Military Retirement: 25 Months to Go...Downsizing and Establishing Timelines

At some point this past week, it dawned on me that my time in the military is drawing closer to the end and that I need to really start plotting some milestones on my retirement timeline. I revisited my lieutenant/platoon commander days and grabbed a dry-erase marker...then I got to doodling on one of my office windows (much different than the HMMWV windows that I 'd use as my canvas to plot missile team coordinates and platoon data on years ago). I decided that 1 June 2025 was a good day for two reasons. 1 - it heeds advice to avoid the "COLA Trap," (worth a Googling) and 2 - it lines up pretty neatly with our son finishing up high school here on Okinawa. Once I started scribbling dates and thinking about how the weeks are moving by pretty quickly, I remembered a line from our company commander back at The Basic School - "The days will be long, but the weeks'll be short..."

These weeks are flying by.

After plotting 1 June as "the day," I tied that to other milestones/key events. One of those is the BDD, or Benefits Delivery at Discharge, application. This is one of two methods for knocking out the Veterans Affairs disability rating processes...the other being one that you do once you're out of service. I figured it's best to go the BDD route and get all of the medical/disability stuff knocked out while still in service so that it's not such a hassle once on the outside of the military huddle. At the 180-
day mark from retirement, I aim to get my BDD process started...and 90 days prior to retirement is the absolute latest that it can all be complete/submitted. The 180-day mark puts me at December of 2024 for getting the ball rolling (which is actually already in the works as I continue to get everything documented and visit medical to wring out any issues that've come up over the last 22+ years). The 90-day mark for completion/submission will be in March of 2025. So much to do...so much to do...

Another thing that I was looking at was the timeline for applying for retirement. In the Marine Corps, the document that one submits to Headquarters Marine Corps is known as the "Appendix J,"...it's one of the appendices of the MARCORSEPMAN, or Marine Corps Separation and Retirement Manual. This form can be submitted as early as 14 16 months out from your requested date, and no later than four 6 months out (UPDATE! See below). This can be worked around, and you can submit earlier than 14 months out if there are special circumstances...such as the need for higher headquarters to identify a new cog to replace you on the ol' wheel of productivity. I'll try to apply early and see what happens...and I'll keep y'all abreast of my timeline as it gets closer.

With that out of the way, we've recently been looking around the house to figure out what's getting sold/purged here on Okinawa, and what few items we'll be bringing with us to our future home in Thailand. One of the benefits of being so close to Thailand is that we can carry small items over with us to the house on our trips throughout the year. The larger items will all be sold here on island. I know what you're thinking - "...but Lance, the military will PAY for you to move again to your home of selection after retiring!"    Sure it will...but it will likely only box, crate, and sail things as far as the port of entry. Who wants to deal with customs fees and that sort of thing...and then land transport in home country, port to house? We may send a very (and I mean very) small crate, just so I can send a few select military items that I want to display in our home there. We'll see. Do you have any experience in such a move? Please share, if so.

How is your retirement journey going? Are you on the journey or maybe recently survived such an ordeal? Do share and comment away if you feel so inclined. Until next time, y'all take it easy. Here's some totally unrelated food porn for you Thai grub lovers.

MARADMIN 175/24 - This message updated things for the retirement application process. The Appendix J/Request for Retirement can be submitted no earlier than 18 months out from requested date, and no later than 6 months out from requested date.

MARADMIN 175/24