Am I selfish?
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I have yet to serve, but I understand the part about being skeptical to leave your children. I have a 2-year-old daughter and I'm nervous to leave her to join, but I stay motivated in knowing that it'll make our lives even better. Whether you're spiritual or not, try meditating on it and ask the universe/God for guidance. Just my thoughts. Also, thank you for your service. May you and your family be blessed.🇺🇲
I’ve been in for 19yrs! My littles are 12,6,3. They understand when I have to go off and they are always a phone call away. Doing things for yourself doesn’t make you selfish!! I LOVE my Air Force family. I’m kinda freaking out that I only have a year left.
I was Marines...I would never go back in. The work-life balance was unreasonable as a Sergeant. You can always talk to a prior service recruiter and see if you can still get in and have your retirement date, even with the break in service. I had a Sgt get out in (2008-2011) and came back in Active 2014 . She is just now eligible for retirement, so really she did longer than 20 years. I guess evaluate what you want your future life to be. Alternatively, take a look at Space Force, they are a newer branch so your skills might transfer there too.
If you have a supportive spouse, I say go for it. I've been in for 16 years and my children are 24,19, and 12 now, and probably 13 of those years I've been a single parent and I still have enjoyed it even through the couple moments of deployments. We even lived overseas and it was loved. My son still asks if we can live in Japan again. It's not selfish to show your kids to be strong enough to live your dream, provide them with medical care, financial stability, and lifetime experiences they won't have otherwise.
Have you considered the Guard or Reserves? I can’t speak for sure for the Reserves, I’m Guard, but I assume it’s pretty similar - the flexibility is unmatched. It’s literally the best of both worlds. You get all of the excitement and camaraderie that you’re missing but with the flexibility of a part-time job. I’ve been Guard my whole career, and I’ve gotten to do some pretty cool things, but now that I’m expecting my first baby I’ve had to slow down a bit and my leadership has been very supportive. Depending on how long you’ve been separated, you may be able to join a unit that has an opening in your prior AFSC and jump right back in without having to leave home for additional training. And if you want to change jobs and try something new, then that’s certainly an option as well!
I separated in April 21 and got pregnant in September. I completely understand where you’re coming from. I can’t say if it’s selfish to rejoin or not since we have different beliefs and living situations. At the end of the day they got you for a long time and I think it’s fair to find/rediscover something else that will fill your cup.