DD214 Day

The morning of your final out-processing appointment might be just another morning to you, or the sun might be a little brighter, it might be a bit more comfortable outside that morning, or everything just may seem to be working out just a little bit better than a normal day.

Being in Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota for my whole 10 years in the military I came to expect the months of October through April to be pretty uncomfortable outside. On the day of my final out, it was about 20 degrees (Fahrenheit because that close to the Canadian border, it matters). 20 degrees is probably quite cold wherever you are going for your final out, but here it was a gorgeous morning, the sun was shining, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. I was driving the 13 miles from town to base just appreciating the morning's beauty.

I have a bad habit of liking to sit in my vehicle until a minute or two before my appointment, but this morning I went and made sure I was going, because I had only seen the office once in Airman Leadership School, years before, and hadn't been to the third floor of that building since. I quite happily sat outside the office for a few minutes and waited.

After my surprisingly quick appointment, at which I figured I would be signing things, I stepped out into the morning and got into my vehicle. The first thing I did was go to the shoppette and grab a soda. While there I happened to run into someone I hadn't seen in a few months, which was nice; while we shared the normal life updates I was excited to introduce myself as retired for the first time. The next step was to get over to the gate to take the famous photo I'd thought about taking many times driving home from a particularly brutal shift.

As I drove around the pylons on my way off base for the last time in uniform, I was both thrilled and overwhelmed. I was a civilian almost a decade ahead of schedule.

I was now left to my own devices entirely for the first time in a long time, so I went to the store before they opened and sat again thinking back on the 14-mile drive that I'd taken so many times and would never necessarily need to take again.

Even today, sometime later, I think back on my time in the service and miss it sincerely because it felt like it was the right thing for me to be doing the vast majority of the time. I have the option to retire and I'm a little bored already.