Tips from others who are, or have, walked on the sidewalk alongside you.
Your path will be unique and no one else's will emulate yours...
but you will still never walk it alone.
1
Start early.
Start the process earlier than you think. Get a retirement ID. Go to all the meetings you can to prepare.
2
Plan for contingencies.
Plan for contingencies and act like every path is the most likely one to happen.
3
Dynamics
Talk about when something bothers you to keep issues from festering.
4
You.
Take time to focus on yourself, even if everything seems like it is falling apart. Write your own story and don't leave the pages blank. Fill them with memories to look back on when every chapter is closed or when you might be struggling to find your way ahead. It helps to see how far you've come.
5
Someone is still there.
There will be times you feel alone. Know someone is still there for you even during separation. Create your own safety net to try and make things easier.
7
Keep track of everything!
Make sure you keep and/or get a copy of all of your and your families medical, dental, behavioral/mental health, and private/civilian records from the time you entered into service, through today (and onward) and see the doctor for everything so they can mark when you started having issues. Also don't forget: AHLTA/Genesis/JLV; HAIMS; and your Separation Health Assessment (SHA) Part A. From the time of entry into service through present day
8
Get out there.
Going into the civilian community can feel overwhelming and you might not feel like you fit in. Get out there and find fun things to do that don't have to do with the military. Know that it will take time, but eventually you will make new lifelong friends on a new lifelong journey.
9
There is utter relief in losing heavy weight.
You won't have to move again unless you choose to. You won't have to hold down the fort on your own. Military life will no longer define every minute detail of your existence. That heavy weight once there will be gone.
10
You will wish you'd have done things differently.
Just like life, no matter what you do during this time, you will always look back and wish you would have done things differently,
and that is okay.