Retirees and the DD214

Well, it's Friday and another week has come and gone in the exciting world of... OK, let's be real.  My job isn't all that exciting.  It does, however, give me the opportunity to talk to a lot of interesting people.  This week I've had a number of interesting folks come across my desk.  Not literally, mind you.  If people are actually coming across my desk, I need to take a look at how I am treating them. 

First, there's the ET1 that decided to get out of the navy a few months early (about 10 years into his career).  When I got the initial paperwork, it seemed to me that the member was on the fast track to making chief.  I wondered why he was calling it quits.  He's a stellar performer with a lot of qualifications in the submarine community.  His skills are easily transferable to civilian life, so maybe he got a job offer that he simply couldn't pass up.  Whatever the case may be, it's too bad he's getting out.  The navy still needs good leadership.  Well, as it turns out, this guy has actually 'been there, done that.'  He worked at Camp David- yes, that one- as one of the equipment technicians.  His networking skills landed him a position with the Secret Service!  Very cool.  So, even though he's going to be travelling a lot in his new career, he'll be living the dream, as they say.

Also this week, I had an ADSEP.  That's Administrative Separation, usually a bad thing.  And in this young woman's case, it was.  She seemingly could not stay out of trouble.  She was a Master-at-Arms, or MA. The MA rating is the navy's version of  military police.  It used to be a rating that you had to request to transfer to once you had a few years experience in the service.  Very few people could simply join the navy as a Master-at-Arms, and the ones that did were usually policemen on the outside before they joined.  This practice ensured the navy that the people that carry guns and had arrest authority were mature, responsible people, and not an 18 year old fresh out of high school.  I see the wisdom in this.  Well, shortly after the 9-11 tragedy, the navy had a great need for fresh MAs, so they opened the rate up to everyone.  Basically, you could be a 19 year old cop, in a foreign country with a ton of responsibility, and not necessarily a lot of mentorship.  In the case of this young woman, that seems like what happened.  Here you have a relatively smart young person, without much life experience, in a foreign country where the drinking age is 18.  Well, since she really didn't know her own limitations, she probably didn't have a clue she was headed down the wrong path.  I'm certain she was given the opportunity to fix her shortcomings.  Perhaps she didn't think there was anything wrong with her.  Too bad.  Now she has been eradicated from the ranks and is going to lose a considerable amount of her benefits.  Of course, I'm speculating as to the reason for her troubles.  It may not have had anything to do with alcohol, but what little paperwork I had indicated that booze was a likely accomplice to her problems.  For what it's worth, I hope she doesn't continue her destructive behavior outside the navy.

I got the opportunity to talk to a couple of retiring sailors, too.  One was a chief (E7) and had about 12 years of sea time!  12 years out of 20 he was on board a ship.  I have to say, that's a lot of time away from your family!  There's quite a bit of dedication involved in a career like that.  Sure, out of that 12 years, he may have only done five or six deployments, but to be perfectly honest, shipboard life is tough, even when you're in port, tied to the pier.  Watches, qualifications, duty sections, fire drills, training, dry-dock (or 'yard') periods and the work-up cycle all make for many hours of overtime, even when you're technically 'at home.'

On Friday, I had the opportunity to talk to a PO2 (E5) that was retiring after 20 years.  She was one of a dying breed.  You see, for years and years the navy allowed E5s to retire at 20 years with full retirement benefits. Well, around 2004ish, they changed their high year tenure rules.  Now an E5 that doesn't make E6 within 14 years has to get out at 14 years- no retirement.  The E5s that were already E5s by the time the new rule took effect were grand-fathered in, so they wouldn't be processed out.  Those folks are becoming less and less common.  To be honest, most people make First Class (PO1 or E6) prior to hitting the 14 year mark, but there are a few that don't make it, and even fewer that are going to make it all the way to retirement.  This particular sailor was very excited to be leaving the service.  She loved the navy, as we all do, but she was ready to leave... I guess her final command wasn't very good to her.  She was one of the most well-prepared people I've had the opportunity to sit with through this process.  She had all her paperwork with her and properly filled out.  She already knew most of the information and even had her household goods shipment in the process.  This certainly makes my job a lot easier, I only had to answer a couple of questions for her.  I enjoy people like her.  I get to spend more time on a personal level with them, instead of being the federal employee automaton most people envision when I tell them what I do for a living.