AD
You may think you're out but you've got a long way to go yet. From my experience, having left last year and now working in a part-military organisation:
1. You'll keep getting JPA pay-chits (zero balance) for months.
2. You'll struggle to hold a conversation without referring to when you were in the RAF.
3. You might be just about able to avoid saying "When I was in", but refer to 2. above.
4. You'll grow your hair, and possibly a beard, but will then return to a QR-compliant appearance because you just feel scruffy.
5. If you go anywhere near an RAF camp, you will re-acquire your rank whether you like it or not. The guardroom and mess databases just can't cope with "Sqn Ldr Joe" becoming "Mr Joe".
6. It will be some time before the majority of your friends are not RAF.
7. In military company, you will be introduced, there will be an awkward pause, and then the person that introduced you will say "He used to be ........"
8. .......... And then someone will ask you what it's like being out.....
9. And I still can't really answer that. I've been out for less than one tour's-length so I still feel like I'm waiting for a tour-review date.
10. And I don't think you'll ever stop cursing "Bloody Civvies!"
N Joe
I've been out for 9 years and I agree with all of that, well apart from the bit about growing a beard cos I'm a bird and despite my best efforts I've never been able to grow a single whisker, my Gran on the other hand, blimey that woman should have been in the circus. Oh also because I'm a bird the question I always get asked is "did I have a gun?" You can have so much fun with that question! Just depends how much you want to scare someone
Good look to you AD, I hope you have a happy transition to civvie life. It wasn't until after I left that I realised there are things that I'll never do again but then I also remembered that I actually got to do them in the first place.
Best wishes for the future matey
Monkey