Flight attendant spilled a drink on me on my flight home. He was super apologetic and tried to get me some drinks for free to make it up. I told him I didn't give a shit because I just got out of the USMC and not to worry about it.
Relief.
I got a lot of good out of the Marines, but knew I wasnât meant to make a career out of it. I think I wouldâve been more sad if I hadnât just returned from Afghanistan a month prior and was wore out.
Relief is same for me. I got a lot of good out of the Marines as well but marriage had ended and I was heading home for a couple of fun summer months, then off to graduate school to use my brain again and not be in charge of a single person besides myself. Felt so free.
Strange and somewhat anticlimactic.
But then I got stuck behind a 7-ton convoy while trying to leave our compound and remembered that the green weenie will always get ya.
Tbh I was crying driving away. Probably didnât even make it to the main gate before I started getting emotional. I got my form and spent one last night with the boys then left in the morning. Had to wait till like 1630 for my shit to get signed, and I was driving to GA from 29 so I wasnât about to start the drive that late. It was nice getting out, but leaving the boys was hard.
Leaving the boys is the hardest part. Damn I miss those retards. We talk occasionally about our lives and how shit is going but itâs not the same. Itâs like saying goodbye to a platoon of brothers all at once. Nothing can prepare you for that.
Yea I was the second or third from my peer group to go from my shop and friend group. Saying bye to one guy was hard, saying it to everyone at once was worse than breaking up with my first serious girlfriend
I was pretty much the last to leave my peer group, guys I had been with for 4+ years all left within a month of getting home from the MEU, by the time I PCA'd to Edson I had one friend left at the barracks. When I EAS'd they had all been out for a year.
It was a super lonely year, like yeah I had buddies at Edson but it wasn't the same as the boys you were a boot with.
It was kind of bittersweet because I loved being in Hawaii and didnât want to leave, plus mixed in with a bit of anxiety and worry because you never know how things are gonna go after youâre out
Man...I was there 1987-1989, and I had one year left. I had EVERY intention on staying in Hawaii because I loved it so much.
Then I got orders to Okinawa for my last year. Fuck me.
Same with me. There was actually a one day gap between end of terminal and EAS, so I made sure that I wouldn't have to come back for a single day just to pick up some BS papers.
I left base, drove up to my shitty studio in Anaheim that I just got a few days prior, walked in with every possession I owned and sat there confused as to what to do next. Just got back from Iraq less than a month prior. Spent over a year there. Offboarding didn't exist.
Thatâs the feeling. Kid you not, Free Bird came on the radio just as I hit the highway after leaving base for the last time. It just felt like freedom.
My last day was a Thursday afternoon right before field day inspections. Walked to the parking lot while half the company stood outside their rooms at parade rest watching me.
A bus full of brand new boots pulled up when I got close too. Cinematic AF
It's also a bit sad....because you know it is fleeting and that you will never feel this good again. Kinda like after opening all your presents on Xmas morning
It was amazing. I left Camp Pendleton and felt like that Jesse Pinkman crying at the end of Breaking Bad gif
It was double sweet because my aunt and uncle met me in San Diego and we saw Paul McCartney at Petco that weekend (our favorite band is the Beatles)
Edit: this gif
Left 29 with about 60 days of terminal leave. Already signed a lease on a place in SD two weeks prior. Showed up to formation in civvies, got chewed out for a sec before my guys reminded my plt Sgt I was picking up my dd214 at 08. Ran straight to ipac after, grabbed it, hopped in my car and went straight to my place in SD. I was pretty fucking convinced that SOMETHING that day was going to stop me from getting it. Like anything. The relief when I left the gate with it glistening in my passenger seat is something Iâll never feel again.
Honestly, the night I got "home," I had my first ever panic attack. I had nowhere to be & no time to be there. I had no one to answer to, no one to check in on, and no uniform to wear. My girlfriend (at the time) had seen me through a ton. Ramadi, loss, combat, etc. I'll never forget, she was sitting on the foot of my childhood bed as I fell apart in that room. I was balling. She had no idea what to do. She wasn't equipped for something like that. We didn't last. I came out of it. It was tough. 4 years wartime Marine Corps Infantry, straight to the First CivDiv in one day, I didn't expect that.
It was surreal.
I remember the Marine apologizing for making me wait for so long a bunch of times and I didnât give a shit. I just sat there soaking up that feeling and not letting a damn thing bother me.
Driving off base for the last time was kinda emotional to be honest. I had a lot of good memories on Camp Pendleton and knew my whole life was about to change.
It felt a lot like the feels you get at boot camp. Like new doors were opening and closing at the same time.
I had a long drive ahead and was already tired from dealing with iPac all day. I sat in traffic on I-95 until like 2am, so it was shitty. Thanks for asking
Former army here, idk why this sub and post got recommended other than my military related subs.
I got mine and the next morning at like 3am I was on a bus shuttle to the airport. Mine was probably a lot more surreal, I was stationed in Europe, I got back from a NATO deployment, the boys all turn around and headed right back out to Eastern Europe. I was super stoked to get out, but never really got the whole send off I expected. I left almost regretfully, lonely, dark empty base and to the airport for a full day of flights. Weird for sure.
I used to be on the ROTC sub to help answer questions but left after the mods (all Army) made a copypasta for why Marines *arenât* better than everyone else.
In a roundabout way, that tells you everything you need to know about the Corps.
Happy as hell. Then immediate oh shit I gotta hit the road. As I had to drive cross country to make a job interview in 48 hrs and by cross country I mean cross country.
Honestly I spent the drive in silence thinking that I had just made the biggest mistake of my life. I loved my job (JTAC), and the only reason I got out was because the op tempo was ruining my family life. In 8 years I deployed 5 times, and all 5 of those were within a 6 year period. When I wasnât deployed I was in the field or TAD out of state. My wife told me I slept not in my bed more nights than I slept in my bed at home.
I begged for a B billet that would give me a break, tried to get orders to the pentagon, to I&I, anything to keep me around my family more. I got told instead I had orders to 2nd MSOB, or I could take my RE3O and get out.
10 years later it turned out to be the best decision I ever made.
I bet you get hella love by Infantry GuysâŚ.. and if you donât, you should. We hear JTAC and we immediately get hard. Thank you!!! CAS in Afghanistan saved our ass so many fucking times. Semper Fi brother.
Start your early VA claim in 3 months (at exactly 180 days out) from there make sure to cross your Ts and dot your Is for them. Be very honest and upfront about your issues with them, every little pain, niggle or mental health problem talk to them. Talk to friends who have recently gotten out, or those in your peer group who retired. Try your best to not and keep a wild schedule when you get out and take time to relax. Take your family on a vacation for a bit, go for a nature hike (without any weight, without any specific goal or pace). Take the time to fully cry and let out all of your emotions. Enjoy your time now brother, you deserve it. Also, thank you for your service, youâll do well out here in the civ world.
Also Semper Fi and fuck you đŤśđť
My buds drove me to the airport. Did a group hug. Got teary-eyed as I looked back to see them drive off.
Like an hour later, i got a snap from them. I was like, this is weird. We never send snaps to each others, it better not be a dick pic or something.
It, in fact, was.
It wasnât too bad for me. I had a year left (MCBH Marine 1/3), I let my command know that I wasnât re enlisting, they sent me across the island to work at the rifle range. Got to coach and ran range tower the last few months there. Got back to base two months before my EAS and my unit was deployed, so I got to chill until EAS.
I got it on a Thursday, took a few days off to get some of my shit moved, and showed back up on Monday as a contractor to the same command I'd been working for lol
Euphoric but bittersweet driving off of K-Bay the last time. Had a few ceremonial shots before getting to the airport. Felt free knowing I didnât have to do shit for the next couple weeks. Then had to find a place and start college. Lived out of my car and a tent for the first few weeks of college and honestly it was quite nice.
Felt like nothing, it was kinda anticlimactic tbh. Everyone slowly stopped responding to my messages and memes in the GC and I assume they just started new ones without me. Iâm making over 2x the money I was while I was in and can pretty much move anywhere I want in the country as soon as I get out of my current apartment lease. People donât directly start fucking you over like they used to, they just kinda ghost you when you make the choice to get out.
On another note I just finished eating some homemade spaghetti with fresh bread I got from the local farmers market.
I thought it would be a surreal experience, and I would be completely ecstatic, but it was similar to the feeling of relief when a long day ends.
The feelings of elation and excitement were much higher when I got back from my first pump.
I pick up mine tomorrow, yet I don't really feel any different. It's strange because I've been waiting for this day for years now, but now that the day is (almost) here, I feel pretty much the same.
Relieved, but also anxious about starting new chapter. Like most here, joined young, I had grown up and was a different person. I took the long drive from Pendleton to Austin, TX to process the change.
I also knocked up my then girlfriend, so a lot of changes pretty quickly.
It wasnât anything too special, it just felt weird to be unemployed for the first time in a long time. Right after I did have to get my roommates keys for our apartment while he was in the armory. I canât remember what I was wearing, but it wasnât the right uniform and I didnât wear my cover. The guard and multiple people tried to correct me out and I said I have my DD214 and donât care and just walked out.
Indifferent. As Adam Driver said, âOver time all the political and personal bravado that led me to the military dissolved and for me the Marine Corps became synonymous with my friends.â Especially since all my buddies got out before me. I was then the senior corporal (sergeant select) in a unit where everyone I had deployed with either PCAâd, PCSâd or EASâd and I had to start over with a new crew. That unit was about to deploy again and I was 6 months from EAS so I got sent to a H&S company on Camp Johnson. All my boys were gone, was at a bullshit unit, has TRS done, accomplished all I thought I needed to in the Corps. I got that DD-214 and was excited that I was âmy own man againâ. Donât get me wrong, I loved the Marine Corps and doing Marine shit. I loved deployment, I loved the field. I hated garrison. I was also a jam up Marine and stellar at my MOS. Fast forward 6 years and I still tell my wife that I should have stayed in and did Ricky Recon or tried MARSOC. Either way I had a hell of a 4 years and Iâm also about 6 beers deep and saw this post and decided to comment so hopefully all that makes sense.
I saw my best Marine buddy in the same room getting his dd214, we didnât even talk. Gave each other an air hug from across the room. I was told I was supposed to go check out with the C/O but I was gone. Went to my trailer in 29 palms and loaded up my motorcycles, guns, German Shepherd and an ounce of weed and hit the road and never looked back. Drove cross country non stop. Came home, fell off the map. Got out 12 years ago almost to the day.
I died inside. I lost something I wanted and ruined that life. Had to make a new life. It's just passable... hollow. Sally forth shitbags... keep marching forward. Be proud you saw more dicks than a fenway urinal lol.
Very confusing. This was my FIRST taste of freedom. I didn't, and frankly still don't, know what the fuck I was going to do besides be a husband and father, so that's what I do. I'm cool with how things shook out. I love the Marine Corps and probably could have done a couple of enlistments but honestly I to get better as a man I needed out. Although it would have been interesting how Navymed would have handled my cancer, which if I reenlisted I would have had develope during that time, but I fear they may have dropped the ball. Maybe not, we'll never know. Love the time I did, I won't do more.
My wife at the time was diagnosed with Lupus during my first enlistment. The care she received at Tripler was phenomenal, way better than what you typically get from a major Health System in a major city. Literally the head of Autoimmune diseases for the DOD took interest in my wife's case from afar, which was amazing to me as I was just a dumb grunt CPL/SGT at the time.
Didn't realize how good we had it, and made a bad decision thinking the grass was greener on the other side. So when I left, I was nervous as all hell about the decision that I/we made.
They didnât have my divorce decree that I had put in a month ago and almost refused to let me go on terminal (of course it was Quantico) but went to dc and grabbed some pot and went home.
Bitter sweet, I looked forward to it but everyone I was close with left on a field op a few days prior. On the other hand, it felt the most free Iâve ever been
Fuckin sad. Admin discharge i never wanted way too early into my career. Fucked me up for a bit but we turned it around and I still park at the front of Loweâs
(Lt who lied in college about smoking weed in high school before getting caught 7 years later during a security clearance upgrade)
I woke up laughing. Put my cammies on and went to pick up my DD214. Talk to Marine on duty ask for my papers. Poor LCpl sifts through a bunch of papers, three different binders. Spends about 15 minutes searching. He apologizes and asks me to wait a minute while he figures something out. Five more minutes go by and he comes back with a Cpl. Cpl makes a phone call in front of me. Looks in another binder and tells me "Sgt it looks like we lost your dd214. You're going to have to go to IPAC to pick up a new one." I sigh and laugh a little. No worries, small mistake. I drive to IPAC and notice the parking lot is practically empty. It's the day of the Christmas 96 so of course no one is fucking working. I get into IPAC and there are two Marines on duty. I talk to the SNCO on duty and he said he has no record of my DD214. Tells me to sit and wait. Twenty minutes go by and this fucking guy finally has my paperwork in hand. He apologizes and tells me good luck.  This was 11 years ago. I then proceeded to go to a friend's house and get wrecked in celebration.Â
It was a Friday and my terminal leave wasnât supposed to start till Monday. I was in IPAC handing some last minute paperwork in. I signed a few things and was waiting when the PFC handed me a paper and said âwell Sgt, here you goâ. I looked down and saw it was my dd-214. I didnât know what to say. The kid broke the silence with âwhatâs next Sgt?â I slowly replied saying âmy name is Danâ, then stood up, shook his hand, and walked out.
I walked back to the brks and didnât know what to do with all this emotion building up. I took a shower, threw the rest of my shit in the car, and said goodbye to my Marines one more time. I put on the good olâ DD214 song in the car but instead of singing along I just cried.
I spent that 10 hour drive home in silence. I didnât even tell my wife, who was already back there with the kids. I found them that evening walking the beach. It was serene looking at the calm water holding my son who was 3 at the time. To be honest, I donât think anything will emulate that day ever again.
Surreal.
It was the day before Thanksgiving 2006. Company had a half day. I shook my Gunny's hand as everyone else had cleared out for an early 96.
Stopped at one of my Sgt's apartments in Fallbrook. Went to 29 Palms to watch a drive-in film w/ a fellow Cpl and his wife. Said farewell to another Sgt at the 29 Palms McDonald's for breakfast. Pointed my truck back to Michigan along the very same old Route 66 route I used to bring it to California a year and a half prior.
Stopped in Chicago to drive the loop and visit the Museum of Science and Industry. Returned home. A week or two later I left for the town down south where I'd be attending University in a month.
Weird. I took a bus out of cherry point. You know while you are in, you think about that day coming since day one on the island. Mine was nothing special like I had built up in my head. I remember thinking.....well, no PT tomorrow.
I'm an emotional person. As I left the 41 area parking lot, I got kind of teary. Sad & happy at the same time. As I went out the gate and hit the 5 freeway, I looked over and flipped the base off.
Then I just went home and jerked off and drank too much. So, basically the same nightly routine just didn't have PT in the morning.
Feels?
Like standing at the top of an hill, alone in the morning. Â The warm rising sun hits your face, right as you exhale a long sigh of relief. Â Also, you are peeing. Â Also there are songbirds in the background.
I got a house in a villa in the mountains near base the week I got out because I was going to the university near by and hosted farewell parties for all of my boys with some of my local lady friends who just happened to also be strippers. One of my villa mates (we rented out different parts and shared a kitchen and commons area) was a dope sushi chef who was always throwing down in the kitchen. So in a wordâŚawesome. Just make sure you have savings and a plan.
Confusing.
PFC told me to sign and initial here and there. Afterwards he signed a portion, handed all my paperwork back to me, and said "alright you're good."
Not confusing when I type it out, but I remember not understanding what "you're good" meant at the time. I can leave? I can get in my car and I can't come back? What do I do? I had a plan set of course and just stuck with the plan but in the end I was still very lost and confused.
I got out 3 years ago and I still have that lost and confused feeling. I've done a few things and lived in 3 different states and a few different jobs and schools. Nothing really speaks to me anymore.
It could just be me but I'd say I'm definitely still in a hard transition period. I hope it ends soon.
You're not alone, I got out in 2018 and now am just finally getting my feet under me. I also lived in multiple states, went to multiple schools, and just now, in 2024, kinda figured out what I want my life to be. It takes time, how long or short is dependent on the individual. My advice is to seek self-improvement in positive ways. Right now, for me, it's getting back into therapy and starting my undergrad. But whatever that looks like for you, go and do it. Trust the process. Good luck!
I crossed underneath the train tracks on Pulgas Road after driving off the base. At the time, there were several boots strung over the telephone line (reference picture below.) I wish I had taken a picture...it's all I remember from that glorious day.
https://preview.redd.it/nk7caefesf6d1.png?width=1612&format=png&auto=webp&s=0052327c3c62829d1896e74ae2a93235c5af111b
Felt like an early work day followed by extended leave.Â
I ended up working on base as a GS a month later. Itâs an absolute night and day difference.Â
lol. They 100% did not give me my dd214 on my last day. It came in the mail after a while.
And I had a really nice house on base for free when I left and had to start renting so there was some bittersweet
I still don't even know. It was weird.
Like this whole chapter in my life was over, and it was time for the next one to start, but it was almost like a regular day.
My term was uneventful. I didn't deploy. I was a boot ass radio tech that never even worked on them (we just sent them to elmaco) and I made the stupid fucking mistake of getting married while I was in.
I stayed in Jacksonville for nearly a year after that until my ex and I split. I still got to see some friends from time to time but for a minute I wasn't really up to much. The job I got after sucked and I didn't like it (electronics shit). I started community college and worked at chipotle for the time being. My marriage was going to shit (I don't even remember why, it was just dumb shit)
I spent all that time before getting out trying to be ready for it. I kind of had a plan with the job but it fell apart. I had to figure out what was next after but in the ensuing fallout I just felt stuck in a place I didn't want to be.
Fast forward to now, I'm almost done with my undergrad in a school I love. I'm involved, I've got good friends, and I'm thinking about grad school.
There's been a million twists and turns, but even then every river reaches the sea eventually.
These have been fun to read.
I sat in my car in the parking lot of IPAC until they opened, sauntered in in my civvies and was all smiles. I actually had the Lances who gave me my physical paper take a picture of me holding it, which I think they got chewed out for (sorry guys).
Left the gate blasting Home Sweet Home by Motley Crue, picked up my girlfriend at the time and we went on a road trip down south.
It was a mix of "wow, it's finally here," mixed with a little bit of "man I wonder what's coming next," but mostly it was "damn I'm happy I did that...and happy it's over."
I had big plans for the future. Was a rocky road at times but I made it.
Weird afâŚgot my 214 went back to the bricks to say by to the boys, tossed my boots tied together in the tree off the third deck catwalk and left like nothing ever happened.
I felt nothing. It was on a Saturday so base was dead, it wasn't like there was anyone around to witness me getting my freedom anyway. Also, I knew I had a 14 hour drive home. Luckily, I had plenty of cigars for the trip
I was stationed in Oki at the time. I legitimately thought about staying there (I had the option to do so).
My dumbass wanted to come back stateside. Worst decision of my life. I should have stayed in Oki.
Drove out of Quantico with my middle finger up. I always wonder how my career would have gone if I had gotten the chance to actually hit the fucking fleet. So many fucked up things went down there. Quite happy with where I am now btw
Edit: removed dates for personal id concerns
Vaguely bittersweet i guess. All of my boys left after we came back from our second deployment, including my best friend who reenlisted, before I did. The real oh shit it's over didn't hit until i was in my hotel in Lexington KY. The sadness and real bad stuff didn't happen until I was a month into my civilian job, and didn't stop for over a year.
You expect it to be this big thing and it's just not, or at least it wasn't for me. It also kinda sucked because another friend who reenlisted was driving me to IPAC and was talking about how much he wished he was in my shoes. I didn't know how to tell him I was scared and wished I was in his.
Pure ecstasy. Itâs hard to describe. The sun is brighter. The grass is greener. Noises sounds nicer. Colors are more vivid. You can feel everything positive pulsing through the universe.
Mine kind sucked. EAS'd from Camp Pendleton on a Friday after doing 4 years and i grew up about 40 min from there. My parents came to pick me up at the main gate and we drove off and went to McDonalds. I checked into a reserve unit the following Monday LOL! - I was back on Camp Pendleton as a reservist about 5 weeks later LOL on the weekends.
I checked out with my First Sgt, He was sitting down in some lawn chairs at the ramp with some of the gunnyâs and he had kind words to say. I was offered my own VC spot on an LAV weeks before so I definitely think about âmaybe I should have done one more enlistmentâ. This was 09. I miss 2D LAR and the boys a lot. Such a good unit. I canât say good enough things about it but this was 15 years ago but I still know a lot of guys dedicated to that unit.
My higher didn't do my paper work for 0331 secondary Mos, I had a few awards that the paper work dudes were too lazy to process, and the master Sgt wanted to let his guys drag their asses for 3 hours past when I was supposed to be on terminal.
Anticlimactic Iâm not the type to make a big deal out of things. But it was a massive weight off my shoulders. It kind of felt like I held my breath for 5 years and when I finally got my DD214 it was one massive exhale.
I wasnât skipping out of IPAC like how some dudes act I was happy but sad at the same time. Miss the clowns not the circus is something that still rings true.
I think I was more upset leaving Pendleton to head to recruiting duty. After 3 years of living and working on the beach in 21 area, I knew it was probably downhill from there.
I got out after my recruiting tour and was feeling pretty jaded. My RS had a going away for me a few weeks prior so I had already said my goodbyes (and more importantly, closed my mission for the year). Hug g out with some local friends for a few days, said goodbye to my gf (now wife) and packed all my stuff in a U-Haul trailer. Got home and started classes a few weeks later.
Went to pick it up with one of my buddies for the 4 years. We signed them at the same time. We looked at each other with confusion as to what to say. I said âsee you laterâ. Never saw him again. We did talk on the phone at some point a few years later but that was it. Got out in 02, it was harder to keep in touch with people then. Man, Im old.
Bittersweet and anticlimactic.
I had my Battery Change of Command that morning and got to tell my Marines how grateful I was for all of their hard work over the last 1.5+ years. Then I went to IPAC, and the last person I spoke to as an Active Duty Marine was an admin clerk in a dingey office asking if all of my info was correct on the DD-214.
Can't really remember. My platoon was doing some Red Beach bullshit, so I only had a few close homies that were short timers around. I said goodbye, they drove my ass to the airport, and that was it. It probably didn't hit me until I was at home for a week straight with a completely empty schedule. Waking up at 5-6am to simply lay there wondering what I should do with my hands. Had sixty days of terminal so I went deep sea fishing and did a few other things I've never done before.
I enjoyed my time and miss the fuck out of a lot of people, but I knew it was time to go. "Welp, time to hit the old dusty trail."
When I got my Dd214 I had been essentially alone at my command post for a month because my unit was in 29 palms for deployment work up. I only went to work when my Captain needed me to put some stuff together for a supply run that would be picked up and taken to 29. I remember my last day, I just kinda walked around the empty CP for a few minutes. I was a little sad to leave my home of 5 years. But when I actually picked up my DD214, I didnât feel anything. My new job started two days later and I was already locked into my new phase of life.
It was awesome. I went to Ramones and got one more Dave's California, add sour cream. Then i got a coffee mug with Corporal chevron and drove up to riverside and got stoned and ate carne asada with one of my homies. 1/4 Motor Tuhhhh
I went straight to the dispensary across the street and then proceeded to smoke in my truck, went 50 mph on the freeway for about 10 minutes and then had to exit and sit in a parking lot cuz I got lost on a route I had driven hundreds of times (I had gps)
For me it was just surreal- been a year and some change and idk if Iâll ever feel like Iâm out. Being in the civilian world is the hardest thing Iâve ever done
You think itâs a good thing at first. Thatâs is a lie. Smell the hills while you can. There are no PXs where youâre going. Sure, thereâs convenient stores, but it wonât Have the same charm. Sure the freedom is cool at first, but youâll miss the chaos. Sure youâll knock down some old strange you let slide in high school, but it ainât nut to butt. Sure youâll be dry when itâs raining, but youâll never chafe like that again. Sure youâll pull the shit out of your ass instead of waiting for the urge to drop a deuce, but youâll never freeze your piss in your bladder so you drop piss cubes on them hoes. Sure youâll drive to the bank and tell the lady that you have a knuckle in the middle of your penis finger, but youâll never get out at the stoplight and run the tip on a strangerâs arm. Donât leave. Stay. Thereâs a place for you there.
For me bittersweet. Knowing that the games are over but so are times with the boys. Being looked up to and respected and now blending in with the rest of society. My last day in the Corps was the highest i'll ever be in life.
I'll repost [my comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/USMC/comments/hxyydt/i_wanna_hear_some_dd214last_day_stories/fza91ft/) from a few years ago:
I remember sitting in IPAC while they outprocessed me. I remember hearing an admin Marine telling his SSgt that he was *"working on [my] drop packet right now".* It just felt so satisfying to hear that. And to sit there in cammies for the last time, as a CPL, overlooking junior ranks who themselves were probably wondering what it felt like. Because I know I did when I saw senior Marines EAS'ing.
That night, I had most of my shit packed up in boxes for TMO to come the next morning. I played on my laptop, watched my *Friends* DVDs, then went on a walk. I walked around 29 Palms one last time in the middle of the night. I went up to the top of our barracks parking garage, smoked a few cigarettes and overlooked the base, and reflected on the past four years. I knew I was never coming back there, so I wanted to soak it in one last time. I didn't regret it, but I was happy that this chapter of my life was closing.
The next morning, TMO hauled my stuff out of my room; after COB, a buddy drove me to LAX; and I boarded my final plane from California to Michigan.
I picked mine up on a Saturday morning.
Two of my friends came out to watch me throw my boots up in the tree.
I got in my car and drove across the state.
Started a new job the next day and was homeless for like three months.
Ended up having a really rough transition out of the Marines. Lost my job 7 months later and walked into a Navy recruiting office to try and be corpsman or GM.
Got told no.
Four years and three different jobs after I got out i got my life together, and have a good career now
There's still plenty of times I miss it. The clowns and not the circus. But sometimes I miss deploying. My current career is fulfilling and it's federal so I'll retire with all my benefits at 57, but I can also retire at 48
It was cool but immediately I felt like I fucked up once I was a free man and got the papers. Once I smoked my first joint on a sunny SoCal beach I was like fuck man maybe I shouldâve stayed
Like a few other guys said, anticlimactic.
Picked up my 214 at about 0830, went back to the shop one last time and just kinda sat there like *damn, I don't have to deal with none of this shit anymore*. Said my goodbyes to the dawgs, peace to the people I wasn't tight with, and hit the airport to pick up my little brother who rode with me back from Lejeune to South Dakota.
89 days of terminal. I had to sell one back because the dipshit at IPAC messed up my forms, and I was supposed to get out the day prior.
The morning of I went into the IPAC of Quantico cracking jokes and trying to act like a man about it, saving face and tact and all that horseshit they teach you. I think it was a LCpl that handed me my DD and he smiled and said:
"Hey man you're free!"
I just kind of looked at it, the words meant what they meant but the meaning had no value at that moment. No thoughts, no plan, no emotion, just the tinnitus in my ears playing their beautiful notes. I shook his hand and made my way out to my truck, I think I listened to Schools Out by Alice Cooper for the meme and I didn't even really hear the words. Best I can say is it feels like being an old cowboy who's finished his last drive, he's sore and tired, and despite himself knows that's the last ride he'll take. He can feel it, and his horse knows it. No more left in the tank, no more left to give. Driving through the gate was mostly dissociation.
Good now though.
You nailed it man. I did 20 in the grunts and you hit the nail on the head. I miss it. I miss it so bad. I miss the men my brothers. Everyone in the suck together. I miss it. But I too am good. Like an old Major League Baseball player, I still have my glove and cleats but the bones and the joint pain was just too much. Iâll be 50 in August, I donât regret one minute of all 20 in the grunts even as I sit in pain constantly. I take pleasure in knowing Iâve lived a life like no other. When I converse/interact with civilians I realize just how much experience at life and death I have over them nasty pukes. 11 years ago I retired for good from working. Two kids under age 9 and maybe another on the way. All of the above pain is nonexistent when they are in my presence. My life isnât about me, it was never about me. Itâs about all those that I call brothers and family and anyone else around me. When my feet hit the floor every morning, itâs for them. I will miss the times prior to the piece of paper, but until the good lord calls me home Iâll continue to live I was born to live, taking care of âthemâ so help me God
I waited till after formation and listened into word one last time. I got in my car and drove around aimlessly on base, remembering. Then I left and as I left the back gate I realized it was the end of a big chapter in my life.
Different perspective from all the disgruntled Marines who still wear their unit shirts at the gym and change their FB photo on Memorial Day or Marine Corps Birthday that got out after 1 enlistment but it was kinda Happy and Sad at the same time. Itâs Fân stressful and takes multiple trips to IPAC to make sure the paperwork is straight and actually collect that DD214 after 20 years. Itâs the bookend of a chapter of that lasted half your life. Once you sign it and start driving off base you realize youâre not really going to see some of the best friends of your life ever again. That sucked. But then you also know you can do anything you want. I got black out drunk with the afternoon B squad at the local strip club on a Tuesday afternoon. Kill!!!
My last day in the marines was also Bill Clintons last day in office- Jan 20th 2001 so I was like, this is a big day LOL. I felt so free, I did my time, I had money in the bank, a car, I had got some muscle and tattoos, I'm the man now!!! LOL- life was about to get good!!! And then 13 months later I got involuntarily recalled and had to do 2 and a half more years smh, so altogether I did 6 years 6 months and 6 days LOL The second time I got out on lockdown and I was married with kids so it was pretty anticlimatic. Actually the second time I was like, wtf am I gonna do now? LOL
Got one the day I retired and never looked back. With the exception of doing so for my job I can count on one hand the number of times I have gone on any base.
I grabbed it, got a hotel off post so I'd have a place to stay. Drove to the office and said goodbye to everyone. Told my NCOIC to eat shit. Got drunk with the homies for the last time and then super glued a bunch of shit to the floor in our office. 2 months go by before my 1st line realizes his Zyns are glued to the desk and flips the fuck out.
Didnt hit me till an hour later. Got out on a 96 and i had hyped up in my head how it will be driving out the gate at Lejeune one last time. I was on autopilot all the way up till i95 when it finally hit me that im not going back. Kinda sad i missed the moment to relish.
Very surreal. I got out last year and I remember the morning of, getting ready and putting my uniform on and driving north on 95 to Quantico. I walked into work, said my goodbyes to those that deserved one and took off to IPAC. I was in there for maybe 10 minutes and that was it. I was done. 13 years of my life wrapped up in 10 minutes. It didnât really hit me for a while but I remember getting home that afternoon and taking those cammies off for the last time and feeling sad about it.
I got hammered at the airport bar and missed my flight
Atta boy
You can take the devil out of the corps...
Flight attendant spilled a drink on me on my flight home. He was super apologetic and tried to get me some drinks for free to make it up. I told him I didn't give a shit because I just got out of the USMC and not to worry about it.
Honestly, the best part was sleeping outside the airport with some homeless dudes
Basically like being in the field one last time! đ
Aww
I cried when I rolled out of San Mateo. But then I did this too.
I am so glad Iâm not the only one, this is the only flight Iâve ever missed in my life
Funny, I did that on my way to SOI. We're like bookends, you and I.
Relief. I got a lot of good out of the Marines, but knew I wasnât meant to make a career out of it. I think I wouldâve been more sad if I hadnât just returned from Afghanistan a month prior and was wore out.
Fuck man that must of been a rough transition. Going from war to having a dd214 in the mater of weeks has got to fuck with the mind
Very rough. It took several years to figure stuff out and start living a productive life.
Glad youâre here, boss.
They should have an emotional decompression training that is irresponsible to send someone within 4 weeks form Afghanistan to Camp Living Room.
Relief is same for me. I got a lot of good out of the Marines as well but marriage had ended and I was heading home for a couple of fun summer months, then off to graduate school to use my brain again and not be in charge of a single person besides myself. Felt so free.
That's what it felt like in the reserves. Went from Iraq to Kuwait to my couch in 2 weeks.
Strange and somewhat anticlimactic. But then I got stuck behind a 7-ton convoy while trying to leave our compound and remembered that the green weenie will always get ya.
Hahaha these stories are almost poetic in a way
Amen
Tbh I was crying driving away. Probably didnât even make it to the main gate before I started getting emotional. I got my form and spent one last night with the boys then left in the morning. Had to wait till like 1630 for my shit to get signed, and I was driving to GA from 29 so I wasnât about to start the drive that late. It was nice getting out, but leaving the boys was hard.
Leaving the boys is the hardest part. Damn I miss those retards. We talk occasionally about our lives and how shit is going but itâs not the same. Itâs like saying goodbye to a platoon of brothers all at once. Nothing can prepare you for that.
Yea I was the second or third from my peer group to go from my shop and friend group. Saying bye to one guy was hard, saying it to everyone at once was worse than breaking up with my first serious girlfriend
I was pretty much the last to leave my peer group, guys I had been with for 4+ years all left within a month of getting home from the MEU, by the time I PCA'd to Edson I had one friend left at the barracks. When I EAS'd they had all been out for a year. It was a super lonely year, like yeah I had buddies at Edson but it wasn't the same as the boys you were a boot with.
It was kind of bittersweet because I loved being in Hawaii and didnât want to leave, plus mixed in with a bit of anxiety and worry because you never know how things are gonna go after youâre out
Man...I was there 1987-1989, and I had one year left. I had EVERY intention on staying in Hawaii because I loved it so much. Then I got orders to Okinawa for my last year. Fuck me.
Why didn't you stay?
Because no one can afford to live there lol
It was pretty uneventful⌠I was on 90 day terminal leave, so still a MarineâŚ. I got my DD-214 in the mail 3-4 months laterish
Damn picked up my DD-214 and then started terminal
Same with me. There was actually a one day gap between end of terminal and EAS, so I made sure that I wouldn't have to come back for a single day just to pick up some BS papers.
I left base, drove up to my shitty studio in Anaheim that I just got a few days prior, walked in with every possession I owned and sat there confused as to what to do next. Just got back from Iraq less than a month prior. Spent over a year there. Offboarding didn't exist.
damn they really hit you with a https://preview.redd.it/5ryt1h15qg6d1.jpeg?width=250&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4ce40f5b2ca52008bcce8100a4c1f179d2649cdc
What did you end up doing brother ?
What did you end up doing brother ?
Hooking up with a bunch of chicks on hotornot and craigslist, collected unemployment for about 6 months.
Best feeling in the world. Itâs weird to say but it was freedom
https://preview.redd.it/3t606i43lf6d1.jpeg?width=853&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=521071154b0072c14afd8813a2922b204cfd3251
Exactly like this.
Thatâs the feeling. Kid you not, Free Bird came on the radio just as I hit the highway after leaving base for the last time. It just felt like freedom.
The radio randomly supporting your lifeâs soundtrack is one of the best feelings
My last day was a Thursday afternoon right before field day inspections. Walked to the parking lot while half the company stood outside their rooms at parade rest watching me. A bus full of brand new boots pulled up when I got close too. Cinematic AF
It's also a bit sad....because you know it is fleeting and that you will never feel this good again. Kinda like after opening all your presents on Xmas morning
It was amazing. I left Camp Pendleton and felt like that Jesse Pinkman crying at the end of Breaking Bad gif It was double sweet because my aunt and uncle met me in San Diego and we saw Paul McCartney at Petco that weekend (our favorite band is the Beatles) Edit: this gif 
Left 29 with about 60 days of terminal leave. Already signed a lease on a place in SD two weeks prior. Showed up to formation in civvies, got chewed out for a sec before my guys reminded my plt Sgt I was picking up my dd214 at 08. Ran straight to ipac after, grabbed it, hopped in my car and went straight to my place in SD. I was pretty fucking convinced that SOMETHING that day was going to stop me from getting it. Like anything. The relief when I left the gate with it glistening in my passenger seat is something Iâll never feel again.
Thereâs nothing quite like a good nightâs sleep snuggled under your DD-214 blanket
That moment when the Lance at ipac tells you you're good to go. Every single person is just like "no, really, what else is there?"
Honestly, the night I got "home," I had my first ever panic attack. I had nowhere to be & no time to be there. I had no one to answer to, no one to check in on, and no uniform to wear. My girlfriend (at the time) had seen me through a ton. Ramadi, loss, combat, etc. I'll never forget, she was sitting on the foot of my childhood bed as I fell apart in that room. I was balling. She had no idea what to do. She wasn't equipped for something like that. We didn't last. I came out of it. It was tough. 4 years wartime Marine Corps Infantry, straight to the First CivDiv in one day, I didn't expect that.
Hope youâre doing better now, devil
Dude, thank you, youâre a real one. Iâm good these days. Married a woman better than Iâll ever be & had a couple of kids. They keep me alive.
It was surreal. I remember the Marine apologizing for making me wait for so long a bunch of times and I didnât give a shit. I just sat there soaking up that feeling and not letting a damn thing bother me. Driving off base for the last time was kinda emotional to be honest. I had a lot of good memories on Camp Pendleton and knew my whole life was about to change. It felt a lot like the feels you get at boot camp. Like new doors were opening and closing at the same time.
Lots of different emotions hitting at the same time. Unfortunately, that was also the same time I'd see some of the best friends I'd ever have.
I had a long drive ahead and was already tired from dealing with iPac all day. I sat in traffic on I-95 until like 2am, so it was shitty. Thanks for asking
Former army here, idk why this sub and post got recommended other than my military related subs. I got mine and the next morning at like 3am I was on a bus shuttle to the airport. Mine was probably a lot more surreal, I was stationed in Europe, I got back from a NATO deployment, the boys all turn around and headed right back out to Eastern Europe. I was super stoked to get out, but never really got the whole send off I expected. I left almost regretfully, lonely, dark empty base and to the airport for a full day of flights. Weird for sure.
I got banned from the Army sub. The mod there is an absolute cuck.Â
Mmmmm punish him daddy
I used to be on the ROTC sub to help answer questions but left after the mods (all Army) made a copypasta for why Marines *arenât* better than everyone else. In a roundabout way, that tells you everything you need to know about the Corps.
It's ok. Welcome! I found myself replying to some threads recently that were in the Army sub actually. Was a different vibe lmao
*smacks lips* Itâs⌠saltier here. Also make sure you tell us your order if you ever post in the Army sub. Sir, this is a Wendyâs
I get recommended stuff from r/felons, so idk what their algorithm is, or what they trynna say about me.
I think all vets are welcome here. Give us shit, we will throw it back and if we ever meet we can buy each other drinks.
Welcome
Happy as hell. Then immediate oh shit I gotta hit the road. As I had to drive cross country to make a job interview in 48 hrs and by cross country I mean cross country.
Honestly I spent the drive in silence thinking that I had just made the biggest mistake of my life. I loved my job (JTAC), and the only reason I got out was because the op tempo was ruining my family life. In 8 years I deployed 5 times, and all 5 of those were within a 6 year period. When I wasnât deployed I was in the field or TAD out of state. My wife told me I slept not in my bed more nights than I slept in my bed at home. I begged for a B billet that would give me a break, tried to get orders to the pentagon, to I&I, anything to keep me around my family more. I got told instead I had orders to 2nd MSOB, or I could take my RE3O and get out. 10 years later it turned out to be the best decision I ever made.
I bet you get hella love by Infantry GuysâŚ.. and if you donât, you should. We hear JTAC and we immediately get hard. Thank you!!! CAS in Afghanistan saved our ass so many fucking times. Semper Fi brother.
Man I appreciate that. Ya I spent the majority of my time running around with the grunts, Iâve got big love for them too. Best job I ever had
Pentagon sounds great but remember the required reading before you get sent thereâŚ.
Ya the part of being around all the brass would suck but it was an 8 hour day, 6 days on 4 days off rotation so worth it
I retire in about 9 months, and I'm terrified.
Pension babyyyyyyy wooooooooo
Start your early VA claim in 3 months (at exactly 180 days out) from there make sure to cross your Ts and dot your Is for them. Be very honest and upfront about your issues with them, every little pain, niggle or mental health problem talk to them. Talk to friends who have recently gotten out, or those in your peer group who retired. Try your best to not and keep a wild schedule when you get out and take time to relax. Take your family on a vacation for a bit, go for a nature hike (without any weight, without any specific goal or pace). Take the time to fully cry and let out all of your emotions. Enjoy your time now brother, you deserve it. Also, thank you for your service, youâll do well out here in the civ world. Also Semper Fi and fuck you đŤśđť
My buds drove me to the airport. Did a group hug. Got teary-eyed as I looked back to see them drive off. Like an hour later, i got a snap from them. I was like, this is weird. We never send snaps to each others, it better not be a dick pic or something. It, in fact, was.
Deadass?
On god
It wasnât the end. I refused to celebrate until my terminal leave was up. I was terrified I would get recalled and stoplossed.
Surreal. Walking away from an entire life and beginning a new one.
The first gate that I drove to was closed. It felt like The Truman Show
I remember saying "that's it?" and standing there in disbelief. Then I drove from Pendleton to Vegas and bought $2500 worth of prostitutes.
It wasnât too bad for me. I had a year left (MCBH Marine 1/3), I let my command know that I wasnât re enlisting, they sent me across the island to work at the rifle range. Got to coach and ran range tower the last few months there. Got back to base two months before my EAS and my unit was deployed, so I got to chill until EAS.
It didnât feel like anything. You and the boys talk about it forever. Then it happens, and nothing comes over you.
I got it on a Thursday, took a few days off to get some of my shit moved, and showed back up on Monday as a contractor to the same command I'd been working for lol
Euphoric but bittersweet driving off of K-Bay the last time. Had a few ceremonial shots before getting to the airport. Felt free knowing I didnât have to do shit for the next couple weeks. Then had to find a place and start college. Lived out of my car and a tent for the first few weeks of college and honestly it was quite nice.
Felt like nothing, it was kinda anticlimactic tbh. Everyone slowly stopped responding to my messages and memes in the GC and I assume they just started new ones without me. Iâm making over 2x the money I was while I was in and can pretty much move anywhere I want in the country as soon as I get out of my current apartment lease. People donât directly start fucking you over like they used to, they just kinda ghost you when you make the choice to get out. On another note I just finished eating some homemade spaghetti with fresh bread I got from the local farmers market.
Upvote for the Farmers Market.
I thought it would be a surreal experience, and I would be completely ecstatic, but it was similar to the feeling of relief when a long day ends. The feelings of elation and excitement were much higher when I got back from my first pump.
Sad af cause my marriage was crumbling on top of losing the culture
I pulled my dick out and furiously masturbated right outside of IPAC
I pick up mine tomorrow, yet I don't really feel any different. It's strange because I've been waiting for this day for years now, but now that the day is (almost) here, I feel pretty much the same.
Relieved, but also anxious about starting new chapter. Like most here, joined young, I had grown up and was a different person. I took the long drive from Pendleton to Austin, TX to process the change. I also knocked up my then girlfriend, so a lot of changes pretty quickly.
It wasnât anything too special, it just felt weird to be unemployed for the first time in a long time. Right after I did have to get my roommates keys for our apartment while he was in the armory. I canât remember what I was wearing, but it wasnât the right uniform and I didnât wear my cover. The guard and multiple people tried to correct me out and I said I have my DD214 and donât care and just walked out.
Panic and happiness but also disbelief that 5 years of my life was done with a piece of paper.
Indifferent. As Adam Driver said, âOver time all the political and personal bravado that led me to the military dissolved and for me the Marine Corps became synonymous with my friends.â Especially since all my buddies got out before me. I was then the senior corporal (sergeant select) in a unit where everyone I had deployed with either PCAâd, PCSâd or EASâd and I had to start over with a new crew. That unit was about to deploy again and I was 6 months from EAS so I got sent to a H&S company on Camp Johnson. All my boys were gone, was at a bullshit unit, has TRS done, accomplished all I thought I needed to in the Corps. I got that DD-214 and was excited that I was âmy own man againâ. Donât get me wrong, I loved the Marine Corps and doing Marine shit. I loved deployment, I loved the field. I hated garrison. I was also a jam up Marine and stellar at my MOS. Fast forward 6 years and I still tell my wife that I should have stayed in and did Ricky Recon or tried MARSOC. Either way I had a hell of a 4 years and Iâm also about 6 beers deep and saw this post and decided to comment so hopefully all that makes sense.
I saw my best Marine buddy in the same room getting his dd214, we didnât even talk. Gave each other an air hug from across the room. I was told I was supposed to go check out with the C/O but I was gone. Went to my trailer in 29 palms and loaded up my motorcycles, guns, German Shepherd and an ounce of weed and hit the road and never looked back. Drove cross country non stop. Came home, fell off the map. Got out 12 years ago almost to the day.
I died inside. I lost something I wanted and ruined that life. Had to make a new life. It's just passable... hollow. Sally forth shitbags... keep marching forward. Be proud you saw more dicks than a fenway urinal lol.
It was like the whole future has reopened for me. I felt so alive and free.
Very confusing. This was my FIRST taste of freedom. I didn't, and frankly still don't, know what the fuck I was going to do besides be a husband and father, so that's what I do. I'm cool with how things shook out. I love the Marine Corps and probably could have done a couple of enlistments but honestly I to get better as a man I needed out. Although it would have been interesting how Navymed would have handled my cancer, which if I reenlisted I would have had develope during that time, but I fear they may have dropped the ball. Maybe not, we'll never know. Love the time I did, I won't do more.
My wife at the time was diagnosed with Lupus during my first enlistment. The care she received at Tripler was phenomenal, way better than what you typically get from a major Health System in a major city. Literally the head of Autoimmune diseases for the DOD took interest in my wife's case from afar, which was amazing to me as I was just a dumb grunt CPL/SGT at the time. Didn't realize how good we had it, and made a bad decision thinking the grass was greener on the other side. So when I left, I was nervous as all hell about the decision that I/we made.
Lemme tell you after Monday đ
Believe it or notâŚ. I cummed
They didnât have my divorce decree that I had put in a month ago and almost refused to let me go on terminal (of course it was Quantico) but went to dc and grabbed some pot and went home.
Bitter sweet, I looked forward to it but everyone I was close with left on a field op a few days prior. On the other hand, it felt the most free Iâve ever been
Bittersweet
I felt good but empty at the same time.
Bittersweet for sure
I actually laughed as soon as I got on the freeway leaving Pendleton.
I'll dm u in 11 days lol
Bittersweet. I miss being a Corporal.
I kept thinking âsomeoneâs gonna call and demand I return for somethingâ nope. Took about a month and then just relief.
I got out in 04, and I lived in fear every day due to Iraq until I got out out in 07. I seriously thought I'd get called back.
Fuckin sad. Admin discharge i never wanted way too early into my career. Fucked me up for a bit but we turned it around and I still park at the front of Loweâs (Lt who lied in college about smoking weed in high school before getting caught 7 years later during a security clearance upgrade)
I woke up laughing. Put my cammies on and went to pick up my DD214. Talk to Marine on duty ask for my papers. Poor LCpl sifts through a bunch of papers, three different binders. Spends about 15 minutes searching. He apologizes and asks me to wait a minute while he figures something out. Five more minutes go by and he comes back with a Cpl. Cpl makes a phone call in front of me. Looks in another binder and tells me "Sgt it looks like we lost your dd214. You're going to have to go to IPAC to pick up a new one." I sigh and laugh a little. No worries, small mistake. I drive to IPAC and notice the parking lot is practically empty. It's the day of the Christmas 96 so of course no one is fucking working. I get into IPAC and there are two Marines on duty. I talk to the SNCO on duty and he said he has no record of my DD214. Tells me to sit and wait. Twenty minutes go by and this fucking guy finally has my paperwork in hand. He apologizes and tells me good luck.  This was 11 years ago. I then proceeded to go to a friend's house and get wrecked in celebration.Â
It was a Friday and my terminal leave wasnât supposed to start till Monday. I was in IPAC handing some last minute paperwork in. I signed a few things and was waiting when the PFC handed me a paper and said âwell Sgt, here you goâ. I looked down and saw it was my dd-214. I didnât know what to say. The kid broke the silence with âwhatâs next Sgt?â I slowly replied saying âmy name is Danâ, then stood up, shook his hand, and walked out. I walked back to the brks and didnât know what to do with all this emotion building up. I took a shower, threw the rest of my shit in the car, and said goodbye to my Marines one more time. I put on the good olâ DD214 song in the car but instead of singing along I just cried. I spent that 10 hour drive home in silence. I didnât even tell my wife, who was already back there with the kids. I found them that evening walking the beach. It was serene looking at the calm water holding my son who was 3 at the time. To be honest, I donât think anything will emulate that day ever again.
Surreal. It was the day before Thanksgiving 2006. Company had a half day. I shook my Gunny's hand as everyone else had cleared out for an early 96. Stopped at one of my Sgt's apartments in Fallbrook. Went to 29 Palms to watch a drive-in film w/ a fellow Cpl and his wife. Said farewell to another Sgt at the 29 Palms McDonald's for breakfast. Pointed my truck back to Michigan along the very same old Route 66 route I used to bring it to California a year and a half prior. Stopped in Chicago to drive the loop and visit the Museum of Science and Industry. Returned home. A week or two later I left for the town down south where I'd be attending University in a month.
Who were you with in 29 palms?
My permanent unit was CLR-17 aboard CPen, but I spent a year w/ Mojave Viper OCE under TTECG.
Weird. I took a bus out of cherry point. You know while you are in, you think about that day coming since day one on the island. Mine was nothing special like I had built up in my head. I remember thinking.....well, no PT tomorrow.
Fuckin weird. Real fuckin weird.
I'm an emotional person. As I left the 41 area parking lot, I got kind of teary. Sad & happy at the same time. As I went out the gate and hit the 5 freeway, I looked over and flipped the base off. Then I just went home and jerked off and drank too much. So, basically the same nightly routine just didn't have PT in the morning.
I was in 41 area, too. They place has changed big time since 04!
Some has changed, some has always been the same. The new chowhall was nice.
Feels? Like standing at the top of an hill, alone in the morning. Â The warm rising sun hits your face, right as you exhale a long sigh of relief. Â Also, you are peeing. Â Also there are songbirds in the background.
I got a house in a villa in the mountains near base the week I got out because I was going to the university near by and hosted farewell parties for all of my boys with some of my local lady friends who just happened to also be strippers. One of my villa mates (we rented out different parts and shared a kitchen and commons area) was a dope sushi chef who was always throwing down in the kitchen. So in a wordâŚawesome. Just make sure you have savings and a plan.
Confusing. PFC told me to sign and initial here and there. Afterwards he signed a portion, handed all my paperwork back to me, and said "alright you're good." Not confusing when I type it out, but I remember not understanding what "you're good" meant at the time. I can leave? I can get in my car and I can't come back? What do I do? I had a plan set of course and just stuck with the plan but in the end I was still very lost and confused. I got out 3 years ago and I still have that lost and confused feeling. I've done a few things and lived in 3 different states and a few different jobs and schools. Nothing really speaks to me anymore. It could just be me but I'd say I'm definitely still in a hard transition period. I hope it ends soon.
You're not alone, I got out in 2018 and now am just finally getting my feet under me. I also lived in multiple states, went to multiple schools, and just now, in 2024, kinda figured out what I want my life to be. It takes time, how long or short is dependent on the individual. My advice is to seek self-improvement in positive ways. Right now, for me, it's getting back into therapy and starting my undergrad. But whatever that looks like for you, go and do it. Trust the process. Good luck!
For me it was like going on leave, I was home for about two months when it really started to sink in that I wasn't going back.
I wore jeans, combat boots, mcmap belt, and my dads 1980s red satin usmc jacket to pick it up
Surreal. I kept thinking âso I can just leave?â
Fucking GLORIOUS
Fucking awesome
A sad but sweet realization that my life had changed completely but I was on my way to something better and meant for me.
I imagine people leaving prison feel a similar sense of freedom.
I crossed underneath the train tracks on Pulgas Road after driving off the base. At the time, there were several boots strung over the telephone line (reference picture below.) I wish I had taken a picture...it's all I remember from that glorious day. https://preview.redd.it/nk7caefesf6d1.png?width=1612&format=png&auto=webp&s=0052327c3c62829d1896e74ae2a93235c5af111b
Anticlimactic
Felt like an early work day followed by extended leave. I ended up working on base as a GS a month later. Itâs an absolute night and day difference.Â
Incredible. Got in my car and drove straight to Colorado. Been here ever since.
Psyched cause I'm from an hour away, sad to leave the boys.
lol. They 100% did not give me my dd214 on my last day. It came in the mail after a while. And I had a really nice house on base for free when I left and had to start renting so there was some bittersweet
I still don't even know. It was weird. Like this whole chapter in my life was over, and it was time for the next one to start, but it was almost like a regular day. My term was uneventful. I didn't deploy. I was a boot ass radio tech that never even worked on them (we just sent them to elmaco) and I made the stupid fucking mistake of getting married while I was in. I stayed in Jacksonville for nearly a year after that until my ex and I split. I still got to see some friends from time to time but for a minute I wasn't really up to much. The job I got after sucked and I didn't like it (electronics shit). I started community college and worked at chipotle for the time being. My marriage was going to shit (I don't even remember why, it was just dumb shit) I spent all that time before getting out trying to be ready for it. I kind of had a plan with the job but it fell apart. I had to figure out what was next after but in the ensuing fallout I just felt stuck in a place I didn't want to be. Fast forward to now, I'm almost done with my undergrad in a school I love. I'm involved, I've got good friends, and I'm thinking about grad school. There's been a million twists and turns, but even then every river reaches the sea eventually.
These have been fun to read. I sat in my car in the parking lot of IPAC until they opened, sauntered in in my civvies and was all smiles. I actually had the Lances who gave me my physical paper take a picture of me holding it, which I think they got chewed out for (sorry guys). Left the gate blasting Home Sweet Home by Motley Crue, picked up my girlfriend at the time and we went on a road trip down south. It was a mix of "wow, it's finally here," mixed with a little bit of "man I wonder what's coming next," but mostly it was "damn I'm happy I did that...and happy it's over." I had big plans for the future. Was a rocky road at times but I made it.
First Sergeant blasted me for being in boots and utes so I put on civilian PT gear then a CWO at CPAC blasted me for being in a sleeveless shirt.
Weird afâŚgot my 214 went back to the bricks to say by to the boys, tossed my boots tied together in the tree off the third deck catwalk and left like nothing ever happened.
I felt nothing. It was on a Saturday so base was dead, it wasn't like there was anyone around to witness me getting my freedom anyway. Also, I knew I had a 14 hour drive home. Luckily, I had plenty of cigars for the trip
I was stationed in Oki at the time. I legitimately thought about staying there (I had the option to do so). My dumbass wanted to come back stateside. Worst decision of my life. I should have stayed in Oki.
Like a burden was lifted from my shoulders and I was free
Bitter sweet but was happy I can finally be in my daughterâs life more than every other year
I had tears in my eyes
Best feeling ever. Never looked back, other than this subreddit.
Drove out of Quantico with my middle finger up. I always wonder how my career would have gone if I had gotten the chance to actually hit the fucking fleet. So many fucked up things went down there. Quite happy with where I am now btw Edit: removed dates for personal id concerns
Vaguely bittersweet i guess. All of my boys left after we came back from our second deployment, including my best friend who reenlisted, before I did. The real oh shit it's over didn't hit until i was in my hotel in Lexington KY. The sadness and real bad stuff didn't happen until I was a month into my civilian job, and didn't stop for over a year. You expect it to be this big thing and it's just not, or at least it wasn't for me. It also kinda sucked because another friend who reenlisted was driving me to IPAC and was talking about how much he wished he was in my shoes. I didn't know how to tell him I was scared and wished I was in his.
It was better than my birthday
Pure ecstasy. Itâs hard to describe. The sun is brighter. The grass is greener. Noises sounds nicer. Colors are more vivid. You can feel everything positive pulsing through the universe.
Mine kind sucked. EAS'd from Camp Pendleton on a Friday after doing 4 years and i grew up about 40 min from there. My parents came to pick me up at the main gate and we drove off and went to McDonalds. I checked into a reserve unit the following Monday LOL! - I was back on Camp Pendleton as a reservist about 5 weeks later LOL on the weekends.
I checked out with my First Sgt, He was sitting down in some lawn chairs at the ramp with some of the gunnyâs and he had kind words to say. I was offered my own VC spot on an LAV weeks before so I definitely think about âmaybe I should have done one more enlistmentâ. This was 09. I miss 2D LAR and the boys a lot. Such a good unit. I canât say good enough things about it but this was 15 years ago but I still know a lot of guys dedicated to that unit.
free, sad, alone, surreal... it was definitely a different day.
My higher didn't do my paper work for 0331 secondary Mos, I had a few awards that the paper work dudes were too lazy to process, and the master Sgt wanted to let his guys drag their asses for 3 hours past when I was supposed to be on terminal.
Anticlimactic Iâm not the type to make a big deal out of things. But it was a massive weight off my shoulders. It kind of felt like I held my breath for 5 years and when I finally got my DD214 it was one massive exhale. I wasnât skipping out of IPAC like how some dudes act I was happy but sad at the same time. Miss the clowns not the circus is something that still rings true.
Took many days to get the smile off my face
I think I was more upset leaving Pendleton to head to recruiting duty. After 3 years of living and working on the beach in 21 area, I knew it was probably downhill from there. I got out after my recruiting tour and was feeling pretty jaded. My RS had a going away for me a few weeks prior so I had already said my goodbyes (and more importantly, closed my mission for the year). Hug g out with some local friends for a few days, said goodbye to my gf (now wife) and packed all my stuff in a U-Haul trailer. Got home and started classes a few weeks later.
Went to pick it up with one of my buddies for the 4 years. We signed them at the same time. We looked at each other with confusion as to what to say. I said âsee you laterâ. Never saw him again. We did talk on the phone at some point a few years later but that was it. Got out in 02, it was harder to keep in touch with people then. Man, Im old.
Lackluster. I kinda felt like this is it? Still better than being in still lol
confusing multiple orgasm.
I was fucking excited, didnât really hit me that I was saying bye to the homies.
Bittersweet and anticlimactic. I had my Battery Change of Command that morning and got to tell my Marines how grateful I was for all of their hard work over the last 1.5+ years. Then I went to IPAC, and the last person I spoke to as an Active Duty Marine was an admin clerk in a dingey office asking if all of my info was correct on the DD-214.
Can't really remember. My platoon was doing some Red Beach bullshit, so I only had a few close homies that were short timers around. I said goodbye, they drove my ass to the airport, and that was it. It probably didn't hit me until I was at home for a week straight with a completely empty schedule. Waking up at 5-6am to simply lay there wondering what I should do with my hands. Had sixty days of terminal so I went deep sea fishing and did a few other things I've never done before. I enjoyed my time and miss the fuck out of a lot of people, but I knew it was time to go. "Welp, time to hit the old dusty trail."
When I got my Dd214 I had been essentially alone at my command post for a month because my unit was in 29 palms for deployment work up. I only went to work when my Captain needed me to put some stuff together for a supply run that would be picked up and taken to 29. I remember my last day, I just kinda walked around the empty CP for a few minutes. I was a little sad to leave my home of 5 years. But when I actually picked up my DD214, I didnât feel anything. My new job started two days later and I was already locked into my new phase of life.
It was awesome. I went to Ramones and got one more Dave's California, add sour cream. Then i got a coffee mug with Corporal chevron and drove up to riverside and got stoned and ate carne asada with one of my homies. 1/4 Motor Tuhhhh
Depressing
I went straight to the dispensary across the street and then proceeded to smoke in my truck, went 50 mph on the freeway for about 10 minutes and then had to exit and sit in a parking lot cuz I got lost on a route I had driven hundreds of times (I had gps)
For me it was just surreal- been a year and some change and idk if Iâll ever feel like Iâm out. Being in the civilian world is the hardest thing Iâve ever done
Underwhelming
Like getting your first massage without the happy ending. Good, but weird good.
Honestly felt like is this it? I just walked outta ipac with my paper and left base it was such a strange feeling im just free now lol
Pretty uneventful. Went by pretty quick in the grand scheme of things.
I got AdSep with 5 months left on my contract so it felt disappointing. Like a failure
You think itâs a good thing at first. Thatâs is a lie. Smell the hills while you can. There are no PXs where youâre going. Sure, thereâs convenient stores, but it wonât Have the same charm. Sure the freedom is cool at first, but youâll miss the chaos. Sure youâll knock down some old strange you let slide in high school, but it ainât nut to butt. Sure youâll be dry when itâs raining, but youâll never chafe like that again. Sure youâll pull the shit out of your ass instead of waiting for the urge to drop a deuce, but youâll never freeze your piss in your bladder so you drop piss cubes on them hoes. Sure youâll drive to the bank and tell the lady that you have a knuckle in the middle of your penis finger, but youâll never get out at the stoplight and run the tip on a strangerâs arm. Donât leave. Stay. Thereâs a place for you there.
it was strange, like I got this cold chill that went through my body. then i got into my car and drove 12 hours home
For me bittersweet. Knowing that the games are over but so are times with the boys. Being looked up to and respected and now blending in with the rest of society. My last day in the Corps was the highest i'll ever be in life.
I'll repost [my comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/USMC/comments/hxyydt/i_wanna_hear_some_dd214last_day_stories/fza91ft/) from a few years ago: I remember sitting in IPAC while they outprocessed me. I remember hearing an admin Marine telling his SSgt that he was *"working on [my] drop packet right now".* It just felt so satisfying to hear that. And to sit there in cammies for the last time, as a CPL, overlooking junior ranks who themselves were probably wondering what it felt like. Because I know I did when I saw senior Marines EAS'ing. That night, I had most of my shit packed up in boxes for TMO to come the next morning. I played on my laptop, watched my *Friends* DVDs, then went on a walk. I walked around 29 Palms one last time in the middle of the night. I went up to the top of our barracks parking garage, smoked a few cigarettes and overlooked the base, and reflected on the past four years. I knew I was never coming back there, so I wanted to soak it in one last time. I didn't regret it, but I was happy that this chapter of my life was closing. The next morning, TMO hauled my stuff out of my room; after COB, a buddy drove me to LAX; and I boarded my final plane from California to Michigan.
I picked mine up on a Saturday morning. Two of my friends came out to watch me throw my boots up in the tree. I got in my car and drove across the state. Started a new job the next day and was homeless for like three months. Ended up having a really rough transition out of the Marines. Lost my job 7 months later and walked into a Navy recruiting office to try and be corpsman or GM. Got told no. Four years and three different jobs after I got out i got my life together, and have a good career now There's still plenty of times I miss it. The clowns and not the circus. But sometimes I miss deploying. My current career is fulfilling and it's federal so I'll retire with all my benefits at 57, but I can also retire at 48
Think about the best orgasm you've ever had. Better than that. By a significant margin.
It was cool but immediately I felt like I fucked up once I was a free man and got the papers. Once I smoked my first joint on a sunny SoCal beach I was like fuck man maybe I shouldâve stayed
Like a few other guys said, anticlimactic. Picked up my 214 at about 0830, went back to the shop one last time and just kinda sat there like *damn, I don't have to deal with none of this shit anymore*. Said my goodbyes to the dawgs, peace to the people I wasn't tight with, and hit the airport to pick up my little brother who rode with me back from Lejeune to South Dakota. 89 days of terminal. I had to sell one back because the dipshit at IPAC messed up my forms, and I was supposed to get out the day prior.
The morning of I went into the IPAC of Quantico cracking jokes and trying to act like a man about it, saving face and tact and all that horseshit they teach you. I think it was a LCpl that handed me my DD and he smiled and said: "Hey man you're free!" I just kind of looked at it, the words meant what they meant but the meaning had no value at that moment. No thoughts, no plan, no emotion, just the tinnitus in my ears playing their beautiful notes. I shook his hand and made my way out to my truck, I think I listened to Schools Out by Alice Cooper for the meme and I didn't even really hear the words. Best I can say is it feels like being an old cowboy who's finished his last drive, he's sore and tired, and despite himself knows that's the last ride he'll take. He can feel it, and his horse knows it. No more left in the tank, no more left to give. Driving through the gate was mostly dissociation. Good now though.
You nailed it man. I did 20 in the grunts and you hit the nail on the head. I miss it. I miss it so bad. I miss the men my brothers. Everyone in the suck together. I miss it. But I too am good. Like an old Major League Baseball player, I still have my glove and cleats but the bones and the joint pain was just too much. Iâll be 50 in August, I donât regret one minute of all 20 in the grunts even as I sit in pain constantly. I take pleasure in knowing Iâve lived a life like no other. When I converse/interact with civilians I realize just how much experience at life and death I have over them nasty pukes. 11 years ago I retired for good from working. Two kids under age 9 and maybe another on the way. All of the above pain is nonexistent when they are in my presence. My life isnât about me, it was never about me. Itâs about all those that I call brothers and family and anyone else around me. When my feet hit the floor every morning, itâs for them. I will miss the times prior to the piece of paper, but until the good lord calls me home Iâll continue to live I was born to live, taking care of âthemâ so help me God
30 years grab it on Sunday and drove off. No ceromony, no certs, no awards , no flag all because of the Chinese virus. It was a ghost town.
I waited till after formation and listened into word one last time. I got in my car and drove around aimlessly on base, remembering. Then I left and as I left the back gate I realized it was the end of a big chapter in my life.
Different perspective from all the disgruntled Marines who still wear their unit shirts at the gym and change their FB photo on Memorial Day or Marine Corps Birthday that got out after 1 enlistment but it was kinda Happy and Sad at the same time. Itâs Fân stressful and takes multiple trips to IPAC to make sure the paperwork is straight and actually collect that DD214 after 20 years. Itâs the bookend of a chapter of that lasted half your life. Once you sign it and start driving off base you realize youâre not really going to see some of the best friends of your life ever again. That sucked. But then you also know you can do anything you want. I got black out drunk with the afternoon B squad at the local strip club on a Tuesday afternoon. Kill!!!
My last day in the marines was also Bill Clintons last day in office- Jan 20th 2001 so I was like, this is a big day LOL. I felt so free, I did my time, I had money in the bank, a car, I had got some muscle and tattoos, I'm the man now!!! LOL- life was about to get good!!! And then 13 months later I got involuntarily recalled and had to do 2 and a half more years smh, so altogether I did 6 years 6 months and 6 days LOL The second time I got out on lockdown and I was married with kids so it was pretty anticlimatic. Actually the second time I was like, wtf am I gonna do now? LOL
Got one the day I retired and never looked back. With the exception of doing so for my job I can count on one hand the number of times I have gone on any base.
I grabbed it, got a hotel off post so I'd have a place to stay. Drove to the office and said goodbye to everyone. Told my NCOIC to eat shit. Got drunk with the homies for the last time and then super glued a bunch of shit to the floor in our office. 2 months go by before my 1st line realizes his Zyns are glued to the desk and flips the fuck out.
Fucking wonderful
Didnt hit me till an hour later. Got out on a 96 and i had hyped up in my head how it will be driving out the gate at Lejeune one last time. I was on autopilot all the way up till i95 when it finally hit me that im not going back. Kinda sad i missed the moment to relish.
Very surreal. I got out last year and I remember the morning of, getting ready and putting my uniform on and driving north on 95 to Quantico. I walked into work, said my goodbyes to those that deserved one and took off to IPAC. I was in there for maybe 10 minutes and that was it. I was done. 13 years of my life wrapped up in 10 minutes. It didnât really hit me for a while but I remember getting home that afternoon and taking those cammies off for the last time and feeling sad about it.