Reflection
April 25th, 2022 As I quickly approached the one-year mark of when I retired from the Air Force and began work at Amazon, I thought it prudent to look back and reflect on what I have learned and how I feel. First, I've learned that I made the right decision to retire when I did. If I didn't retire, I would have moved out of Command position into a staff position, and there was a high probability in this new position that I would soon deploy once onboarded. Don't get me wrong, I was really excited about the staff position because I felt I could have continued some of the work I started 3 years ago while in the same headquarters, but the thought of going yet to another vacation destination somewhere in the middle east for 7ish months didn't sound appealing to Amy or me. Also, the Air Force was all I knew….at 42 years young. I was pretty successful in my military career. I enjoyed 99% percent of my time in the Air Force, but I always had this thought in my head "could I make it in the real world?". After going through onboarding training at Amazon, I felt pretty overwhelmed trying to understand a new culture, new ways to communicate, new personnel, new pay, new benefits, and, o'yeah the new job…so for about 6 months, I wasn't sure if I made the right choice. After that 6 month mark, I began to settle into my new role and see some of the stress dissolve. It didn't help that I was onboarded in the summer, which is the busiest time for the area in which I work (construction side of the business), but because of the steep learning curve, I think I picked it up pretty quick. This is when I could finally say that I made the right decision. The culture is incredible, the people are great, and I really enjoy my job. Amazon does a great job focusing on its leadership principles. Everyone I work with lives them….still amazes me, and I am proud to tell people I work for Amazon. Also, the flexibility of my position is a real plus…I work from home when I'm not visiting sites. Yep, looking back, retiring when I did was the best decision for my family and me…other than the people, I don't miss my old work life one bit. As I alluded to above, I feel great about my decision. I am super happy that Amazon decided to give me a shot because leaving what you know to be true for so long into the unknown is pretty nerve-racking. I knew Amy, and I would be ok financially as we have been preparing for her and my retirement for some time and subscribed/lived Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace plan a few years ago…yep, I still remember Amy calling me when I was last deployed, saying "I can't wait until we pay off this house so I can buy whatever kind of cheese I want ." Still makes me laugh when I think about it today. But taking money out of the equation, "the purpose" is what I think I was most anxious about… can I make it outside the institution of the Military?..will I be able to conform to the civilian way of doing things verses just being the guy sitting behind the desk, getting fed information and making decisions? Of course, this was compounded with a few people telling me how hard it is for senior officers to transition and find jobs…lets face it, when I looked at my qualifications on paper, I might have been suitable to be a mall cop. Luckily, I had a friend and old boss who got picked up by Amazon the year prior and he and I stayed in touch. He really spent some time with me getting me ready for my interview with Amazon and helping me process what the transition meant. Jeff's words "remember you are interviewing Amazon, just as much as they are interviewing you. You're in a great position financially, where you don't need to work". I also need to shout out to the Military and Family Readiness Center staff Joint Base San Antonio. The whole team was also great on helping me getting ready for the interviews….All of them were super excited that I got the job. Now that I'm in full swing and got an outstanding annual appraisal from my Amazon Manager, I know I can make it on the outside; the doubt is put to rest.
But as that question was minimalized, another one popped in "Will I be ok not working?"… I'm committed to seeing the answer, as I have already told my boss that I will be leaving after "Peak" (summer build season) this year and going with Amy and the kids on our next adventure in life. Time will only tell if I'm ok not working. will leave it in God's hands.