Would you stay in the military

Im not active duty, so its very different. Reenlistment bonuses aren't always there. Plus 50% end up being terminated. 80% are terminated with recoupment. They are taxed unless your in a tax free situation. So if you're recouped early, not only do you pay back what your recieved, you also pay back the taxes this prorated of course, but I've had a lot of young troops relieve $17,500 of a $20K bonus and pay back $19K. That's devastating to them.

The PX is actually more expensive as they jack up prices knowing they're a tax free sales entity in an area where the customer doesn't have the option to go elsewhere. The commissary is the same. It is just another grocery store. Being on a government installation means that it doesn't have the incentive to offer better products, so your stuck with what they have. If you have a family member, as I do, whi has a dietary restriction due to an autoimmune disease, you'll see that the commissary is woefully inadequate to meet their dietary needs.

As for seeing the world, It's easy to do that outside of the military. Before I joined, my wife and I traveled a lot on low wage jobs with proper budgeting. Right now, If I want to travel, I need to clear it with command. To visit family I. Austria, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, China, etc... I have to go through a military process. I'd rather not have them involved.

I'm glad your family had a good experience. I personally won't stay in. They got 12 years of my life. I'll take the rest for myself. It would be one thing if I actually needed the benefits of the military, but I've yet to need one as I joined when I was older and already paid for my education, invested in my retirement, had a house, and already had a life insurance policy. I joined because I was bored, not to have a career.

You can retire after 20 years of service? If only I knew that...

I'm getting out at 12. The last 5 years have been the worst of my service (its not a career). Putting in another 8 to get a pension that can't compare to my current retirement seems like a waste of good years with my family.

As for better duty stations: that's a just the idea of the grass being greener. It's still the same job. If I want to be somewhere better, I can travel on my own. I'm not active duty so I already had my education, retirement, life insurance, and career outside of my military stuff. If anything, the military has hindered my progress in my career as potential employers avoid hiring military who have a high op tempo or deployment record. So a lot of those soldiers who go for the pension actually hurt their earning potential for a pension that's really not that great. My retention NCO's push the retirement angle a lot. I think it's fine if you don't have other options. I started mine at 16 so it's really not a real draw for me.