moonlighting. I also factored in the money I would be earning during the drilling (~$20K/year). There is a lot of math with compounding interest and taxes and such to account for, but in the end, I figured I would have to be earning over $300/hour for an equivalent amount of work during those 8 years to build up the $1.8M. Or put another way, based on what I estimate I'd earn moonlighting or working extra shifts, I figure I would probably have to double the amount of time commitment that I would with the reserves.

So long story short, the pension, even though it is reserves and starts at age 60, is still quite valuable from a financial standpoint.

Deployment is a very legitimate concern. My field is radiology, so I am surely less likely to deploy than a general surgeon, ER doc or anesthesiologist. But as I well know having been in 12 years, you can't exclude that possibility by any means. If you sign up for the reserves at separation, the 1st two years will be excluded from deployment. So I'd be looking at a 6-year stretch when I could potentially be deployed. For the practice I joined, deploying would not be a liability. The effect on my family is a different story. But I've deployed before so I know what to expect. I'd certainly prefer not to deploy again, but I think the chances are low; it's a gamble to be sure.

The question I really am curious to know is what are the drilling shifts like, and can I arrange to practice in my trained profession. One weekend per month and 2 weeks per year is not insignificant, so I would really want to enjoy the time. If the drilling and training is flat out awful, I don't think it would be worthwhile. So if there are any reservists out there, what are your drills and training like?

 

[Yellowstone]

I was in almost your exact same situation two years ago, except different branch and specialty. I also felt the same about being a military officer and left active duty after 12 years. I decided to go reserves and have no regrets, but now after two years I am about ready to leave. The health care benefits are great being self-employed, and the pension is a huge carrot, but the longer I'm drilling the more I want to be done with it. Everybody is different, and from what I hear every drilling location is unique, but the potential disruption to my career and family life from a deployment is too much. At some point, the money isn't worth it anymore, unless you really want to continue to serve or enjoy being a reservist. I enjoy my civilian life too much, and my career and family life is only getting busier.

I find drill to be mostly a waste of time. There are so many more productive things I could be doing than spending a weekend at drill. It might be better if you are close to a major military medical facility, but I doubt you will practice any radiology except on your two weeks annual training. The purpose of the reserves is to be ready to deploy, so it is mostly administrative stuff and a lot of headaches that remind me of my worst active duty stations. I enjoy spending time with my colleagues, but that is about it. You can take on smaller leadership roles if you want, but won't be forced into anything major. I hear that in 2018 the pay will increase to include a pro-rated portion of special pays for medical officers.

I recommend doing it and not taking any bonuses if offered, so you have no minimum commitment and can leave after a year or two if you don't like it. There's not much downside with a 2-year window of no deployments.

 

[DeadCactus]

Remember to account for the possible financial loss of several 3-4 month deployment when considering the numbers and the value of lifelong health insurance. The RC experience is highly unit dependent but in general drill is generally not very exciting: PHA, mandatory training, meetings, etc. Annual training can take you to some fun places. Additionally, your job in the military is almost certainly significantly less stressful than your civilian job. Financially, it's likely a good decision. The real question is whether the financial gain is worth giving up time with family and hobbies.

 

[Gastrapathy]

The secret part of the reserves is the IRR. You are on your own and everyone will tell you it can't be done/won't want to help you. The Correspondence Course offerings are very limited without a CAC (check out the thread on airwarriors about "cac-only world and irr"). Its on hold now, but you used to be able to get points for CME. Hopefully that will return. JPME can also help knock out 3 years but this looks like a lot a lot of work. No healthcare and no pay but can tick off years to retirement. Can be a challenge if you are an O4 because you can't afford to f-up a year or you'll HYT out before you get 20 good years. Better for O5 and above.

 

[pgg]

Using the following website, I estimated the future amount of a monthly reserve retirement pension for myself, starting at age 60, to be $6,700/month. https://www.hrc.army.mil/calculators/retirementcalc.asp

To estimate the overall value of of the pension, I determined the cost to buy an annuity that would also provide $6,700/month (with continuing inflation adjusted payments) would come to $1.8M. http://www.numericalexample.com/index.php?view=article&id=57.

Thus, in order to buy an equivalent annuity (with COLA), I would need to have $1.8M saved, and those funds would have to be acquired in 8 years from sources other than my main job, such as extra shifts or moonlighting. I also factored in the money I would be earning during the drilling (~$20K/year). There is a lot of math with compounding interest and taxes and such to account for, but in the end, I figured I would have to be earning over $300/hour for an equivalent amount of work during those 8 years to build up the $1.8M. Or put another way, based on what I estimate I'd earn moonlighting or working extra shifts, I figure I would probably have to double the amount of time commitment that I would with the reserves.

Your methodology is very similar to what I used when deciding to stay in or get out.

I assume the $6,700/month figure is in 2035 or 2040 dollars (or thereabouts), and I assume you're somewhere around age 35 or 40 now?

I would argue the $1.8M valuation may be a bit too high. Consider that a conventional portfolio that produced $6,700/month ($80,400/year) at a SWR of 4% would only need $2M in it ... and when you die, it'd still be worth an inflation-adjusted $2M. The pension is worth $0 to your heirs when you die.

I valued my projected pension on the basis of what it would cost to purchase an inflation indexed SPIA, but there's the huge caveat in that these products are expensive and include profit for the insurance company, whereas an individual's savings don't.

It may very well cost you $1.8M for the SPIA but that doesn't mean you'd need $1.8M at Vanguard or Schwab to match it. Taken to an extreme, if you time your death perfectly and die broke, you might need 1/2 that. The truth is somewhere in the middle. Risks do appear. The insurance and diversification of annuities and pensions has value. The best way to do the math is not clear to me.

 

[d2305]

A reservist can buy Tricare.

 

[bricktamland]

I was in almost your exact same situation two years ago, except different branch and specialty. I also felt the same about being a military officer and left active duty after 12 years. I decided to go reserves and have no regrets, but now after two years I am about ready to leave. The health care benefits are great being self-employed, and the pension is a huge carrot, but the longer I'm drilling the more I want to be done with it. Everybody is different, and from what I hear every drilling location is unique, but the potential disruption to my career and family life from a deployment is too much. At some point, the money isn't worth it anymore, unless you really want to continue to serve or enjoy being a reservist. I enjoy my civilian life too much, and my career and family life is only getting busier.

I find drill to be mostly a waste of time. There are so many more productive things I could be doing than spending a weekend at drill. It might be better if you are close to a major military medical facility, but I doubt you will practice any radiology except on your two weeks annual training. The purpose of the reserves is to be ready to deploy, so it is mostly administrative stuff and a lot of headaches that remind me of my worst active duty stations. I enjoy spending time with my colleagues, but that is about it. You can take on smaller leadership roles if you want, but won't be forced into anything major. I hear that in 2018 the pay will increase to include a pro-rated portion of special pays for medical officers.

I recommend doing it and not taking any bonuses if offered, so you have no minimum commitment and can leave after a year or two if you don't like it. There's not much downside with a 2-year window of no deployments.

My gut tells me if I sign up I would likely find myself quickly feeling exactly the same way you describe, and regretting my decision. The part about reminding you of your "worst active duty stations" really resonates. The financial aspects I can more easily conceptualize. But determining the quality of life aspects is much more challenging, so your feedback is immensely helpful. I suppose another way to look at this decision is what is the worth of being guaranteed I won't deploy for 6 years? Would I give up $500K for that? What is the value of doing work I really enjoy rather than dealing with annoying drills? Would I give up another $500K for 8 years?

As far as trying it out for a year or two, if at all possible, I would rather make this decision now. Even though that initial period is non-deployable, it's still a big time commitment, and I don't want to find myself dreading going in to every weekend drill if I truly despise it.

Remember to account for the possible financial loss of several 3-4 month deployment when considering the numbers and the value of lifelong health insurance. The RC experience is highly unit dependent but in general drill is generally not very exciting: PHA, mandatory training, meetings, etc. Annual training can take you to some fun places. Additionally, your job in the military is almost certainly significantly less stressful than your civilian job. Financially, it's likely a good decision. The real question is whether the financial gain is worth giving up time with family and hobbies.

The value of lifelong health insurance is something I neglected to work into the equation. I'm not sure how to calculate that, but I'm sure it has to be significant. Ugh, that kind of tilts things more in favor of joining. . . .

The secret part of the reserves is the IRR. You are on your own and everyone will tell you it can't be done/won't want to help you. The Correspondence Course offerings are very limited without a CAC (check out the thread on airwarriors about "cac-only world and irr"). Its on hold now, but you used to be able to get points for CME. Hopefully that will return. JPME can also help knock out 3 years but this looks like a lot a lot of work. No healthcare and no pay but can tick off years to retirement. Can be a challenge if you are an O4 because you can't afford to f-up a year or you'll HYT out before you get 20 good years. Better for O5 and above.

I've definitely looked into this. In fact, I think I started an old tread on the subject, but it didn't reveal much more information than what is summarized in your reply. The secret IRR way to get the retirement is definitely intriguing, probably to good too be true. It seems very fraught with challenges. I can just imagine myself getting to 19 good years and the getting HYT'd out. . .

Your methodology is very similar to what I used when deciding to stay in or get out.

I assume the $6,700/month figure is in 2035 or 2040 dollars (or thereabouts), and I assume you're somewhere around age 35 or 40 now?

I would argue the $1.8M valuation may be a bit too high. Consider that a conventional portfolio that produced $6,700/month ($80,400/year) at a SWR of 4% would only need $2M in it ... and when you die, it'd still be worth an inflation-adjusted $2M. The pension is worth $0 to your heirs when you die.

I valued my projected pension on the basis of what it would cost to purchase an inflation indexed SPIA, but there's the huge caveat in that these products are expensive and include profit for the insurance company, whereas an individual's savings don't.

It may very well cost you $1.8M for the SPIA but that doesn't mean you'd need $1.8M at Vanguard or Schwab to match it. Taken to an extreme, if you time your death perfectly and die broke, you might need 1/2 that. The truth is somewhere in the middle. Risks do appear. The insurance and diversification of annuities and pensions has value. The best way to do the math is not clear to me.

My methodology is similar since I was inspired by your own posts on prior retirement threads. And yes, your assumptions are correct. Good point about the pension being worth $0 when you die, as opposed to alternatively having some savings amassed which you can pass to heirs.

A reservist can buy Tricare.

I think Tricare is at least a fourth or less the cost of equivalent insurance purchased on the exchange. So again, more value in signing up.

Thanks to everyone for the input. Ultimately, my wife may end up making the decision simple. She seems pretty adamant that deploying is not going to be an option. . . . . If I am ever able to squeeze any more juice out of these 12 years, it might have to be with the VA. I think you only have to put in 5 years to qualify for the pension (and healthcare). If nothing else, I was able to transfer the GI Bill to my kids.

 

[notdeadyet]

Keep in mind that the Army Reserve Corps is 3 month boots-on-ground deployments now (per policy). This was kept in place even during pretty high tempo.

But from my understanding, if you are IRR and are called up, you are called up directly into Active Army and are not covered by this policy (so 6, 9, 12 month deployments du jour).

Just mentioning this give your comment about your wife's concern about deployment (oi, she should meet mine).

 

[Yellowstone]

I don't know about Army contracts, but with 12 years active, I think you should be able to sign up with no minimum commitment. You could try it out and leave within months if it doesn't work out. You will also get six months of free Tricare (TAMP) if you go straight from active to Reserves. It might be worth a look see, and at least you'll be covered for health insurance during the transition to being self-employed.

IRR is unpredictable in the Navy as they have made some changes, but it seems like one should be able to get at least a few good years towards a reserve retirement. IRR has no benefits except dental insurance and retirement points.

With a reserve retirement probably worth at least $1 million in pension and health benefits assuming a normal life expectancy and the number of points you have accrued on active duty, I still recommend giving it a try for at least six months.

 

[Homunculus]

i'm nearing the decision point for this as well in a couple of years. after decision #1 (stay in/get out), this is decision #2. i'll be at 14 years, which yes, is only 6 away from retirement but 6 years in my situation it's is a long time and the money isn't that big of an issue-- however, if there is any way to utilize my AD years it'd be stupid not to at least consider it. plus, for the 14 years from 46 to 60 i'll manage without the AD retirement- even if i did retire at 20 AD i wouldn't actually "retire" in the classic sense.

i'm in the process of getting my OBC/ADT's documented (via my old LESes, hopefully) and so those 4 years (which don't count for AD) once i get credit should count toward reserve retirement, correct? (which, btw-- there's a tab on your HRC account that lists your reserve point calculations-- just click the "reserve" tab)

by my math that puts my at 14 (AD) +4 (HPSP) = 18 creditable reserve years? is that correct? then, if i serve out 2 years of good reserve time (non deployable, since i'm transitioning to reserves from AD), would i then be set with a 20 year reserve retirement that kicks in at 60? seems way WAY too easy. i'd be happy as a clam with O5 reserve retirement at 60 for basically 2 years of reserve time "work", lol.

i haven't discussed anything with a reserve recruiter yet, my wife and i are still very much in the brainstorming phase of life planning, but this falls squarely in my "too good to be true" bucket.

any insight would be appreciated.

--your friendly neighborhood escape planning caveman

 

[Slevin]

i'm nearing the decision point for this as well in a couple of years. after decision #1 (stay in/get out), this is decision #2. i'll be at 14 years, which yes, is only 6 away from retirement but 6 years in my situation it's is a long time and the money isn't that big of an issue-- however, if there is any way to utilize my AD years it'd be stupid not to at least consider it. plus, for the 14 years from 46 to 60 i'll manage without the AD retirement- even if i did retire at 20 AD i wouldn't actually "retire" in the classic sense.

i'm in the process of getting my OBC/ADT's documented (via my old LESes, hopefully) and so those 4 years (which don't count for AD) once i get credit should count toward reserve retirement, correct? (which, btw-- there's a tab on your HRC account that lists your reserve point calculations-- just click the "reserve" tab)

by my math that puts my at 14 (AD) +4 (HPSP) = 18 creditable reserve years? is that correct? then, if i serve out 2 years of good reserve time (non deployable, since i'm transitioning to reserves from AD), would i then be set with a 20 year reserve retirement that kicks in at 60? seems way WAY too easy. i'd be happy as a clam with O5 reserve retirement at 60 for basically 2 years of reserve time "work", lol.

i haven't discussed anything with a reserve recruiter yet, my wife and i are still very much in the brainstorming phase of life planning, but this falls squarely in my "too good to be true" bucket.

any insight would be appreciated.

--your friendly neighborhood escape planning caveman

There was an email sent out last week by Army Medcom regarding HPSP and retirement. Basically it only counts after you hit your 20 not before. When I go into the office tomorrow I'll post a copy here if someone hasn't done so already

 

[deleted480308]

There was an email sent out last week by Army Medcom regarding HPSP and retirement. Basically it only counts after you hit your 20 not before. When I go into the office tomorrow I'll post a copy here if someone hasn't done so already

as I remember, the explanation is that it counts for your retirement payout calculator( years of service).....but it doesn't count for deciding if you made it to 20.

 

[Gastrapathy]

Navy had a recruiting deal for critical wartime specialties that gave you credit for hpsp time year for year for reserve time (i.e. Doubling your first 4 years). Not sure if triservice or still true)

 

[Shikima]

i'm nearing the decision point for this as well in a couple of years. after decision #1 (stay in/get out), this is decision #2. i'll be at 14 years, which yes, is only 6 away from retirement but 6 years in my situation it's is a long time and the money isn't that big of an issue-- however, if there is any way to utilize my AD years it'd be stupid not to at least consider it. plus, for the 14 years from 46 to 60 i'll manage without the AD retirement- even if i did retire at 20 AD i wouldn't actually "retire" in the classic sense.

i'm in the process of getting my OBC/ADT's documented (via my old LESes, hopefully) and so those 4 years (which don't count for AD) once i get credit should count toward reserve retirement, correct? (which, btw-- there's a tab on your HRC account that lists your reserve point calculations-- just click the "reserve" tab)

by my math that puts my at 14 (AD) +4 (HPSP) = 18 creditable reserve years? is that correct? then, if i serve out 2 years of good reserve time (non deployable, since i'm transitioning to reserves from AD), would i then be set with a 20 year reserve retirement that kicks in at 60? seems way WAY too easy. i'd be happy as a clam with O5 reserve retirement at 60 for basically 2 years of reserve time "work", lol.

i haven't discussed anything with a reserve recruiter yet, my wife and i are still very much in the brainstorming phase of life planning, but this falls squarely in my "too good to be true" bucket.

any insight would be appreciated.

--your friendly neighborhood escape planning caveman

Have you considered alternative Federal service (which requires some kind of buy-in) to continue towards retirement along with Reserves? Not a bad option.

 

[Yellowstone]

Your ADT's as an HPSP student will count for points towards a reserve retirement, but the years as an HPSP student will not count unless you are in a critical wartime specialty. See attachment for further details. Your points from ADT will be minimal relative to all the points you earned on active duty (365 per year, 366 for leap years).

 

[Homunculus]

as I remember, the explanation is that it counts for your retirement payout calculator( years of service).....but it doesn't count for deciding if you made it to 20.

counts for pay but not for years. definitely better than nothing but also definitely not the sweet deal i thought it might have been. i figured it was too good. still- the 6 years of reserve time to collect once i'm (hopefully) 60 is very tempting.

Have you considered alternative Federal service (which requires some kind of buy-in) to continue towards retirement along with Reserves? Not a bad option.

quite a bit, actually. my subspecialty isn't adult oriented, so the VA is off, but other positions may not be. the "buy in" is 3% of your base pay https://www.abc.army.mil/retirements/FERSPost56.htm which doesn't (from what i can tell) include bonuses and such. so at 14 years as an O5 it'd be a good chunk of change but not a deal breaker by any sense.

when i get closer i'll probably post more, but it's almost overwhelming to look at options-- civilian academic, private, government, +/- reserves or, if things work out, even staying in. or hell, dumping medicine and going into something totally different. currently i don't have anything more than ideas and potential options, i haven't nailed down numbers and real data. brainstorming for potential ETS can be exciting but at the same time very intimidating.

--your friendly neighborhood let me borrow your time machine real quick caveman

 

[Shikima]

counts for pay but not for years. definitely better than nothing but also definitely not the sweet deal i thought it might have been. i figured it was too good. still- the 6 years of reserve time to collect once i'm (hopefully) 60 is very tempting.



quite a bit, actually. my subspecialty isn't adult oriented, so the VA is off, but other positions may not be. the "buy in" is 3% of your base pay https://www.abc.army.mil/retirements/FERSPost56.htm which doesn't (from what i can tell) include bonuses and such. so at 14 years as an O5 it'd be a good chunk of change but not a deal breaker by any sense.

when i get closer i'll probably post more, but it's almost overwhelming to look at options-- civilian academic, private, government, +/- reserves or, if things work out, even staying in. or hell, dumping medicine and going into something totally different. currently i don't have anything more than ideas and potential options, i haven't nailed down numbers and real data. brainstorming for potential ETS can be exciting but at the same time very intimidating.

--your friendly neighborhood let me borrow your time machine real quick caveman

The institutionalization you talk about openly is scary. We all have it to some degree. Won't even broach the subject on managing emotions with change, which goes much deeper than PCS'ing. If you want to look up some suggestions regarding your specialty, I'd be happy to help in locating options for continued fed service working towards that 20 for retirement.

 

[Saddleshoes]

Sorry I came to this discussion late...

Have you considered the Air National Guard (ANG)?
The ANG is a very different animal then the reserves, because of the mission to support the home state. -AND- The Air National Guard is a very different animal then the Army National Guard (NG), because of the Air Force support mission.
If you look around you might find a slot that will give you all the benefits with minimal Bravo Sierra.

 

[sheepae]

Sorry I came to this discussion late...

Have you considered the Air National Guard (ANG)?
The ANG is a very different animal then the reserves, because of the mission to support the home state. -AND- The Air National Guard is a very different animal then the Army National Guard (NG), because of the Air Force support mission.
If you look around you might find a slot that will give you all the benefits with minimal Bravo Sierra.

Can you go into more detail about how the ANG is different from both the reserves and from the Army National Guard? I'm currently an EM doc in the Navy, and am going to get out of AD at 10 years, and was considering the reserves, but have just recently started to look into the Nat'l Guards, and was curious about other people's take on them. Thanks.

 

[apeman4200]

Bump

So I am almost done with my GMO time and finally going into a Civ program. I am considering reserves for STRAP during residency. Looking at Air Force, Army, and Air National Guard. Hopefully I match to a specialty considered a critical wartime one.

I will have 5 years AD and the HPSP time. From above it looks like if I did a critical war time one I would then need 11 years in reserves to reach the 20. Non critical war time I would need 15.

Is it possible to do things during residency to make those years count towards retirement i.e. make them good years?

I will likely be selected for promotion to Major in Army this year but wouldn't pin till June 2018. If I switch to AF reserves will I still be able to pin major in June 2018 if I make those years "good years?" Or will I lose something by switching to AF?

 

[bricktamland]

OP here. It's been about 3 months since I went on terminal leave. In that time I've been wrestling with the decision of whether to take an appointment with the Select Reserve, join IRR, or separate completely. I left active duty with about 12.5 years of service. Also, on my way out, I was selected for promotion to O-5, which was unexpected and quite a pleasant surprise. Given all that balanced against my general discontent with Navy medicine, the decision to join the Reserves or not was a difficult one. Financially, it makes sense to join the SELRES and get the retirement for the pension and health care benefits. It's a pretty unbeatable package. Furthermore, the civilian contractor job I signed up for allows plenty of time for the Reserve commitment of 1 weekend per month, 2 weeks per year. So there was no conflict there. This job I took also provides no health insurance. So Tricare Select would be a huge bonus in that scenario. All told, the SELRES would be a perfect fit for my situation. So tonight, after finally arriving at firm decision, I sent an email to the transition officer. . . . . I said thanks, but no thanks.

Ultimately, I had to follow my heart and not my brain. Truth be told, I really didn't enjoy being an officer very much, and I particularly didn't fancy practicing medicine in the military. I did try my best though to honor my commitment. Despite my heart not being in it, I felt a duty to be the best officer I could. I suppose I did well enough that I was promoted. . . . but when it comes down to it, all I want to do is practice medicine. All the other officer stuff just isn't for me, and I certainly didn't join with the plan to become an administrator. I feel you really have to embrace the whole identify of being a military officer if you want to be happy in the military. I've always held on more tightly to my identity as a regular civilian, and was never comfortable in uniform. While I totally respect the uniform, and everything it represents--and I am very grateful for my time in the Navy-- ultimately it wasn't for me. Practicing medicine in the civilian world is so much better. Sooooo much better. The grass truly is greener. Just the thought of CHCS right now gives me shudders. I could go on and on about the negatives of military medicine, but there are plenty of threads already covering that. So the last thing I will say is that I worked with some truly amazing people and will be forever honored to have served with them. To all of you still in, I wish you the best. Fair winds and following seas!

 

[Red Lobster Actual]

Thank you for your service sir!