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super interesting. Never even heard of such nonsense 😮 we could deep dive that topic for sure in an upcoming livestream. Wanna come talk about it??

Glad to hear it and thanks for your service! Enjoy retired life. -Vic

Sounds like you made it through the trenches and thankfully out on the other end of it with something tangible to show for it 💪🏼 Certainly one of the most demanding but also most rewarding jobs put there, serving your country 🫡 Hope all is well and thank you for your service to our great nation - John

hahahahaha Now that is hilarious! 😍😍😍 John

@@gregmartin2455 That’s incredible that it doubled! I didn’t include COLA due to the percentages being different year by year, so it’s just an estimate number. Thanks for sharing! -Vic

Just to establish a baseline for folks, the cola calculation gets a little more complicated depending on when you retired (which month) . We did a separate video on just the cola. You retired a year before I came into service, wondering how life is treating you all this time later after retirement? Sounds like you are doing pretty good. Anything stand out that might have been super important to you when you got out that over the years you realized was really not so important? Whats most important to you now? -John

@@militaryretirementpodcast I guess I could have said that better. I did not mean to disparage your efforts. The video was quite good. Thanks.

@@militaryretirementpodcast I got busy and got a career in IT going once I retired from the Army. It lasted 30 years or so and I finished it out in IT project management. Managing projects is no different than the planning and supervision / leadership that any military leader does so that part was easy. Civilian life / work is harder in some ways as there is little honor, less honesty and zero loyalty in most civilian organizations. But the work itself is easier and the standards of achievement are lower, thus easier to meet. Don't give a company a single ounce of work that they're not paying you for. No unpaid overtime, no 80 hour weeks when they're paying you for 40, no doing the job of some incompetent. Walk away and get another job. If you have skills you can do that. Two things I'd recommend to guys retiring from the military now after 20. One, get another career that pays as much as possible it will let you save for actual retirement and pump up that social security check you'll get someday. Two, stay in shape so when you stop working you can still do all the fun stuff you deferred all those years.

@gregmartin2455 Nope, you said nothing wrong Sir. Genuinely curious about your thoughts and insights. That is why we are all here and I am the first to start asking questions in the comments. John

its a little further down in the non-amc terminals list 🫡 - john

1) Generally, if you are trying to hop from a specific location and its not on the list (which would be strange), just send them an email directly along with your online submission. Or maybe they will accept the printed copy after you submit and enter you since you did sign up on the site. 2) You can get bumped at any point in the process for any reason cat 6 or otherwise. Depending on mission. If they already have you booked through the stopover location you should be good unless they have some mission critical person or cargo that might pull you off the flight. I would think in these cases they will try their best to get you out, especially for somewhere like Rota where you normally cant really leave the base without first having some schenzen stamp. Curious about which AFB is near you that is not on the list on the space a flight? Safe travels!! John

thank you!!! any other info that might be super helpful you would like to see just let me know

Depends how you are relocating here. I have not experienced anything impacting my Ret/VA income. I do not pay Italian taxes at all ( Aside from any tax associated with car/house). everything right now is in my wife’s name. and know that i have SOFA through my NAF position i dont forsee anything crazy. Even my previous experience living in Germany and actually paying German taxes, still also making money in the US and Reserve duty, I just had to declare my US tax returns to the German gov when I did my German taxes. Everything was separate and nothing bled over to the other. Best case I would talk to an accountant both in the US and in italy, someone who specializes in foreign taxes. Happy to answer further or even do some one on one time with you if you think it would help. however i can best assist. John

@@militaryretirementpodcast Thanks for taking the time. I am planning to fully retire there so I won't be affiliated to any US agency and had concerns about the financial impacts of living there with a military retirement and disability. I will see if I can find a tax lawyer or accountant familiar with situations like mine. Thanks 👍🏼

@Apex-lv4te Thats totally doable. If you look in the channel links and get to the webpage you can reach me through there i think. Otherwise just find me on fb or linkedin im pretty much @chiefmcconnell everywhere. Love to hear how it goes and of course if you need anything along the way just let me know. We can certainly take it offline John

Sorry if this post twice but i dont see the reply i wrote. Absolutely here for you. If you need to take the conversation offline just go to the website in the channel description and email me, or find me on any socials @chiefmcconnell. happy to help out offline

There is a special visa you can try to request to come to Italy fully retired, which allows you to stay here but doesnt allow you to work. Its a long ass complicated process to be honest and mine didnt get approved. Its designed for people who have enough savings and retirement to cover your own expenses (with the retirement and VA you can easily do this in some places) I think it was called Elective Visa or Residenca Electiva in Italian

Thank you!! We literally just finished our livestream again. Appreciate the support!! John

Awe thank you 🥺🥺 Great to meet you as well! looking forward to future interactions, collaborations, and growing John

😂😂😂 maybe John

Little English fkr bro in liverpool👍🌹

@vincentmcnamee6692 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼

Thank you. Its fun and exhausting at the same time, but meeting a lot of people and making new friends, rounding up some podcast interviews, and learning a lot. John

Congrats on 22 years of service!! Just get online and send that request so you can start the 60 day clock. Where are you going to first?? If you need a quick reference for the terminals militaryretirementpodcast.com/spacea and if you need any other help with it or have questions feel free to drop them here! 🫡🫡 -john

would love to come to each and every one of them if i could. would be beneficial for sure! -john

never heard of this. we will take a look into it. Victor is the resident researcher. ill make sure i bring it to his attention if he doesnt happen to see the comment. John

@@militaryretirementpodcast H.R. 333 has been in limbo for years and was supposed to address the issue, but politicians say there's no money for it, which is bs. they are currently trying to pass the Richard Star act but that only helps combat veterans. All of the thousands that were medically retired due to noncombat issues like the burn pits, vehicle accidents, training accidents and injuries, etc., get no military disability if they have less than 20 "good" years. Me for example, i went to Balad 3 times, plus was at a classified location in 2003 during the war. I had health issues while deployed to Balad in 2009, which according to the VA was from burn pit toxin exposure. My unit instead of putting me on Medcon orders as required by the regs and law(for post deployment medical evaluation), put me in a nonpaid admin leave status. Then took about 2 1/2 years to medically retire me. I have 20 years 6 months and 1 day of calendar time, but because my unit screwed me, i have just over 18 "good" years. Had i been on Medcon orders during that time as required by regs and law(even unit IG sided with me), i would have had 20 "good" years, my 20 year letter, and get my military disability. Instead i get $0 in military disability, and my unit and a shitbag o-6 get away with screwing me and others over. For the record my unit and a lot of others screwed over a lot of their people the same way. Guard Bureau doesn't want this Pandora's box of shit treatment opened. Martin

Glad to hear that from you @tonmoy_youtube_expert !! Really appreciate your support and the flowers 💐🫡🫡 if there is anything you would suggest at anytime we are also all ears on that

@@militaryretirementpodcast Thanks for being so receptive! One suggestion might be to create a platform for direct feedback from service members. Your efforts are truly impactful!

@tonmoy_youtbe_expert yeah thats a tricky one. I see it happening on places like redit, where service members might feel a little safer because of anonymity, but we are certainly thinking about that all the time. The livestreams have been helping a little and we also have our own private fb group for people to talk. I guess its just a matter of figuring out the solution at scale. we try to make the conversations as open and candid as possible without being too krass. thank you for that response! 🫡

@@militaryretirementpodcast That makes a lot of sense. Balancing openness with privacy is key. Your approach with livestreams and private groups sounds promising. Keep up the great work, and I’m sure you'll find the right solution!

I think even some of the ground pounders have a little advantage, especially if they stayed in for 20. Lots of team leadership and organizational management , just have to translate that to civilian speak. john

true story. If you are less than 30% disabled Veteran you get a 5 point preference, 30%+ get 10 point preference. The only thing I have seen that takes precedence over this is spouse preference in overseas locations. But for me this is completely understandable. John

the network is key to all things. We of course want to be able to do it by ourselves, to stand on our own two feet and not have to ask for help. In the end, asking for help is the way. John

@@militaryretirementpodcast Understand my first job interview when i retired was at the Dennys out the gate. We sat and talked Marine Corps stuff and he asked me when can I start. He was friends with my CO at the time from Vietnam.

such a good one! 💪🏼 Yeah it comes full circle back to humble re-beginnings. Hopefully that second beginning was much more enjoyable after leaving with all that experience. john 🫡

Thank you for the kind words!! You are writing a book??? would love to hear more about it! 😍 send us an email maybe, maybe we can do a little 1 on 1 time to help out

Was so fun doing this episode. would have been good to do it together but we can always see if Eric wants to come hang on the livestream john

Congrats on the EAS!!! I have no idea what HAIMS STR is, could you or would you mind giving me a brief synopsis? But it sounds like things are moving along though. keep us posted on your progress. John

@@militaryretirementpodcast apparently it’s like a summary report of your medical records both electronic and hard copy. So I accessed the MHS genesis portal downloaded a summary and uploaded it that way. I’ve done some research on what that request was and apparently it’s the VA requesting the document from somewhere in the government basically from themselves lol. Thank you! Hope to find out some news soon!

@GarrettYancy Yep, sounds very very very interesting. If you are up for it after you figure things out, and if you have the time, maybe want to come on the sunday live and chat about it?? I have a gut feeling so just trying to materialize it. If you dont have my contact info you can contact directly through the channel page or on the website. should go to my inbox John

This right here, is something no one has really mentioned. So, if you are under contract with them and you default on your end of the deal they can send it off to claims?? I truly hope you didnt have to experience this first hand. Thank you for bringing up this very important point!! 🫡🫡 John

Thank you!! John

Such kind words!!! Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it! it was a pleasure to connect with and interview David. Always nice to get a little peek behind the curtain and go a little deeper with people. John

In your experience, what has been the most important thing for you getting / maintaining a job outside of the military? Have the degrees helped? Has any of your experience changed over time that you’ve noticed?

@@militaryretirementpodcast gaining a skill! I have a masters degree in international relations and it’s my computer and PMP skills that get me paid.

He is indeed a really great American. It was such a pleasure and honor to do this interview.

Its easy when one is Army and one is UMGC!! 🫡🫡 thanks for hanging with us

Indeed they can, to US states and territories for sure. Hawaii and Alaska. Just not to Europe/Asia

Usually i am flying into Baltimore BWI. As far as the request form you just put in USA… You can certainly put a specific location if you want. John

Also, re-reading your question… Your desired Conus locations should try to align with destinations that are available from where you are flying. or stringing together a couple places in order to get to the final place you want to go to. Just write them in the boxes. John

@@militaryretirementpodcastthanks John, so when I show up to the Pax terminal (CONUS) and the Space A portal shows I want to fly to the USA, how do they know if I want to fly to Travis, Norfolk, or Patrick?

@tedbates1316 in that case you can put the locations of Travis, Norfolk etc. in just did an updated video this week that goes into a little more detail here th-cam.com/video/5x8YoY0Uzrg/w-d-xo.htmlsi=d7w5yR1rKwiUPoYT

Also we just finished our weekly livestream but if you need something quickly or want to chat about it on the live feel free to tune in and drop comments there. Every sunday 11am EST

You used all your post 9/11 and you mgib and vr&e? John

Really appreciate that!! 🫶🏼 Its not always going to be military service. There will always be seasons of change and we try to make sure everyone is prepared for that next season of life. John

Traveling to another state in the united states? no. Traveling outside of us borders to a foreign country, yes, and depending where you want to go overseas you might also need a country clearance(ie Spain) John

@@militaryretirementpodcastthanks John ! Trying to register for a Hawaii flight with my family but our passports got stolen not too long ago .I know it was a knuckle head question. What about for children under 10, I have a 3 year old , what docs would he need if you have the time to answer

Always have time to try to answer. As far as Hawaii is concerned, yes it is technically overseas, but it is a US state so the is no requirement for a passport to travel to Hawaii. For the kiddos im not 100% sure. If they are id card age then take their military id. For the little one i would keep a copy of the birth certificate on hand just in case (and keep is somewhere safe so you dont loose it. Does that make sense? No knucklehead questions. let me know if you need anything else. im on TH-cam CQ duty right now hahah 😂😂

@@militaryretirementpodcastthank you! I think we’re leave my son with the my parents , since me and my wife would have to drive to San Diego tonight to make the flight so we can’t take a chance on not being able to take him without certain documents since haha , gonna register right now . Thank you!

Also, just call the passenger terminal in SD before you leave. They can fill you in on any last minute details, always the absolute best idea to do that if you are really unsure about things!!! safe travels and let us know how it went when you get a chance!!! John 🫡

Depends on status and rating, but personally if you are a Veteran and you are pursuing a career that might require a degree, and you are already rated at least 10% disabled, i would look at VR&E as my very first option. If they can approve you for a program that will cover your schooling, then you retain your post 9/11 benefits and they handle it with VR&E money. Second option would be then post 9/11 and then reach out at some point to see if you rate the regular GI Bill (or reach out first before starting school) John

Is that one base you signed up for your final destination? I usually try to sign up for all the possible bases i anticipate as possible points along the way personally. You can always go on the amc site and sign up through their form. it gives you a few options for destinations. Feel free to elaborate or ask anything else. I will be hopefully doing a hop soon from Italy back to the states and try to record as much as i can on the way. Probably time for me to do some updated videos either way. John

@@militaryretirementpodcast thanks, no I did some others. It just seemed odd the email from transcom saying I was signed up, not from a single installation, that's why I was asking. Be nice you sign up for one and on the list for all. Just saying.

@EasternAmerica Yep totally agree. Ive been doing the multi email thing for years and years. I used to just send one email and tag all of the PAX terminals in the to: line. The online form now seems to me to be super simple. The only hickup i could see is some super small NGB base but even then, if they see you have one signup email it should suffice. Just be nice when you approach the counter 😅. Safe travels and let us know how it went!! John

@@militaryretirementpodcast that's a big help, thanks a bunch 😎👍💯🇺🇲

looking into it now. ive heard about it just didnt dive down the rabbit hole yet. thank you 🫡 John

I saw some mention of it but just havent dove into it yet. I will take a look at it more this. Thank you for pointing this out to everyone!! 🫡 john

Morning. The only way you can use Space A as a 4 year Veteran is if you are 100% disabled, and that would limit you to US locations and territories only, nothing outside of the US locations. With 4 years you dont have any “status” as you would if you were Retired, Medically Retired, or 100% disabled. Hope that makes sense. john

Thank you for your kind words and your support of what we are doing. Hope it is helpful for you. john

You and your husband are active duty (Cat III)? If I knew your status it would be easier to answer. Generally. Cat III spouse can accompany their service member on house hunting TDY, accompany on regular leave status. if their service member is deployed for 365 days or more then and only then can the dependents travel on their own. These are the AMC rules top down. but let me know if this is what you are looking for. - John