Friend of mine had hoped to become the youngest WO in the RAF. Sadly he went head to head with OC Eng and LOVed at just 38.
He then went on to become a highly experienced demolitions expert. One time he was hauled off the golf course at Aberdeen, flown to Brindisi and boated straight to a burning LPG carrier.
Another friend, not ex-Mil, runs an explosives company doing quarry work.
Finally another ran a nursing home