When Do You Call It? | Wearing Stripes

That time has come again ....

The infamous call from the retention NCO from my unit.

"You're in your re-enlistment window SFC Wells ... what would you like to do?"

Well, frankly -- I don't want you to call me and remind me of this evil-ness. LOL 

I mean, that's what I really wanted to say.

I didn't, of course.

I answered truthfully though.

"I don't know."

I really don't.

I've done this Army thing for 14 years now. I'm in the home stretch. But 6 more years seems soooooo far away. And I mean, it really is. A lot can happen in 6 years.

I know for sure there will be another PCS back to Bragg. I know there will be a third child in the mix. I know I'm up for promotion again. I know I STILL haven't deployed and probably should do something about that in the near future ... I know I enjoy training new soldiers but I also know this:

• I hate having to ensure I hit my monthly quota of drills.
• I hate wearing the uniform in the heat.
• I hate all the paperwork I need to keep up with ... and all the slideshow presentations I need to sit through.
• I hate the "game" of the Army.
• I hate how annoying it is that drills seem to always fall on fun family outings or community events.
• I hate dealing with self-righteous senior-enlisted leaders who assume they're always right.
• I hate how I have to drop everything in my civilian life to accommodate the Army Reserve.
• I hate how the units' out there say they're looking out for their soldiers, but really it's all about the Army.
• And the biggest thing, even if I last to 20 years to retire, I can't touch my retirement pay (prorated because everything in the Reserve is prorated like you're a prorated soldier or something) until I'm 60/65 years old. What kinda BS is that?!

So what's the sense? 

Should I re-enlist?

Should I say F it?

Am I ready to say goodbye to quietly saying I'm a Reservist? I'm I ready to just be an Army spouse?

I just don't know.

I like showing my CAC card at the gate rather than my brown dependent card. It's a pride thing. It's little, but it makes me feel good when the gate guard welcomes me as "ma'am" then says goodbye with "Sergeant."

It's like, "yeah buddy ... I'm pretty badass and I'm a young ass SFC so bow to me..." 

No, I kid ... sorta. But it really is an ego booster when people are like "Oh! You're in the army too?"

Yeah bitches!

LOL ....

But as you can see, there's is a lot of "hates" that come with the "loves" and I just don't know if the loves outweigh the hates anymore.

How do you guys make big career decisions? 'Cause right now, I'm at a loss.