Anybody who joined the military in the last 30 years on the expectation of a job for life must have their head up their backside, so EVERYBODY should have had some sort of a plan B
Deviation: many initial commissions were to 38/16 with assimilation to 55 offered or not. It follows that Plan B should have been complete by the age of 36 for implementation at age 38. Anticipating assimilation was no Plan at all. I remember the devastating blow when my 1st Nav who had only ever served in the Kipper Fleet was not assimilated. He was crushed. Fortunately he picked himself up and forged a second career.