The four types of military retirees
Trent Reedy
Back in September, I told you about my friend Army Master Sgt. Mike Preston, who faced the fiercest fight of his military career, the battle against an insanely complex retirement paperwork system. We caught up again now that it’s over.
“What’s it like being out?” I asked.
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“I still can’t freely speak my mind.” Preston reminded me that he’s on terminal leave, receiving his regular Army pay for unused leave days. “If I went on TV and denounced Joe Biden, it would be UCMJ.” Preston would be charged with a military crime.
“So how do you feel about Biden?” I asked. Preston didn’t answer.
He’s talked to a few other recent military retirees. “It’s a huge sigh of relief among those who just got out, because they missed the next war. The guys about to get out keep saying, ‘I hope this [current situation] will hold for a year or 18 months until I can get out.’ Everybody sees the f***ing writing on the wall. This s***’s gonna go bad,” he said, referring to deepening American involvement in the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
After leaving the east coast Army base, Preston and his family drove across the country to his parents’ home in the west. They visited many great museums, the first KFC, the wonder of Branson, Missouri, Mount Rushmore, Devil’s Tower, and other attractions. Preston grew a beard and wore a “Trump 2024: Elect Him a Third Time” hat the whole way.
He’s thrilled to avoid the weekend text barrage. “I would average 80 texts every Sunday. One Sunday … there were over 200. Everybody sends a mass text. ‘Who’s going to be in formation? Who’s not gonna be there?’ All my Sunday was checking my phone, so I have one day off.”
He told me about four types of military retirees.
1. Past Positive-Future Negative: The retiree who only complains. Boot camp is weaker. The new soldiers know jack. He’s like the high school football star who can’t let go.
2. The Hedonist: He forgets all about the military. He’s just glad he’s no longer subject to drug tests.
3. Past Positive-Future Positive (with help): He believes the military can flourish, but only if he passes along his knowledge. He’ll be wearing a veteran hat, standing around outside the PX, accosting young Joes to tell them things.
4. Past Positive-Future Positive (without help): He has faith that the new generation will carry on the U.S. military well on its own.
I assumed Preston was more of a type one. Like me, he is furious at the way Biden abandoned our mission in Afghanistan. He declined an invitation to speak, as a veteran, at a local school because of his discouragement about the current political and military situation.
Instead, he’s a type four. He’s proud of the last job he was doing in the military. It was meaningful and important. So important, he cannot tell me what the job was, nor will I speculate here, except to say it sounds like his team’s efforts messed up a lot of bad guys. The fluid nature of the work made training replacements difficult. Preston was very good at what he did, and at first it was hard to let it go.
“But as the song goes, ‘The Army keeps rolling along.’ And it’s OK,” he said. “We sometimes denigrate the younger generation, but someone will pick up the guidon and advance.”
I know Master Sgt. Preston well enough to understand he’s discouraged about the sociopolitical situation in America, and he laments certain developments in the American military. But he spoke of the great friends he made during his years in the service and the good they did or tried to do. There were good soldiers in the past. There will be again in the future. In the midst of these dark times, Master Sgt. Mike Preston’s generosity of hope inspires in me a spark of optimism for the future.
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Trent Reedy, author of several books including Enduring Freedom, served as a combat engineer in the Iowa National Guard from 1999 to 2005, including a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
*Some names and call signs in this story may have been changed due to operational security or privacy concerns.