As a military personnel, I expect to retire as a veteran at 55 years marking 30 years of national security in the military. I consider 55 years to be my retirement age because of several individual and professional reasons. First, I feel 55 years will be a perfect time to concentrate on my physical and psychological health. Also, at the age of 55, my children will be graduating from college, and I consider that time to be appropriate to recover my absence in their childhood before they move out to live independently. For 30 years, I have been a passive parent since I was unavailable to provide psychological and emotional support in their childhood and teenage years. Therefore, at 55 years, I will have time and experience to engage them in their early adult life and the basis of success in life and career. Professionally, I will retire to give space for other younger soldiers to serve their country. I believe that national security deserves the best men with the agility to detect and neutralize security threats at their foundational stages. Therefore, it will be in my best interest and that of the country to give room for others to exercise their patriotism and service to the country in the military. However, with my experience, I would gladly respond to requests seeking my knowledge and experience in national security.
Retiring from the military will require much preplanning than in most careers. First, I will have to undertake counseling and therapy to shift from the military culture to the civilian culture. The military culture differs from civilian culture on individual relationships and integration, response to authority, and dedication to service with minimal room for questioning. The military culture includes autonomy, integration, and absolute allegiance to those in authority (Hall, 2011). Since the military culture cannot operate in the civilian world, counseling and therapy will be crucial to reintegrate me into the civilian culture. Besides, I will need to plan on how to reintegrate with my family fully after 30 years of national service. The gap between my family and me is undeniable since I only spend a few weeks with them every year. My family has been used to live without my physical presence, and therefore, I need detailed preparations for the changes that might happen to the family due to my presence. Lastly, I need to preplan my retirement residence and activities I will be engaged in beyond 55 years.
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After retiring, I expect to join a veterans counseling group to guide other military veterans as they settle in post-military life. My choice of career in retirement was influenced by the struggles that many veterans encounter after quitting the military. Many veterans resolve to drugs and substance abuse due to loneliness and mismatch in civilian life (Teeters et al., 2017). Also, I researched and found many cases involving veterans with crime and recruitment in terrorism groups. Therefore, I intend to spend time with many veterans and offer support to help them reintegrate into civilian life easily. Moreover, I plan to form veteran groups that will promote volunteer activities in health, environment, and education.
I believe that shifting residence will not be as fascinating at 55 years as it would have been in my mid-thirties. Therefore, I plan to live in my family home in Tennessee with my family. I am interested in modern agriculture, and thus, my family home will offer enough space for different crops and animals. Also, I have a country culture since my father was a country boy. Therefore, Tennessee, the epitome of country culture, will be the most interesting place to spend my late adulthood. Besides the engagement with the veterans and agriculture, I do not intend to engage in many mobile activities. Therefore, I consider a small ranch to be the best home for a country boy like me.
Retirement will offer the best family time that I will have missed for almost 30 years. Therefore, I intend to spend as much time as possible with my spouse, children, and grandchildren. This will be the best time to catch up with them, especially my children, who will be at the beginning of their adult life. Besides, I have many stories I would like to share with my offspring's families around a bonfire during winter. Moreover, I would like to take my grandchildren to parks and spend time with them. I am also a firm believer in morals and coaching. Therefore, I expect to spend adequate time with my grandchildren as I mentor them to be responsible members of society. I expect my family to remember me as a mentor instead of a soldier since character and values are more important than fame and association.
I have a positive impression of retirement as a stage in life characterized by minimal job engagements, concentration on oneself, and giving back to society. I believe that retirement is the most appropriate stage to impact others due to the availability of time and experience. I consider retirement as an opportune time to develop personal interests and hobbies with friends and family. However, I am slightly anxious about inactivity and dependency due to old age complications. I fear the health complications that can result due to limited activity and sudden lifestyle changes. Though, I do not have any severe health complications. Nevertheless, I intend to sustain my military lifestyle discipline on physical activities and diet even though I will drop a majority of the military culture.
References
Hall, L. (2011). The importance of understanding military culture. Social Work in Health Care , 50 (1), 4–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/00981389.2010.513914
Teeters, J., Lancaster, C., Brown, D., & Back, S. (2017). Substance use disorders in military veterans: Prevalence and treatment challenges. Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation , Volume 8 , 69–77. https://doi.org/10.2147/sar.s116720
