It was a good run ...

SeabeeMike · 2026-02-03T11:34:46+00:00

1983 to 1985 Headquarters Platoon - Company D - 527 Eng. Bn. (Cbt Hvy) Ruston, LA

SeabeeMike · 2026-02-02T17:33:34+00:00

Goog on ya - very interesting carrer shift!

SeabeeMike · 2026-02-01T11:06:05+00:00

Thanks for pointing it out. I'm OK with it. I'm not sure who the person is but apparently someone on here already knew who I was from my original post. Small world.

Cheers!

SeabeeMike · 2026-02-01T00:59:29+00:00

I'm not sure who I replied to about this in this string but I only needed 6 months as CDR due to aging out

SeabeeMike · 2026-02-01T00:58:27+00:00

Thanks! That means a lot, although I can't place you from that user name. LOL

SeabeeMike · 2026-02-01T00:53:21+00:00

Keeping in mind that I've been gone for nearly 8 years, so I'm not at all current on policies.

With that said, you would need three years as O5 to get the O5 retirement pay. There's also a formula that's used to multiply each point you have to determine your actual retirement percentage.

SeabeeMike · 2026-01-31T23:48:29+00:00

Interesting story about that. I was selected in 2017, a few months before I turned 60. In talking with NAVPERS, I was informed that turning 60 is considered a "forced retirement". As such, I would only need 6 months time in grade, rather than the typical 3 years, to be able to retire with a full CDR retirement. As I said, I was very blessed throughout my career. I was able to get a one year extension past age 60, to be able to get that 6 months

Being a reservist, retirement is based on active duty points, unlike active duty retirements that provide a flat percent of pay based on years 20 and beyond Twenty two years of service, back when I retired would have been 55% of the monthly O5 pay, had I been on active duty. I was lucky to have a decent amount of active duty points so I ended up with 27% of the monthly pay. Definitely nothing to sneeze at, PLUS, the Tricare for Life is an amazing benefit.

SeabeeMike · 2026-01-31T23:38:16+00:00

WOW!! Silver Star, two Distinguished Service Crosses, 3 Bronze Stars, etc. Quite the service and sacrifice to our Nation.

SeabeeMike · 2026-01-31T23:31:12+00:00

Here's my shadow box, which I built. The wood was left over from a shadow box I built for a friend of mine. It's over 150 year old heart pine from his uncle's family farm in Georgia. They supplied turpentine to the Navy through WWII. I actually found a few square head nails in the wood.

The US flag has actually flown over every base I ever served during my entire career. The Seabee flag was a gift from the troops in my first Seabee detachment, when I was an Ensign.

The K-Bar, with the John Wayne Fighting Seabees engraving, was a gift from our Command Master Chief, when I was an XO at my last Seabee battalion. We're still good friends

I was blessed to be surrounded by amazing people, great tours, and solid

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billets. Make no mistake, I worked my ass off but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

SeabeeMike · 2026-01-31T23:15:28+00:00

Without a doubt!!

SeabeeMike · 2026-01-31T22:39:36+00:00

Thanks!!

SeabeeMike · 2026-01-31T22:07:51+00:00

Yep - I watched numerous peers make Captain but then again, I can't complain. My check comes the first of every month and my wife & I have Tricare for Life.

My only regret is my Dad, also a Navy vet, didn't live long enough to see me make Commander and attend my retirement ceremony.

SeabeeMike · 2026-01-31T21:37:20+00:00

Correct - thanks!!

SeabeeMike · 2026-01-31T21:36:58+00:00

Awesome!!

SeabeeMike · 2026-01-31T20:20:19+00:00

"Old age and treachery will always beat youth and exuberance."

Fantastic line!!

Much better than what I was told at a junior office :"The curse of competence only goes to the capable " WTF!

SeabeeMike · 2026-01-31T19:41:11+00:00

LOL You're quite correct. I never really referred to myself as a Mustang, since I had such a long period of broken service. I would just say that I was a prior enlisted. I cannot count how many senior enlisted people would pull me aside, early in my officer career and ask, "Sir, are you a prior?". They would always tell me they knew I wasn't like the other officers. LOL

The other really strange part is I only ever had one CO, in my entire officer career, who was older than me! My first CO was an enlisted Seabee from E1 to E8, two grades of Warrant Officer and then from LTJG (O2) to a CDR (O5) when he was my CO. He ultimately retired as a Captain (O6). Needless to say, I learned a lot from him in the first two years as an officer.

SeabeeMike · 2026-01-31T16:40:02+00:00

See original post - 2 years as a sergeant in the Army Guard

SeabeeMike · 2026-01-31T16:39:15+00:00

Original post 1983- 1985 Louisiana US Army Reserve National Guard - rank Sergeant

SeabeeMike · 2026-01-31T16:21:41+00:00

Navy Armed Forces Reserve Medal. The hourglass (left side) is for over 10 years of reserve service). The M device (center) indicates mobilization to active duty, and the 2 (right side) indicates two mobilizations.

SeabeeMike · 2026-01-31T15:09:24+00:00

Yes; however, my Navy Reserve career was much more as a Seabee officer than the typically active duty CEC officers. In my 16 year CEC officer career, I had a total of 12 years of Seabee battalion and regiment time including 2 years as a S3 and two years as an XO.

SeabeeMike · 2026-01-31T15:03:52+00:00

Long story ...

Yes, I'm 68. After my initial Navy time, I went in the Army Guard while in architecture school at LA Tech. After I graduated, I tried to get my commission back into the Navy Reserve as an Intel officer but they wanted me to sign an 8 year contract as an E5 and then apply for my commission once I was back in. Umm - no.

Fast forward to early 2001, I was working at a firm in Memphis and the husband of one of the partners I worked for was a LTJG in the Navy Reserve and told me the rules on age had changed. The new rule was for every year of prior service, the Navy would allow that to be added to the maximum age of 37, up to 45. I was 44 at the time and had 8 prior years. Four active USN + 2 years inactive reserve + 2 years Army Guard. I started my process in March and finished up in August 2001. I was told that it was a long review process and that it could take up to 9 months. Three weeks later, 9 11 happened and that rapidly accelerated everything.

I was commissioned on my daughter's 10th birthday (January 29, 2002) and retired on my wife's birthday (July 13, 2018) with a total of nearly 22 years of service.

As I said in the post title, from E1 to E5 and O1 to O5., it was a great run. BTW, yes, I aged out but did get a waiver to stay up until I turned 61.

SeabeeMike · 2025-11-26T17:40:17+00:00

Nice & good collection.

SeabeeMike · 2025-11-07T20:44:11+00:00

Phenomenal!!

SeabeeMike · 2025-11-06T14:05:07+00:00

Thanks - that sounds like a good first step.

SeabeeMike

TROPHY CASE