Retirees and the DD214, Week ending Jan27th

I separated about 15 people this week.  Friday was the busiest I've been in while; I had 4 appointments. Some of the people that stood out in my mind are what I'm writing about today.

First, and most memorable, is the master chief petty officer from Friday.  Anytime I see a master chief, I have one of 2 expectation: They are either very laid back or they are very formal.  Most of them are of the laid back variety, and Friday's visitor certainly fit that mold.  This particular sailor only had about 22 years in the navy.  That may seem like a long time, but the fact is, the most Senior position for enlisted men in the navy is E9- Master Chief Petty Officer- and most of them have been in the navy for well past 20 years when they retire.  Heck, most master chiefs stay in for the whole 30 years.  This guy was ready to go.  He was friendly, accommodating and very likable.  I asked him if he had aspirations of being a Command Master Chief, to which he replied with an emphatic, "No."  He told me he didn't like shaking hands and kissing babies (not a politician), and he was too much of a 'tell it like it is' kind of guy.  This is the kind of mentor that I wish I'd had in my time in the navy- demanding, but fair and a no-nonsense leadership style.  The old fashioned "work hard and play hard" kind of chief.  Of course, everything I hear form my customers is subjective, in that I haven't read their evaluations, nor can I confirm what they tell me, but after so many years of being around sailors, you get to know different types of folks and can usually spot BS from a long way off.

I had to do a medical separation for a sailor this week, too.  This was a young sailor who'd had a tough time.  He had some mental issues.  I know this because he told me.  I read the information given to me in these circumstances, because, let's face it, I have a normal curiosity and want to know why people are being separated.  However, this person's information was minimal, so I had no idea why he was being medically retired, just that he was getting out and would be getting a retirement check.  He had no problem telling me that he suffered some sort of mental breakdown, so I simply nodded at the appropriate moments and listened to what he had to say.  He was simply a mess (this is my opinion).  While he seemed to be functional, he seemed to want to embellish everything he said.  We've all been around that type of person... always building on the story.  At first, this person starts out by saying he did 'x' and before you know it, he's the best at 'x' and people from other commands are coming to him to help them with their 'x' and the whole community couldn't function without his 'x.'  After about 1 minute of this, I realized this was just a sad little guy with not much self esteem.  And a very long, tough life ahead of him.  The one thing that stuck out for me about him was his claim that he was a wrestler in the 150lb class (in high school), but needed to get into the 200lb class, and did so by eating steak, bought for the team by the coach.  Yet he made 200lbs without being fat- he was in shape.  He didn't give me a time frame, but I know that in my entire 4 years of high school, I only gained about 20lbs (OK, 30).  Oh, and he lost 20lbs in 2 weeks (to make another weight class, I guess).  Like I said, this type of person deserves a little sympathy, not disdain, so keep that in mind.

I also separated a guy that had simply decided to get out after being in the navy for 9 years.  He wasn't bitter or angry at all, he just wanted a change.  I say good for him. 

I have to do 2 appointments with many of the sailors I talk to.  The first is to give them a working copy of the DD214 they can fax to the reserve community.  The second is to provide them a finished DD214.  This is the process for Perform to Serve, PTS, separations.  Big navy wants the manning numbers at a certain level, so a bunch of sailors are being shown the door, so to speak. "Thanks for your service, but we simply don't need you anymore."  It's hard to believe the military is handing out pink slips, but it is the reality.  The up side of the process is that the sailors that have 6 years or more can get some separation pay.  Simply put, they either get half or full separation pay. In order to get full separation, the sailor has to have passed their last rating exam, be recommended for retention on the latest eval (I know, recommended for retention, yet being shown the door?  Go figure), and they have to re-enlist in the reserves.  If they don't do these few things, they only get half the money.  As an example, assume the sailor has exactly 6years when he gets out.  The formula is total number of months served (72) x base pay ($2662/ mo for E5 this year) x .10 (10%). In our example this comes out to $19,166.40, or $9,583.20 (5%) if they don't meet all the requirements for full sep pay.  Using the same formula, an E6 with 14 years would end up getting $58,732.80 or $29,366.40, respectively.  While that may sound like a pretty good deal, and in many ways it is, these people aren't problem sailors.  Most of them are stellar performers, great leaders and have a wealth of experience that the navy is going to be without.  Most of these sailor, especially the ones with 14 years of service, are in career mode. They've given up a lot over the years for the country.  They've missed birthdays, anniversaries, Christmases, graduations, funerals and countless other memories.  I hate that they aren't being given the opportunity to finish their career, since they were committed to doing exactly that.  Too bad the navy has to let them go.  On the other hand, I have to commend the sailors for not being angry, especially at me.  Seriously, though, I'm sure most of them have already been through their angry stage by the time they get to my desk, and they are largely OK with where they are, and where they're headed.  Also, a large number of them have already landed a pretty good job.  Most of them a better job than mine. Which makes me question my own decisions throughout my career.