Emotions on discharge!!!!
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
Had the pleasure of serving with a transport pilot who, having PVRd, was grounded and posted as an Ops Officer at a northern base. While there was a certain twisted logic in not 'wasting' flying hours on him there was no benefit in keeping him. He spent 18 months keeping a seat warm only on the hours that he was rostered.
At least he mentally separated from the Service well ahead of time.
At least he mentally separated from the Service well ahead of time.
I served for 31 years. I have no bad feelings about anything. It was good and not so good. I left after an 'interesting' TFH tour. Didn't want to do that at my age again.
First time I have lived in a home I have owned.
Not completely out of the system. The other half is now in her 38th year and still a few to go.
First time I have lived in a home I have owned.
Not completely out of the system. The other half is now in her 38th year and still a few to go.
After 42 years flying I found that the RAF divided into 2 very distinct catagories :
A. The never say no,eccentric,flexible,humorous,hard working / drinking,sports loving ( mainly ) , loyal and sometimes cranky people of all ranks and trades who kept the force going 24/7.
B. The small- minded ,pedantic ,humourless, self career dominated ,party pooping paper pushers who spent most of their time giving group A a hard time.
I miss group A a lot and group B not at all!
A. The never say no,eccentric,flexible,humorous,hard working / drinking,sports loving ( mainly ) , loyal and sometimes cranky people of all ranks and trades who kept the force going 24/7.
B. The small- minded ,pedantic ,humourless, self career dominated ,party pooping paper pushers who spent most of their time giving group A a hard time.
I miss group A a lot and group B not at all!
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Hanging off the end of a thread
Posts: 32,742
Received 2,727 Likes
on
1,160 Posts
Spot on, from an ex member of A
A civvy member A
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Norfolk
Posts: 1,057
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Mahogany Bob
Those two groups also exist in most larger organisations in Civvy Street !! - sadly Category B are usually the Managers and also more highly paid, people for whom the process is way more important than the product or the people
I would like to put myself in Category A
Arc
Those two groups also exist in most larger organisations in Civvy Street !! - sadly Category B are usually the Managers and also more highly paid, people for whom the process is way more important than the product or the people
I would like to put myself in Category A
Arc
Join Date: May 2006
Location: UK
Posts: 261
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I found it very difficult to leave after 35 years of not knowing anything else. My emotions were rife, so much so that I declined all offers of "leaving do's" etc. as I knew that I wouldn't be able to hold it together. On my final day, I saluted the White Ensign and then drove out of the station in tears! Subsequently, I found it very difficult to be "outside" and had to do something about it.
In short, I didn't want to go, but I knew I had to. However the two did not reconcile themselves until I joined the reserves, giving me access to group A again and the knowledge that I was still in the bosom of the family, whilst contributing. I thoroughly recommend it.
In short, I didn't want to go, but I knew I had to. However the two did not reconcile themselves until I joined the reserves, giving me access to group A again and the knowledge that I was still in the bosom of the family, whilst contributing. I thoroughly recommend it.
I did a full career of 37 years as aircrew and was then invited to stay as a reservist under the old RO scheme. After a further 14 years, due to a change in family circumstances, I eventually retired after 50+ years in blue.
I retired to run a business in an overseas country, which keeps me very busy. After so long in blue I was surprised that the transition was so painless. I do not yearn for the "Good old days", but do sometimes think about them, mainly with affection.
When I can ,I meet up with other old friends/reprobates to chew the cud.
Life goes on and you will survive, but for the Service itself you are the "hand in the bucket of water, take it out and no hole remains". However keeping contact with old friends and colleagues is still important,
Best of luck for the future!!
I retired to run a business in an overseas country, which keeps me very busy. After so long in blue I was surprised that the transition was so painless. I do not yearn for the "Good old days", but do sometimes think about them, mainly with affection.
When I can ,I meet up with other old friends/reprobates to chew the cud.
Life goes on and you will survive, but for the Service itself you are the "hand in the bucket of water, take it out and no hole remains". However keeping contact with old friends and colleagues is still important,
Best of luck for the future!!
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: England
Posts: 924
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Am amazed by Micks and Tengah Types post above, in a warm way really - that they loved their respective service's so much.
Now wondering about my own time in and why I disliked it as much when I left ....but broad church and all that.
I still think civvy street is a piece of cake compared to service life and that anyone looking for a positive start will love it after service life. HM Prison 2016 looks easier and better than life as a Junior Rate RN at current if I'm truthful.
Now wondering about my own time in and why I disliked it as much when I left ....but broad church and all that.
I still think civvy street is a piece of cake compared to service life and that anyone looking for a positive start will love it after service life. HM Prison 2016 looks easier and better than life as a Junior Rate RN at current if I'm truthful.
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
TT, except that the more hands withdrawn from that bucket reveal how little water is there.
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: 59°09N 002°38W (IATA: SOY, ICAO: EGER)
Age: 80
Posts: 812
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Joined as a 16 year old Boy Entrant in 1959, demobbed as a Cpl in 1973 and, thanks to RAF skills & training, joined GCHQ as a Radio Officer. I never missed the RAF as my last 3 years were spent instructing the RAuxAF at Mountbatten which felt like a "half-civvy" job; and I realised that I no longer appreciated all the ********* that came with being a comparatively elderly JNCO.
Spent 30 years with GCHQ, mostly working alongside ex-forces or ex-Merchant Navy bodies and (mostly) in posts/places where it was a joy to come to work. Now enjoying retirement in the peace and quiet at 59 degrees north. Sadly Mrs R passed away a couple of years ago but I keep busy editing the local monthly newsletter, etc.
Spent 30 years with GCHQ, mostly working alongside ex-forces or ex-Merchant Navy bodies and (mostly) in posts/places where it was a joy to come to work. Now enjoying retirement in the peace and quiet at 59 degrees north. Sadly Mrs R passed away a couple of years ago but I keep busy editing the local monthly newsletter, etc.
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Hanging off the end of a thread
Posts: 32,742
Received 2,727 Likes
on
1,160 Posts
I remember one of my colleagues asking about PVR in the 70's where it cost a significant amount of money and took about 6 months to process, the WO in SHQ gave him the figures and times, but then asked him not to apply yet but to come back in the afternoon.
Arriving back the WO informed him he had been onto PMC and because of a manning glut had got the terms down to free to leave and would next Monday be ok... He was gone just like that.
Arriving back the WO informed him he had been onto PMC and because of a manning glut had got the terms down to free to leave and would next Monday be ok... He was gone just like that.
Reading through this I guess the ones still around are able to reply...............
I am aware of friends of my parents (public services not military) who stayed in the jobs they doing until final last day they could 65 / 60 or whatever and within 12 months one of the couple was dead. Both my parents retired early and enjoyed it, one still doing so.
Never really gave it much thought until a conversation at lunch on a Uni Course I was doing.
Psychologist taking course listened in and said there was a part of people that became institutionalised and once you take that away there are many people who cannot cope with this.
He indicated that it was similar to Prisoner being released after 30 years on inside and human nature not being able to cope.
He didn't know the statistics but said marraige break up, alcohol abuse, early death etc can often be caused by a sudden termination in what someone had been doing for 30-40 years where a future plan hasn't been put in place.
Also something he was looking at was Redundancy and effect on people.
Gave it not much thought at time but having done 2 rounds of redundancy I treated it like a bereavement and gave myself a couple of months for it to work through the system. It worked for me but doesn't mean it would work for everyone.
Question is for those leaving (left) is whether there is someone who talks to your head about impact ?
Oh and good luck to the guys entering civvy street and thank you for your service.
I am aware of friends of my parents (public services not military) who stayed in the jobs they doing until final last day they could 65 / 60 or whatever and within 12 months one of the couple was dead. Both my parents retired early and enjoyed it, one still doing so.
Never really gave it much thought until a conversation at lunch on a Uni Course I was doing.
Psychologist taking course listened in and said there was a part of people that became institutionalised and once you take that away there are many people who cannot cope with this.
He indicated that it was similar to Prisoner being released after 30 years on inside and human nature not being able to cope.
He didn't know the statistics but said marraige break up, alcohol abuse, early death etc can often be caused by a sudden termination in what someone had been doing for 30-40 years where a future plan hasn't been put in place.
Also something he was looking at was Redundancy and effect on people.
Gave it not much thought at time but having done 2 rounds of redundancy I treated it like a bereavement and gave myself a couple of months for it to work through the system. It worked for me but doesn't mean it would work for everyone.
Question is for those leaving (left) is whether there is someone who talks to your head about impact ?
Oh and good luck to the guys entering civvy street and thank you for your service.
Remember the effect upon SWMBO who is accustomed to running the show alone on a daily or weekly basis. Big shock having large wilful child who thinks he's the boss in permanent residence 
Left after 37 years, joined the local golf club, a walking Club, developed my garden and generally kept busy by my household C-in-C! Keep in touch with my Sqn, attend various reunions and enjoy life. Don't get too tense about it.
...............Remember the effect upon SWMBO who is accustomed to running the show alone on a daily or weekly basis. Big shock having large wilful child who thinks he's the boss in permanent residence ...............
Ditto, not that I am large. Situation slightly eased by being allowed to do my last 6 months working from home: it suited the MoD, it suited me, and it eased senior management to the sight of the dogsbody around the house.
I once took a phone call from my boss in the bath. He commented on the strange echoes.
Ditto, not that I am large. Situation slightly eased by being allowed to do my last 6 months working from home: it suited the MoD, it suited me, and it eased senior management to the sight of the dogsbody around the house.
I once took a phone call from my boss in the bath. He commented on the strange echoes.
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Lincolnshire
Age: 82
Posts: 165
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I applied for a resettlement coarse & was given a list of Radar/Computer Companies that participated in the scheme, Companies like ICT/ICL, Burrows, IBM & RCA (Fylingdales). By return of post, IBM asked me to go down to their London office for "Logic Tests" & an interview. At the end of the interview they offered me a six weeks Mainframe Computer Course & a job at the end of the course.
Because of my security clearance, I was the only engineer that was allowed in the Bank of England, H.M. Treasury & the Home Office (where I installed & maintained the very first Police National Computer). I was also the only engineer allowed into The Tomes Newspaper, this wasn't about security but about the very powerful Print Unions at the time.
We were asked to wear a dark suit, white shirt & plain tie as one moment you could be talking to a computer operatorthe next moment being called up to see the Deputy Governor or Lord Beaverbrook !!
The only regret that I had was sitting in a Central Line underground carriage looking at all the miserable faces & thinking it was only a few months ago that I was up at 70,000ft at Mach 0.93 doing TACAN Air to Air flight trials in a K1 Victor Tanker, but that is the only regret that I had leaving the RAF.
Because of my security clearance, I was the only engineer that was allowed in the Bank of England, H.M. Treasury & the Home Office (where I installed & maintained the very first Police National Computer). I was also the only engineer allowed into The Tomes Newspaper, this wasn't about security but about the very powerful Print Unions at the time.
We were asked to wear a dark suit, white shirt & plain tie as one moment you could be talking to a computer operatorthe next moment being called up to see the Deputy Governor or Lord Beaverbrook !!
The only regret that I had was sitting in a Central Line underground carriage looking at all the miserable faces & thinking it was only a few months ago that I was up at 70,000ft at Mach 0.93 doing TACAN Air to Air flight trials in a K1 Victor Tanker, but that is the only regret that I had leaving the RAF.
racedo,
I think the 'institutionalised' bit applies also to young men who have served in relatively low grade positions in,say, the infantry, for a relatively short time in the Army but who had a tremendous amount of support from NCOs and junior officers during that time.
In 'civvy' street many of them are completely lost and this is reflected, sadly, in both the prison system and those agencies providing support to those who have fallen by the wayside eg Salvation Army, church groups , charities etc.
I've dealt with them in the Criminal Justice system and they are not well equipped to deal with post service life.
(I don't know the solution I'm afraid)
I think the 'institutionalised' bit applies also to young men who have served in relatively low grade positions in,say, the infantry, for a relatively short time in the Army but who had a tremendous amount of support from NCOs and junior officers during that time.
In 'civvy' street many of them are completely lost and this is reflected, sadly, in both the prison system and those agencies providing support to those who have fallen by the wayside eg Salvation Army, church groups , charities etc.
I've dealt with them in the Criminal Justice system and they are not well equipped to deal with post service life.
(I don't know the solution I'm afraid)
NRU
I used to think that as well and maybe "institutionalised" is the wrong term to use, possibly "loss of sense of purpose" may be more correct.
Neighbour who did 30 plus years in a large airline has been retired 2-3 years, he uses my recycling bin as well as his own, lots of crushed beer / cider cans and they not mine.
If it was the odd one (not the alcohol context) I would think yup maybe but seeing so many people not cope with not having to get up and go to work everyday and life just fading away.
I used to think that as well and maybe "institutionalised" is the wrong term to use, possibly "loss of sense of purpose" may be more correct.
Neighbour who did 30 plus years in a large airline has been retired 2-3 years, he uses my recycling bin as well as his own, lots of crushed beer / cider cans and they not mine.
If it was the odd one (not the alcohol context) I would think yup maybe but seeing so many people not cope with not having to get up and go to work everyday and life just fading away.
