Whenever I used to clear someone who was retiring (I did 2.5 years on GDT.. call it what you will), the reactions were mixed. Banter at not having to be gassed anymore, no more 'guns' to clean, no more 'gas masks' to wear, assurances that any DPM in the loft was going to be burned, but usually, nearly always.. a thank you. Especially if the person had got some serious time in. Even if I hadn't known the person retiring and hadn't ever taught them, I was thanked not because of what I had done, but because of what I represented. Not a Regt dullard, not someone who enjoyed making people's lives misery, but part of the team who like them, was simply paid for doing his bit to keep it all going. I get slagged off for having been just a Rock, and it makes you wonder what those people also think of the chefs who made their breakfasts, the guys stagging on at the gate in the rain at 0230 who kept their families safe and the MT drivers who shuffled around on endless non glamourous jobs.
Here, we have got someone who has done his bit, and who wants to say farewell and thanks. Its like putting an announcement in The Times, its like a farewell speech at a leaving piss up. Its closure, its a rite of passage, its part of the process and its usually someone's way of affirming some sort of belief in the system despite having been shafted by parts of it and one that he spent a huge chunk of his life subscribed to.
But what really saddens me, is that we see in this thread the electronic versions of the hecklers at those leaving beer calls, those who are unable to allow someone (usually senior) the chance to take one last look around, shake a few hands, turn the lights out and quietly close the door behind them. I feel so sorry for A_d that his last act possibly could be even threatened with being marred by this type of civilian style, loutish electronic vandalism. In my experience, those who use messageboards to vent their spleens at people who they don't even know (the heat of passionate debate excluded) are usually the ones frustrated or transferring something missing in their own lives. The adage, in these circumstances that if you have nothing decent to say, say nothing at all, should be a reminder how common decency, good form and polite manners should be observed. If you can't raise your game fellas, then steer clear.
Finally, civvy street is great A_d. Far more volatile, but that simply means you have far greater control over the risk and rewards that you want out of life.