How do people retire from the military poor?

[Marc Spector]

ok ok ok... a lot of false "facts" popping up in here

first off, i was in the air force for 4 years.... so while i didn't retire, i do know what goes on, pay scales, what's free and not free, and why people spend money



1. everyone in all branches, GETS THE SAME EXACT PAY PER RANK, NOT JOB.... so if you're a captain in services in the army (mess hall, gym, hotel) you make the EXACT same pay as a captain in the air force who's a brain surgeon.. it's basically socialism... your rank determines your pay... NOTHING ELSE

you get extra pay for amount of years in.. but it's still a basic chart

2. lets go over what is and isn't free...


you get free room and board... straight out of tech school, you'll be living in a dorm room... if you are married/have a child, you will get a SEPARATE housing allowance which depends on the zip code of the base you are assigned to

you get free food at the base mess hall.... that means you will need to show up at assigned times to eat... if you want mcdonald's or groceries, that comes out of your personal money... unless you are married/have a child, then they give you another SEPARATE food allowance

you get free healthcare... no copay, no nothing... again.... married/children get the same free healthcare

you get "free" college education and FREE college education... GI Bill will take $100 dollars out of your first year of checks... in exchange they will give you 50k for school.... but also the community college of your branch will offer free classes the entire time you are active duty

there's many other things, but i'll just stick to needs... you can also get free lawyers, travel on military flights, clothing allowance for uniforms, hotels for $20 (say you go to vegas and want to stay on their base instead of at a hotel), etc etc etc



3. you also can "earn" extra money... the military wants you to stay in.. they don't want to keep training dummies the whole time and having to start over every 4 years.... so when your time is up, they offer HUGE bonuses, depending on the job... some jobs will offer 30k to reenlist, because they know people don't want to do them/aren't smart enough, so they need people to stay in...

also hazard pay.... you in a war zone, you get a few extra hundred a month for being there... that's why dudes come home usually paid up

overseas pay is also great.... no taxes.... yup... cause you're out of the country, they don't take state taxes out your check and usually pay you a shytload more to make up for the cost of living


4. retirement... after 20 years in... you get 50% of your last paycheck amount FOR LIFE... 75% if it's 30 years

oh and go ahead and add in lifetime benefits

















this all leads to the answer


MOTHERfukkERS NEVER HAD TO LIVE A REAL LIFE


you basically spent the last 20 years with no rent (cause it was free or paid), no food bill (cause it was free or paid), a free 1700-19,500 dollar check every month... and the only thing you NEEDED to buy was maybe a car and some gas.... anything else was a want and not a need


so what do young people do?? 18 and skipped right over college and went straight to the league.... BLOW MONEY... they in the bar every night... you a sexy military man now, you gotta take all the bytches out... you out in a new town, new state, new country.... you gotta go every damn where... you gotta buy the freshest car cause what's a $600 note when you got 1700 to blow every month



why did i keep bolding getting married? you 18, you in a dorm, you got money, you want a house for free??? go ahead and get married breh... for real this time!! i've seen friends get married.. people dating for 3 months get married.. people marry girls they had no business marrying... women personally asked me to get married, we don't even have to live together, they just want the check

housing and food allowance in jersey (where i was) was an additional 1600 a check... go get a cheap apt for 700 and i'd still have 1700 from my regular check and an additional 900 from the stipend


clothes? shyt i'm gonna be fly as fukk... i got money to blow... vacations... yup i'm going everywhere.. expensive football game... fukk it we in there... front row at the jay z concert... you'll see me there... $1200 bar tab? who gives a fukk.. steak dinner every night... you know why i'm here!!






b-b-b-b-b-b-but after a few years you probably get over that breh






you think i'm going to live my life blowing money... and every year they give me a raise... and every 2 years they give me a promotion AND a raise... and i'm suddenly gonna learn money management



you ever go to a old military bar... bunch of old ass drunk guys... still hitting for large tabs... still flirting and blowing money on hookers and young girls... still driving the fanciest of cars... but now they got 5000 a month to blow... save money?? why should i do that... i'll be getting half my check forever



















then reality hits..... hold up i'm 20 years in and only 48? i still need to get another job


what do you mean this job only pays 50k a year


what's this here mortgage payment


i gotta buy my own food


budget my money



you mean i can't live off this 2500 (half of 5k) a month anymore



what do you mean government jobs are highly competitive


what do you mean i'm not gonna start off as the boss in this new job



what's a 401k

you mean i have to pay for these kids i been cranking out so my allowance will go up



you mean my wife has to get a job now cause i can't have my job support her


what do you mean college for my kids costs 20k a year

Nothing but truth.

Here's the thing the Military becomes a bubble that lifers become trapped in. Dudes can tell you all about the regs, quote the NCO handbook word for word, all that shyt...but they're civilian life knowledge is low as fukk.

Take my dad for instance, he was a lifer in the Army. A 42A (Human Resources guy). My dads a smart guy and pretty down to earth. College educated (and not from the University of Phoenix) and all. But even he displays small quirks here and there that show me that even is somewhat out of touch with how the civilian world operates.

I think Vets more than any other retirees really get stir crazy because they've been released not just from a job, but from a LIFE STYLE.

 

[Marc Spector]

That's what I'm saying. Most if not all people who retire after 20 years got a job waiting on them before their last day. Their resumes are on point. Then there are the benefits they get for life.


Most homeless vets didn't do 20 years. And I highly doubt someone who did 20 plus years is broke.

Youd be surprised man. Ive seen majors and lieutenant colonels struggle to find work in the civilian sector. Understand that all of the govt contracting gigs are competitive as fukk and operate on the good ole boy system, brehs are gonna put on THEIR BREHS and nobody else.

And outside of contracting, your mil. experience doesn't mean squat. An Air Force civil engineer has about a quarter of the knowledge of a college educated Civil Engineer. THE ONLY fields that I know for a fact that you can make a killing outside in is Nuclear tech (Navy), the various Intel fields of the branches, and Aircraft Maintenance (and even then you gotta be a crew chief AND get your A&P cert, which is a two year program).

 

[Hope]

Not interested, but good to know info. Thanx everyone.

 

[desjardins]

ok ok ok... a lot of false "facts" popping up in here

first off, i was in the air force for 4 years.... so while i didn't retire, i do know what goes on, pay scales, what's free and not free, and why people spend money

.......

excellent break down. The way you broke it down, a person could really finesse the system. My question is how do you stay with the military for 20 yrs? Doing what?!?! It seems like you either on the fast track to being an Sergeant or you out in 4-8 yrs. Or are there dudes doing janitor work for 20 yrs and still eating off them pensions rates?

 

[The Devil's Advocate]

Nothing but truth.

Here's the thing the Military becomes a bubble that lifers become trapped in. Dudes can tell you all about the regs, quote the NCO handbook word for word, all that shyt...but they're civilian life knowledge is low as fukk.

Take my dad for instance, he was a lifer in the Army. A 42A (Human Resources guy). My dads a smart guy and pretty down to earth. College educated (and not from the University of Phoenix) and all. But even he displays small quirks here and there that show me that even is somewhat out of touch with how the civilian world operates.

I think Vets more than any other retirees really get stir crazy because they've been released not just from a job, but from a LIFE STYLE.

shyt is a hard transition for real breh

i did 4 years and that first year out was freaking amazing

just take something as simple as calling in sick.... impossible in the military, and years later, i'm sitting here with 73 hours of sick leave on my books when we get 80 a year.... why? cause in the military if you're sick, the hospital is right on base... go there and then go to work, or bring that officer signature that says you can't work...

simple shyt like skipping a day... fukk getting written up... that's a goddamn charge

but definitely the free, everything that civies have to pay for to survive, is the hardest part... i was in jerz... hour away from nyc, philly and atlantic city.... when i say me and my boys would go 10 deep, in cars to match the current year, with rims and systems.... and i mean 10 cars deep.... i'm not lying... showing up to the club on a wednesday, spending 1200 at 40/40 in a snow blizzard like "fukk it we get paid next week"


i swear i came home and didn't even know how to look for a job.... luckily i didn't join till 21... and out of desperation at that... so bills and stuff i was used to



just imagine those kids in rotc from 16, hit 18 and move from mom to military.... they literally never seen housing and food bills till the age of 48

 

[Gonzo]

Some of the stupidest people serve in the military. In boot camp there are so many suckering techniques to get money out of them and they fall for it. Like pictures/videos of experience in boot camp. Why the fukk you'd want that I'd never know but these a$$holes are spending $200 on t shirts/videos/pictures of their time in boot camp. That's just a precursor for future idiocy. Not to mention, Alcoholism is a huge problem in the military but you NEVER hear of it. That's all I'll say for now.

 

[Gonzo]

breh people in the military dont make much $$$....

What average person these days has the ability to stack a minimum of 1500 every month without fail? Think before you speak.

 

[The Devil's Advocate]

excellent break down. The way you broke it down, a person could really finesse the system. My question is how do you stay with the military for 20 yrs? Doing what?!?! It seems like you either on the fast track to being an Sergeant or you out in 4-8 yrs. Or are there dudes doing janitor work for 20 yrs and still eating off them pensions rates?

yes... as i said to the other guy... in the air force alone, there are 180 jobs


a base is basically a little town... and every job a town has, the military has a person that needs to be doing it

off the top of my head

i was ground radar.... fixing the actual radar
then we'd communicate with the air traffic control
there were planes so you need pilots of course
you also need maintenance on the plane... but that's really 25 different jobs cause each plane had a different job... you can't fix an f-16 AND a f-22... so each job is specific
but you can't fix and lead... so each plane also had a crew chief
now how does the stuff get on the plane.... loadmaster
but what stuff is going on the plane... logistic
who's making the flight plan..... another guy
who's the steward on the plane... another job
who's making the food.... another job
who's ordering the food for the base.... another job
who cleans the base.... another job
who's taking care of the radio..... ground radio guy
who's watching the base... security forces
who's watching the security forces... osi
who's................... you see what i mean





now here's some more info.... promotions are MANDATORY up until a point... so you don't have to do shyt and they'll make you a senior airmen (e-3 or e-4) after that... your promotions go by testing in your field... so you have a certain job, there's a book for your job..... you study that book... score high enough... they add that number to your years of being in..... bam... you get a number..... the top "however many SGTs positions are open that year" is where your number is in relation to getting that promotion



so you in for the first 4 years... you're pretty much getting e-3 automatically.... you re-enlist... now you study for these tests to make your way up


there are 20 year e-4's those are the guys sitting around, not giving to fukks about advancing, still collecting a check, that will probably be broke when they get out... they have no ambition, no goals, just happy to be there and collect free shyt

then you got the guys busting their ass to advance... but more than likely... unless you're the shyt or fukking stupid (you want to change jobs to advance or you too dumb to stay in your job)... people tend to stay in the same job the entire time

even when you go officer... which the only difference is, you have a degree (can't be an officer without a bachelors)... you still get assigned a job field, and work in it, and base your advancement on tests in that field

 

[Marc Spector]

excellent break down. The way you broke it down, a person could really finesse the system. My question is how do you stay with the military for 20 yrs? Doing what?!?! It seems like you either on the fast track to being an Sergeant or you out in 4-8 yrs. Or are there dudes doing janitor work for 20 yrs and still eating off them pensions rates?

Firstly you gotta be in a career field with the mobility to do 20. Meaning if youre in a comfy ass career field that nobody gets out of and if retirement is low, good luck on doing 20. There has to be available slots/ranks above you to be promoted into. If there not and youre unwilling or unable to crosstrain, youll get forced out.

For example you can probably make Sergeant Major (the highest enlisted pay grade) in Infantry within 20 years. Why? Because infanty beats the hell outta people so much that NO ONE stays in for longer than 8 years.

Secondly you gotta have a streak of masochism and a solid enough family unit. The military is stupid. Every base you go to, every command you serve under and every subordinate you have will bring an absurd amount of stupidity, frustration, and anger. And we're not even on the subject of deployments yet. Military life is hell on your personal life especially if youre married and more often than not, your marriage will be tested so you gotta have a solid woman/man to help you through it (and id say upwards of 75% of the military are in terrible relationships).

Basically what Im saying is YOU REALLY gotta WANT that 20 year pension. And I cant even knock the people who don't want it that bad and get out before their 20.

 

[Ethnic Vagina Finder]

Youd be surprised man. Ive seen majors and lieutenant colonels struggle to find work in the civilian sector. Understand that all of the govt contracting gigs are competitive as fukk and operate on the good ole boy system, brehs are gonna put on THEIR BREHS and nobody else.

And outside of contracting, your mil. experience doesn't mean squat. An Air Force civil engineer has about a quarter of the knowledge of a college educated Civil Engineer. THE ONLY fields that I know for a fact that you can make a killing outside in is Nuclear tech (Navy), the various Intel fields of the branches, and Aircraft Maintenance (and even then you gotta be a crew chief AND get your A&P cert, which is a two year program).

But they're not broke.

 

[The Devil's Advocate]

Firstly you gotta be in a career field with the mobility to do 20. Meaning if youre in a comfy ass career field that nobody gets out of and if retirement is low, good luck on doing 20. There has to be available slots/ranks above you to be promoted into. If there not and youre unwilling or unable to crosstrain, youll get forced out.

For example you can probably make Sergeant Major (the highest enlisted pay grade) in Infantry within 20 years. Why? Because infanty beats the hell outta people so much that NO ONE stays in for longer than 8 years.

Secondly you gotta have a streak of masochism and a solid enough family unit. The military is stupid. Every base you go to, every command you serve under and every subordinate you have will bring an absurd amount of stupidity, frustration, and anger. And we're not even on the subject of deployments yet. Military life is hell on your personal life especially if youre married and more often than not, your marriage will be tested so you gotta have a solid woman/man to help you through it (and id say upwards of 75% of the military are in terrible relationships).

Basically what Im saying is YOU REALLY gotta WANT that 20 year pension. And I cant even knock the people who don't want it that bad and get out before their 20.

my boy was gonna do 20

everything you said happened

started as a crew chief.... wanted the easy job and easy money, so took a special assignment in germany.... in the mail room

signed up for another 4 thinking, shyt this is the life... fukking german broads, traveling, boatloads of money, free apt in germany

got sent back to america.... his job was now too full.... they forced him into some helicopter plane rescue unit..... first day... showed him a video of what he'd be doing

basically flying behind enemy lines to rescue soldiers who called for transports out of war zones


nikka had 11 years in..... said fukk this shyt and got out immediately

 

[Marc Spector]

But they're not broke.

Naw they aint broke but....they done bought this huge ass mcmansion, sent two kids off to college, got 5 vehicles, wife doesn't and has never worked, and have had all or most of their expenses taken care off for 20+ years with little to no worry over finances until now....well they aint exactly in the best of places lol

 

[Willie]

For real. Give an 18 year old free room, free food, free bills, and 1500 a month and see what he does with it

Substitute the J's with Dunks and the drinks with weed and the back tatts with some bytches and you have me



Young nikka put miles on that Eclipse



Got on game and copped the 93 Caprice w the Flows



Damn shame how accurate that picture is

 

[twan83]

housing and medical is the only thing free that i remember. you get free meals...your family doesnt though

IF you retire...YOU get free healthcare...your family doesnt

When u retire which I did but medically retired with a 100% va disability
the medical pay aint shyt either way I pay 45 a month for a family of 6
To get seen on post unlimited

If I have a doc off post I just pay a co pay of 12 bucks a appt that ain't shyt either

If ur broke after 20 years u just have bad spending habits simple as that with lots of debt

Also common sense is when ur near retirement majority already have a job lined up

U either get that retirement check also or that va check u can't get both so u get the one that pays the most

This isn't including ur Gi bill which pays like u 1000 a month just to go to school but I wouldn't rely on it tho

Sometimes what hurts people is they don't have a job waiting and on top it have a house to pay for

That's y they tell u don't buy a damn house till u retire and have ur civilian job already cuz if u don't it can hurt u financially unless ur spouse making good money

My dad did 23 years in army retired as e6
Gets his retirement check and his job he does he make 100k

 

[Ethnic Vagina Finder]

Naw they aint broke but....they done bought this huge ass mcmansion, sent two kids off to college, got 5 vehicles, wife doesn't and has never worked, and have had all or most of their expenses taken care off for 20+ years with little to no worry over finances until now....well they aint exactly in the best of places lol

Where are you getting this information from.

People that get out after exactly 20 years do so because they didn't make rank to continue staying in.

Everyone else that does 20+ are considered lifers who get out when they feel like it and don't do dumb shyt with their money.

Officers have college degrees and a lot of networking to fall back on.



And you do realized that recently discharged military get first dibs on a lot of different jobs