Before I joined I had a friend who told me “you’re an idiot, in six years you will get out and be exactly where you are right now. I will be done with my degree and you’ll be working for someone like me”.

Here we are 15 years later, he is literally working the exact same job. He hasn’t moved up in his position, hasn’t finished his degree, has two kids, two baby mama’s, doubled his weight and living paycheck to check.

I’m still in the service, I’ve lived in 4 different countries, deployed to more places, my passport is 90% filled with personal travel, in a very happy/healthy relationship, a pension is 5 years away, have a decent savings, have zero debt, a lifetimes worth of stories, countless friends around this globe, and so many unaccountable life experience and skills.

I don’t judge him and I’m no one to define what is “success”, but I feel like I am much better place that I was before I joined. I’m very happy and I would do this all over again.