r/EOD • u/SisyphusAlce Unverified • 28d ago
General Question Retirement
Curious as to when you all knew it was time to retire and sun down?
It has been on my mind a lot as of late.
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u/mxyzsptlk 27d ago
I quit being able to have fun. By 18 years my back was shot, my hips were shot, and I didn’t want to VIP for Trump so I retired right after 20 and started terminal before the inauguration.
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u/Scarlet_Tech 36-2903 compliant mustache 28d ago
I am right around the corner from retirement and am starting to have the same thought of what comes next.
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u/macman2021 Unverified 27d ago
When it's not fun any more.
We all got into this because of the dangerous side, technical skills needed and all the other things. But....it's fun.
When it's stops being fun, don't do it anymore.
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u/Kriieod Unverified 27d ago
The sad fact is the civilian side of the badge is also not fun anymore either. I am now in insurance of all things, but hey if I can understand a convoy risk from an IED I guess I can protect your house from a hail storm.
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u/macman2021 Unverified 27d ago
You gotta be able to just be "you".
We aren't (insert first name) the EOD tech. We are who we make ourselves to be. Dad, mom, brother, sister, husband, wife.............insurance salesman.....Life i what you make of it.
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u/SisyphusAlce Unverified 27d ago
A mentor who passed away a few years back wrote this in a note to me. It hasn’t been fun for a minute. And I think about his note every day.
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u/macman2021 Unverified 27d ago
It's one of the few things my POS Stepdad was right about.
I use it for everything I can in life, and taught my kids that too.
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u/Teddyeod Unverified 27d ago
Started having panic attacks and other issues and tried to pretend I was fine for a while. But they got worse and more frequent, and I couldn’t live with myself if I was the cause of someone getting hurt or killed because I cared more about my career than my ability to do the job. Went to BH and tried a bunch of options but the symptoms didn’t go away. Med retired.
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u/demoandhairgel EOD 24d ago
When my current and future options narrowed to desks, offices, policies, and green slide decks, I started to think about it. When the conversations were dominated by those policies and slide decks, instead of ground truth and actions-on, I made my mind up. Not knocking it because we need good people there to keep the machine functioning. It just wasn't for me- I'd rather be out doing the thing with the guys. Sure I miss it, but I wouldn't change my mind if I had it to do over. Everyone has to get off the carousel at some point- I chose to get off on my own terms.
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u/SisyphusAlce Unverified 21d ago
This is where I feel like I’m at.
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u/demoandhairgel EOD 20d ago
Well man, if it's any help- I cut grass now. Literally pulled a Forrest Gump. Totally recommend. It took a year to adjust to being out, which seems to be the average for all of my friends too. But cutting grass gave me something to do that is zero stress, outside, fairly mindless (read relaxing)- and I can get some exercise, sunshine, and crush audiobooks or podcasts or whatever, besides making a reasonable wage for my time. Off season it's trees or odd jobs. Sure, I could have made bank going federal or some other second career related to EOD. Ultimately decided internal peace for the remainder of my life doesn't have a price worth trading. I guess all I mean to say by that is- when you consider your choice, think about what really matters to you. Optimize for that
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u/SisyphusAlce Unverified 20d ago
Yeah. That is really what I ultimately desire right now. Peace. I had my fun, but I feel like a chaos addict. I want stability and peace moving forward. I’ve contemplated starting a landscaping business, even on a small scale, just cutting grass. Art therapy is wonderful.
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u/demoandhairgel EOD 19d ago
I know exactly what you mean. Most of that first year was adjusting to the calm. Had a constant sense that something was about to pop off or that I had somehow lost the plot of my own story. Really it was just the absence of constant stimulus and problem solving. Eventually the ole brainbox realized this actually is normal, so the needle came down a few thousand rpm. Happiest I've been in a decade. Just saying man, life after can be really good, it just might not be automatic.
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u/No_Apartment3941 Unverified 27d ago
For me it was a sense of dread putting on my boots each morning.
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u/SisyphusAlce Unverified 26d ago
Yeah, it’s getting difficult.
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u/No_Apartment3941 Unverified 25d ago
Give it a few months, sometimes it is work, sometimes other factors. I was stuck waiting out for pension but was absolutely miserable for the last couple years. Took a couple years to shake the funk when I got out. Talk to the guys who are out and happy/successful that you know (or intros from friends) to see what they did right, what they regret, and build a path for yourself if you do pull pin. I know I made a few mistakes but am quite content now.
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u/HiroshimaBob_4389 Unverified 28d ago
Made some new guy type mistakes, but was lucky enough to not have consequences. I had entertained the idea of contracting or police HDS after the military. I had flashback to school when an instructor said "if you think you know everything, it's time to quit". I realized that I was starting to think that I knew everything. After that, it was just the pretty big job of setting down all the responsibility and pressure etc. I've done my part, and no one can imply otherwise, it's the newer techs who can save the world now